Enabling your brewery to cultivate strong customer relationships and drive sales is always top of mind. Your brewery can always keep your audience informed about new releases, events, and promotions while fostering a sense of community and loyalty by creating an email list.
But, telling your brewery’s story in different ways to different people is important for Stormcloud Brewing. An important part of that story is sharing details via email newsletters that Amy Martin puts together.
Martin, Stormcloud’s Marketing Manager & Membership Coordinator, shared at the Ohio Craft Brewers Conference this year how the Frankfort, Michigan brewery segments marketing emails into three categories: General Public, Members, and Distribution/Retailers.
READ MORE: How Martin Finagles the Challenges of Stormcloud Being in a Seasonal Hot Spot
Martin said the most important group is the general public. Although members are important as well and do care about your brand more, the concept is that a more general email list can help drive more people toward that Member or Mug Club status at some point.
By leveraging the StoryBrand Framework, Martin and her team can craft narratives that not only inform but also can inspire action. Whether announcing new brew releases, promoting upcoming events, or highlighting exclusive member benefits, every email serves as a touchpoint to reinforce Stormcloud’s unique brand identity and community ethos.
By nurturing a sense of belonging and exclusivity among members while enticing the broader public with engaging content, Stormcloud Brewing effectively drives brand loyalty and advocacy. This holistic approach not only strengthens relationships with existing customers but also attracts new patrons, ultimately driving growth and sustainability in an increasingly competitive market.
This comprehensive marketing strategy is further amplified by incorporating insights from a seasoned Digital marketing agency in the UK. By analyzing consumer behavior and trends, the agency can tailor campaigns that resonate with both current members and potential customers. Their expertise ensures that each email and social media post is optimized for engagement, driving traffic to Stormcloud’s events and brew releases. The agency’s data-driven approach allows for precision targeting, ensuring that the right message reaches the right audience at the right time.
Stormcloud started with the one list and Martin said that’s totally fine to do, especially if you are worried about getting overwhelmed.
“General public emails should be your priority,” she said.
Here are a few tips Martin shared that can help boost your brewery’s connectedness to a general consumer
Be Bright, Be Brief, Be Gone!
Martin recommends shorter and bite-sized information versus more of a long-form letter type of email.
“They have a shorter attention span, not because they don’t love your brewery but because they’re not as devoted as your members perhaps,” she said. “You don’t want people to not read all of it.”
Key in On Content
Stormcloud likes to have just a few snippets that include relevant information along with a photo.
“We write an intro, but you want to keep it brief,” she said. “One or two things, graphics or photos, but make sure they aren’t too big, and let it still make sense without the graphics. If those email photos aren’t loading, you still want enough words so people can get the general gist.”
Some content ideas include upcoming events you have planned along with any new releases.
“And this is a great place to advertise merch, especially if you have an online merch store,” Martin said. “It’s so important to link to your website and your social media as well. “You want as many people to be able to find you in as many different places.”
Determine Frequency
Of course, you can do weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly releases, but just like the length, less can be more.
“I recommend bi-weekly, to not overwhelm them with a weekly one,” she said. “And still keep them short. Make sure you’re not sending out really long emails. When I inherited Stormcloud’s program, we were sending out quite a long email. So it was monthly, and we have kind of adjusted that though.”
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