Picture this: It’s Saturday afternoon and you’re thinking about your plans for the evening. Your friends want to hang out, but you’re not sure what to do — and then, in your inbox lands a restaurant newsletter from a nearby gastropub reminding you about their Saturday night trivia event.
This is the power of a good restaurant newsletter. It keeps your restaurant at the top of guests’ minds — and can be used to share specials and promos that might tempt them to visit or place an order.
Why You Need a Restaurant Newsletter
To understand the benefits of an email newsletter, you have to look at the importance of having an overall marketing plan for your restaurant business.
Not only does marketing your restaurant help you reach new guests, but it makes your current guests feel valued and gives them dining experiences that will keep them coming back to your restaurant over and over.
Benefits of Email Marketing for Restaurants
Restaurant Newsletters Are Low Risk and High Reward
An email newsletter is one most restaurant owners can pull off, even if they don’t have a lot of marketing or tech experience.
There are plenty of software and web tools you can use to manage your email list, create newsletter templates, and send out email campaigns, and many of them are extremely affordable, or even free.
In addition to the low barriers to entry, email marketing campaigns come with excellent ROI for foodservice establishments — they can expect to make, on average, a “$44 return for every $1 spent” on email.
Newsletters Help You Connect with Your Guests
Newsletters are a great way to stay connected to your guests and make them feel valued for their loyalty to your restaurant.
With social media, it’s easy for your message to get lost in guests’ feeds. But email can feel much more personal, since their inbox is something guests curate and control.
Newsletters Help You Promote Specials, Events, and More
A great way to increase traffic in your restaurant is by offering food and drink specials or hosting events. And a restaurant newsletter is a great way to let your guests know about these efforts.
If you offer live music on a certain night, scheduling a newsletter for that day or the day before means you can highlight your event and remind guests about when and where it’s happening.
Restaurant Newsletters Fit Seamlessly Into a Larger Marketing Plan
A restaurant newsletter works great as a standalone marketing tool, but what’s even more powerful about it is how seamlessly it can fit into a larger marketing plan.
Having a restaurant newsletter allows you to start small with your digital marketing strategy.
10 Restaurant Newsletter Ideas Guests Will Love
Not sure what to include in a restaurant newsletter? There are plenty of things you can write about, but start with these ideas to craft a newsletter that your subscribers will be sure to engage with.
Special Offers and Promotions
The best way to entice guests to visit your restaurant is by offering them a reward for doing so. These can be buy-one-get-one deals, percentage discounts, free apps or drinks — whatever offer your restaurant can afford can help get guests in the door.
New Menu Items
If you add a new item to your menu, guests in your area likely want to know about it. Sending out a newsletter to feature a new dish is sure to catch some guests’ attention.
Limited-Time Offers or Seasonal Menu Items
Whenever your menu changes, send out a newsletter to let your email subscribers know! Tell them about seasonal offerings of limited-time menu items so they can plan a visit to try something new.
Events, Holidays, and Other Special Dates
If your restaurant hosts any type of event, help spread the word with a newsletter. The same goes for holidays — email your guests around each holiday to wish them well and share any special menu items or deals you’re offering to celebrate.
Excellent Reviews
If a guest leaves a particularly glowing review after visiting your restaurant, brag about it! Send out a copy or screenshot of the review in a newsletter, so other guests can be reminded of your delicious food, great service, and impeccable atmosphere.
Recipes
Do you have any special menu items made from recipes passed down between generations? One great idea for a restaurant newsletter is sharing a special recipe so devoted foodies can make it at home.
New Services and Business Updates
Any time your restaurant adds a new service — contactless dining, online orders, or delivery, for example — your newsletter is a great way to spread the word. The same goes for any business updates, like if you change your restaurant’s hours or open a second location.
Birthday Gifts
Many restaurants send out special gifts or offers to guests for their birthday. If you don’t have your guests’ birthdays saved, then send out a special offer on the restaurant’s birthday, instead.
Contests and Giveaways
Contests and giveaways are another great way to entice guests to visit your restaurant. You can use your newsletter to promote them, but also promote the contest or giveaway to guests who dine in to encourage them to sign up for your newsletter.
Employee Spotlights
Your restaurant wouldn’t be what it is without its employees, so feature them in a newsletter! Include a photo and some fun facts, so subscribers can get to know your chef, servers, and more.
How to Create a Restaurant Newsletter in 3 Steps
Starting a restaurant newsletter doesn’t need to be a complex process.
Step 1: Make a Plan
The first step is to plan your restaurant newsletter. This means deciding:
- What kind of content you’ll include in your newsletter — just information about your restaurant? Reviews? Profiles of staff?
- How frequently you’ll send your newsletter. This will depend on how much content you have to include. It might be easier to start small (say, once a month), and build up to more frequent newsletters if you find you have enough content to do so.
This is also the best time to start gathering guests’ email addresses so you can send the newsletter to them. There are many ways to collect basic contact information from guests:
- From online orders
- By prompting them on your website to sign up for your newsletter
- By asking for an email address when they leave a review
- By collecting contact information for reservations or your waitlist
- By simply asking guests; for example, with a sign on your tables
Step 2: Create a Template
The most effective newsletters are recognizable to their readers. That means you should use a template to create each newsletter to maintain consistency in your newsletter design.
If you use any kind of email marketing software (like Mailchimp), there will likely be templates included, but you can also build your own — just be sure to use your restaurant’s colors and branding, so guests recognize it.
Step 3: Send Your First Newsletter
Once you have an email list and a template, it’s time to create your first newsletter. In order to make your restaurant newsletter an effective marketing tool, there are a few things to focus on:
- Your subject line. Make it short, but strong and catchy. You only have about 4–7 words to catch guests’ attention and convince them to open your email.
- Images and visuals. You want to make your newsletter appealing to look at, and images of food are more likely to catch a hungry guest’s eye than just text.
- Your content. This is the body of your newsletter, so it should be informative and fun to read, but not too long. This can include restaurant information, event reminders, promo information, news, social media links, blog post summaries, reviews, testimonials, or recipes.
- A call to action (CTA). This is important, because it’s what turns your newsletter from a piece of informational content to an effective marketing tool. It represents the action you’d like guests to take after reading your newsletter. For example, you can include a link to “Reserve a Table,” or “Place an Order.”
- Your contact information. The last important piece of your restaurant newsletter is information on how guests can find you, including your phone number, address, and hours of operation.