MarkEATing – from Newsletter to Foodletter

You first eat with your eyes

Having written for a fair few restaurants and hotels in my time, I’ve often been struck by how well some of them market themselves – mouth-watering images with memorable captions and striking presentation.

However, ‘some’ don’t. In fact, make that ‘quite a few’….or ‘rather a lot’.

Newsletters: Pros and Cons

Newsletters are a favourite way of marketing for the Hospitality & Leisure industry:

• Reuse material – you can produce Online & Hard Copy versions from the same source
• Bespoke format – anything from an A5 flyer to a A4 multi-pager
• Interactive – customers can leave comments online, participate in promotions, leave feedback on hard copy…etc

However, Newsletters are often overlooked because:

• Areas of Expertise – a decent newsletter combines photography, writing, and graphic design, with a specific marketing angle – disciplines which smaller establishments do not possess in-house
• Time & expense – the time and expense taken to produce regular newsletters can become too overwhelming
• Commitment – there is little point in having a Newsletter if it is not part of a marketing strategy and followed up/acted upon accordingly

The MarkEATing Foodletter

How does a Foodletter differ from a Newsletter?

• Emphasis on pictures – as per the quotation at the top of this blog, people eat (and drink) with their eyes first, the visual stimulation triggering off other senses and thus placing people in an emotive state….and people only ‘buy’ when they are emotionally connected.

• Modular format – people like consistency; they like to know that they can find in
  formation quickly and easily, hence the reason for having the same layout (broadly speaking) for each edition. With Foodletters, the judicious use of different images makes the format dynamic and exciting.

• Seasonal pre-planning – more than other sectors, the Hospitality Industry revolves around seasonality and certain dates in the diary….making it ever-changing, but also easier to plan for. Having a planned structure for at least 3 issues in advance, provides a strategic focus and makes the whole process far more efficient.

Click here to see how MarkEATing Packages could transform your business.