Guest Post: Designed for Success

Melanie's newsletter
The thought of designing a newsletter for a designer was a little daunting, but I jumped at the opportunity when Melanie Orr of Interiors by Melanie first approached me. I recently asked her to tell me how it's helping her small business and this is what she wrote...
My newsletter guru, Linda Daley, recently pointed out that I've passed my three year anniversary of sending out my online newsletter. I hardly believed it, yet I know why I have been successful with this strategy: it has been such an easy and enjoyable monthly endeavour. It is also a very effective way to stay in touch with clients and reach out to new potential clients.
My newsletter is the one strategy I am consistent with and do without fail. Linda schedules my issues for the year in advance and, because I have promised someone other than myself, I meet this schedule. This in turn ensures regular posting on media platforms, on my own blog, and updates to my website, as I share the newsletter. I’m always busy, and often don’t get to that post or blog I intended to do, but I always get my newsletter written.
Every issue brings comments and business from readers. That’s an amazing return on my time and investment.
Linda and her team are wonderful. It takes me about half a day each month to write the content and choose pictures to insert, and they do the rest to make it user friendly, easy to read, and beautiful. Then they send it out to my list of contacts and onto my social media platforms. It’s easy to add and remove contacts, and I can access analytics, such as how many are reading a particular issue.
As a professional in the home décor business, I believe it is critical that my newsletter reflect an understanding of great design. I like to have input into how the newsletter looks; Linda is more than qualified to do this yet supports my interference when I get a new idea. I love that she will change the whole layout occasionally when I get the urge.
When Linda gives me the schedule for the upcoming year, I pencil in ideas for each issue. Colours and styles change every year and I help keep my readers abreast of what’s trending. Decorating for holidays is fun, and spring is a big time for home selling so staging ideas are important. Maybe I have a trip planned to another part of the world where I can discover new decorating ideas, or I’m scheduled to speak at an event which my readers would find interesting. The description of a particular staging or decorating job may be a perfect way to share tips and tools. Anything happening in the news which is design related can trigger an article. The more you think about it, the more possible topics there are. Readers are encouraged to let me know if there are topics or questions they would like to see addressed. I keep a file with topics for newsletters and blogs, and I tuck in testimonials, too, so they are handy when I need one.

 Interiors by Melanie has been serving the décor and staging needs of the Halifax area since 2004. Melanie can be reached at 902-223-3237 or online at interiorsbymelanie.com.

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