The Difference Between Email Newsletters & Email Marketing

Alright, spa owners: I know marketing isn’t your favourite thing to do. For many of you, marketing doesn’t crack even your top fifty things to do. And you know what? That’s alright! I’m not telling you that you have to become marketing-obsessed in order to see gains in client retention, revenue, and new customer acquisition; all I’m saying is that you need to be equipped with the basic know-how to do it effectively.

Now, during this past month my spa marketing tips have been mainly COVID-19 centric: changing up your spa model, prepping to reopen your spa’s physical location, redefining spa success, common retail pitfalls during crises, the necessary spa leadership shifts during tough times, how to pivot your spa business during COVID-19, how to best manage your spa business during a crisis— I’ve talked about it all! During May, however, I’m narrowing in on one specific pocket of spa marketing that 90% of spas are dropping the ball on. Can you guess what it is?

That’s right: email marketing.

It’s human nature to, when something doesn’t work the first time (or doesn’t live up to the expectations we set for it initially), become discouraged and unconfident… which is something I see happening time and time and time again with both spa owner friends and clients of mine when it comes to email marketing.

“My open rates are abysmal! I must be doing something wrong.”

“How do I even know if this is positively impacting my spa business?!”

“I’m a spa owner, I have no training in email marketing; why did I think I could do it successfully?”

Sound familiar? If so, hang tight while I blow that negativity right out of the water— and tell you what you can do to start nailing your email marketing starting today.

Let’s Get This Out of the Way: What IS the Difference Between Email Marketing and Newsletters? Why Does it Matter?

A common misconception (especially within the spa industry! In my free Facebook group for spa owners, Spa Business Mastery, I see the two used interchangeably all the time!) is that email marketing and email newsletters are the same thing. So what’s the difference, and why is knowing the difference so crucial?

• Email marketing refers to the messaging and promotions sent to subscribers with the intent of marking a sale, either immediately or in the future. Think of it as the sequence of building to a sale.

• Email newsletters may include aiming to make a sale, but their primary function is to engage with a pre-established audience by sharing news and updates in order to build brand loyalty and trust. Email newsletters are also typically used as the precursor to email marketing, as engaging with a pre-established audience makes them more likely to say “Yes” to promotions included in your email marketing.

Got it? Good! To expand further, email marketing is part of a larger umbrella of either content or inbound marketing strategies that can include:

• Opt-ins: most commonly seen as the “Sign Up!” call-to-action on spa’s websites, this is where potential customers and existing customers turn into subscribers for your email marketing. While the majority of the spa industry does this very passively, social media marketing clients of mine have seen great success when combining opt-ins with discounts or other promotions.

• Welcome emails: emails that are triggered when a user subscribes and agrees to receive marketing emails from your brand. This is the first email in any given email marketing sequence and a perfect opportunity to share the values & vision that makes your spa unique. This strengthens aligned consumers to your brand!

• Nurture emails: an email series that does what it says on the tin! If we use the analogy that your audience is like a freshly-planted garden, then your nurture emails are the time and dedication you put in to seeing them bloom; nurture emails are a timed email series with additional information or benefits of your promotion that aim to “close the deal” once subscribers have shown interest in your brand or offer. Nurture emails are particularly effective for skin specialists or spas that are education-focused, as providing free value 80% of the time (rather than drowning your subscribers in promotional emails!) is how you’re going to see a spike in both conversions and brand loyalty.

• Promotional emails: one-off emails that include coupons, special events, or announcements.

• Retention emails: an email series that periodically engages with current customers to ensure that they remain engaged and continue to use your product or service. Newsletters can be classified as retention emails depending on their content. 

Now That We’ve Cleared That Up, Let’s Get to What You REALLY Want to Know: What Needs Cleaning Up With YOUR Spa’s Email Marketing?

If you’re thinking, “Wow, Kirsten, that already sounds like a significant time commitment!” then don’t worry: I’ve split my tips below into “Basic” and “Advanced” depending on how much time you have to do a Spring clean on your email marketing. 

I cannot recommend enough taking some time out to tweak your email marketing, especially amid COVID-19: whether you’ve reopened, are on the brink of reopening, or are still firmly online-only, effectively communicating with your customers has proven to be an invaluable resource for spa businesses… so maximize it!

• Basic email marketing “Spring clean”: create a schedule with both newsletter and promotional emails and (here’s the hard part!) stick with it. I personally use Aweber because it allows me to easily schedule newsletters in advance, whether that be once a week, once a month, or once a day! 

• Advanced email marketing “Spring clean”: add a new client op-tin to your website, create a nurture sequence in MailerLite or your favourite email marketing tool, and share it on your social media platforms to gain more subscribers. Bonus if you can integrate your opt-in into paid advertising! (Again, combining discounts or other promotions with an opt-in as a way to entice people to subscribe is a fantastic method to see more subscribers quickly.)

The Bottom Line: Don’t Underestimate Newsletters and Email Marketing

Considering that some marketers have reported up to a 760% increase in ROI from properly implementing email marketing, I’d argue that it’s well worth spending at least half an hour adjusting yours! As always, be sure to reach out if hands-on help is what you need, and let me know how your email marketing Spring clean goes!