Salon Newsletter Best Practices

As you grow and develop your career as a boutique salon owner, you will have infinite opportunities to cultivate lasting relationships with your customers. When a client is in your chair, you can make them feel special and top of mind. But, how do you continue to build that bond once they’ve left your salon?

Email newsletters are an easy, effective way to stay in touch with your clients while offering them valuable info, such as tips for in between hair care, news about product promotions or updates about upcoming vacations or openings in your schedule. You don’t need to be a graphic designer or copywriting expert to create an excellent newsletter that communicates with your clients while subtly reminding them to schedule their next appointment. Follow these best practices to set up your salon’s very own newsletter.

Schedule

Begin with deciding how regularly you are going to send out your email. When making this decision, consider what is most comfortable for you. Do you have the time to create a newsletter every month or would a newsletter every other month be more realistic? Whatever schedule you choose, make deadlines for yourself so you don’t forget to get the work accomplished. And remember, it’s important to start with quality, not quantity.

Choose a Platform

Many salon software platforms have the capability to manage your contacts and send out email newsletters. Sola offers special deals for salon professionals for platforms such as Schedulicity, StyleSeat and Vagaro, all of which offer marketing tools specifically designed around email marketing. There are also inexpensive, easy-to-use tools specifically designed for email marketing, such as Constant Contact and MailChimp. These platforms offer newsletter templates you can use so you don’t have to design your own. We recommend using an email-marketing platform that offers metrics to help you measure the success of your email efforts. You can see how many people opened it, clicked on links, deleted, and unsubscribed to your emails.

Useful Content

Deciding what to write about in your newsletter is not nearly as difficult as you might think. Consider the questions your clients ask you when they visit your salon. “How can I keep my hair healthy during the winter?” “What’s the best hairstyle for a rainy day?” “What’s the best way to treat a hangnail?” Your newsletter isn’t about selling your services, but rather it’s about offering value to your customers when they’re not in your salon. You can also share updates, such as new services or products you’re offering. Use the information you share to subtly recommend that if their hair is feeling lifeless or their nails are looking more like claws, it’s time to make an appointment with you. Other topics can include promotions, product specials, salon milestones (anniversaries and celebrations), weddings, men’s services, tips for in between services, and so many more!

Special Offers

Reward your clients who take the time to read your newsletter by including a special offer. For example, you can offer a 10 percent discount on services if they book their appointment using the link you provide in their newsletter. Or perhaps your client receives a free service (something small like an eyebrow wax) when they mention the newsletter while scheduling their next visit. Many salon owners are seeing a surprising return on investment from regularly sending email newsletters. At first, it might take you more time than you expected to complete one but by the third or fourth newsletter, you’ll be an email-marketing master. Email newsletters are a great way to increase the amount of appointments you’re booking.