STAMP 2019: Urban Betty's Revamped Email Newsletter

According to businessdictionary.com, marketing is the management process through which goods and services move from concept to the customer. Several years ago, Salon Marketing was one of the most popular categories in our SALON TODAY 200 salon business recognition program. Most applicants were eager though to show was the marketing materials they created as much as they wanted to talk about the success of their programs, so we launched a spinoff recognition program. STAMP—or SALON TODAY’s Annual Marketing Program—showcases the best in salon marketing from several diverse categories, including traditional marketing, digital marketing, marketing campaigns, branding and in-salon marketing. 

The 2019 STAMP celebrated 33 honorees in 24 different categories, including a few new categories: Influencer Programs, Gift Box Programs and Television Appearances. 

Here is the honoree for best Email Newsletter:

A New Look, A New Vibe
Urban Betty
Austin, TX 
Owner: Chelle Neff
With 19,000 subscribers, Urban Betty’s strongest marketing piece is its email newsletter. In 2018, the salon revamped its 10-year-old newsletter by purchasing Canva, a $10-a-month graphic design tool that enhances the newsletter’s aesthetics and makes it more brand-consistent. Owner Chelle Neff also hired a marketing director, and together they created a consistent brand for the newsletters through theme, font choice and style. Readers are able to click on subject squares that redirect them to corresponding blogs, which helps the salon increase web traffic. 

“We placed a strong focus on our subject lines to book open rates, and we carefully choose content that will excite and engage readers,” Neff says. “Since launching our new content strategy and design, our click rate has more than doubled, our SEO ranking has improved and it’s been an overall successful return on our investment.”