For years, golf courses have been using email newsletters for two main goals: 1.) A newsletter of all the “happenings” around a golf course and/or 2.) A way to gain more customers through promotions, coupons, or deals. So our question to you is: Is it working? Do you see a spike in rounds after you send out an email campaign? Do your members actually read the newsletter that your staff puts together each month?
Well, if you aren’t sure if your newsletters are working or why they aren’t, I want to show you a few tricks and ideas to re-ignite the spark in your email campaigns.
What is the purpose of your newsletter?
Knowing who your audience is and what you are trying to say is half the battle. Find out exactly who this newsletter is going to target and what you want to tell them. You also want to be very clear about what you want your users to do after they read your email. Do you want them to 1.) Click on a link to read further 2.) Call your golf shop to book a tee time 3.) Perform some kind of action?
Knowing exactly who you are talking to and what you want to tell them will guide the direction of your newsletter and form it into a powerful piece of communication.
Who is creating the content?
Do you have a dedicated person on staff (such as a membership director or marketing director) to draft up the newsletter? Or do you, the golf professional, create it yourself? Do you get help from the head of each department (like F&B, Tennis, Membership, Grounds, etc.) or do you simply write updates for each department yourself.
It’s good practice (and can help you with your content) to have each department head write something to add into the newsletter, but make sure to have them submit it to you well before the deadline. If you have a dedicated marketing director, make it their job to proof-read and add additional content to each department’s section of the newsletter.
If you are creating a newsletter to draw in more rounds, then you will need good solid content that sells your product (or service). You want users to read your email, then take some kind of action. Well written text can make them click on your email right away – or mark you as SPAM. And spam is the last thing that we want! I know this is for “website copy” – but here are 7 simple steps to good web copy: click here.
What is your call to action?
Most people write an email without any clear call to action. This can be as simple as a large font that says “Call Now” or as complex as a conversion form on your website that collects user information, generates a coupon for the user, and tracks their time on the site.
Just having a call to action is the most important thing. Keep your copy short and sweet, then make the user CLICK on something that will take them to your offer! People just love to click on things. If you are using a mobile optimized newsletter – then use the tel: prefix in your website code so that a user can have a one-click dial! The syntax would look like this (minus the spaces): < a href = "tel:888-287-2641" > Click here to dial < / a >
I cannot stress enough the importance of having some sort of call to action on your newsletter!
So hopefully these tips have helped you to develop an understanding of how to better organize your campaigns and communicate more effectively.