🛠️ Supporting your subscribers

Focusing on quality content creation to get your blogging business off the ground is always a noble mission, but now that your publication has quickly grown out of its infant stages into being a rebellious teenager, it might be time to check in on your readers. This week's newsletter is about how to provide excellent customer support, composing the perfect tech support email, and why creating unforgettable member experiences is so important. Let's go!

In this week's issue 📨

• How to support your members
• Composing customer emails
• Why customer service is so crucial

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A sigh of relief

The more your publication grows, the more support your subscribers will need. Big goals require big investments, and investing time in delivering outstanding customer experiences can help you meet them by keeping existing customers and attracting new ones. If you've reached a place where your publication is starting to need the personalized touch of customer support, we've got you.

Let's dive into some support experience best practices to ensure your readers get the help they need in the right ways.

Your support email

• Providing customer support entirely through email is the most common approach for publishers due to how simple and sustainable it is. Email support is the best way to prioritize issues and solve problems for your subscribers anywhere in the world.
• Publishing platforms like Ghost allow you to enter a support email address directly in your site's Portal so members always know where they can go for aid. Otherwise, you can always include your contact information anywhere you please, like on your site's About page.

Your terms

• The most common way to present your terms and conditions is in your site's footer or on a dedicated terms page so that it's easily seen and accessible by anyone. If you're using Ghost, you can include links and policies during signup to immediately set expectations with your members.
• When setting proper policy expectations, clarify how refunds/cancellations work and state your support response time. Be completely transparent now so your subscribers aren't disappointed later. This way, they can decide if the type of support you're offering aligns with their needs.

Your internal policies

• Whether you've hired a publishing team or onboarded some support staff, it's crucial to have well-documented internal processes about how to deal with customer issues. Consider building an internal knowledge base that guides your employees on tackling support requests to ensure success.
• The rules you put in place for your publication should represent your values, missions, and objectives. Make sure everyone can access your policies easily, use plain language so that everything is understood by all employees, and prioritize based on importance, urgency, or legal requirements.

Your helpdesk

• If you're serious about customer support, investing in a handy helpdesk tool like Helpscout or Front can provide the best results. These apps can keep all your customer emails in one place, allow you to easily collaborate on technical issues, and generate useful support metrics to reveal trends.
• A promising sign that it's time to utilize helpdesk software is when you see a rising trend in support email volume and using your regular email inbox starts to feel limiting or overwhelming. Most helpdesk tools aren't cheap, so take the time to find one that suits your needs and budget.

Interesting stories & ideas 📚

• Building a 10k/mo newsletter – Indie Hackers
• Storytelling techniques for your marketing – HubSpot
• TikTok becomes the new watercooler – Digiday
• Growth metrics that matter – Grow My Newsletter
• Real-world content experiences – How the F*ck

Love letters

You may be a pro at writing and publishing blog posts, but composing and sending a tech support email is an entirely different animal. No matter how great your content is, how you respond to a (sometimes unhappy) reader can make or break their impression of you and your entire business. If you've yet to master the art of crafting the perfect support reply, your time is now.

The editorial team over at Indeed shares some effective customer service email writing tips so you can perfectly put out any fire.

#1 Use the customer's name to make your message more personal and sincere, but make sure you spell their name correctly! Name typos are the worst.

#2 Slow down and read their message carefully to ensure you know what they're trying to communicate. Answer every question clearly and concisely.

#3 Use your name (or any name you're comfortable using) when closing out your emails. This always lets members know who they're speaking with.

#4 Your communication style should represent your brand, values, and policies at all times. It's not always about what you say but how you say it.

#5 Use conversational language when you respond so they know they're talking to a real person. You never want your words to read like AI wrote them.

#6 Keep it professional by using proper spelling and grammar. Being casual with your customers is cool, but remember, it's still a business setting.

#7 Showing empathy is the perfect way to connect through a computer screen. You always want to give off "we care, and we're here to help" energy.

#8 Gather all information before responding to a subscriber. If you need more details, don't be scared to ask! Getting things right is most important.

#9 Set deadline expectations so the customer knows when they'll hear back from you. Being honest upfront is always the best policy.

#10 Create saved replies so you and your team are all on the same page. This also saves time if you have a lot of customer support emails to get through.

Pleasure principles

Fantastic customer service represents the bridge between your readers and your publication. Delivering top-notch member experiences can decrease costs, increase positive word-of-mouth marketing, and grow subscriber trust. If you're not entirely sold on why providing excellent customer service should be one of your publication's pillars of prowess, keep reading.

The team at Mailchimp walks us through the importance of great customer service and how it can be a beacon of business growth.

‣ If you want to retain customers who make repeat purchases, good customer service is key. Keeping existing customers around is always more cost-effective than trying to gain new ones, so consistently pleasing the followers who already trust you will increase their loyalty tenfold.

‣ Customer service provides almost infinite ways to increase loyalty within your community. The more your members believe in your brand, the less likely they are to turn to one of your competitors. To grow loyalty even further, consider a rewards program or offering discounts.

‣ If you're doing customer service correctly, you'll see a strong brand culture and reputation surrounding your publication – a sort of culture club, if you will. Haven't quite mastered this? Start by defining the values you want your business to embody and use them to promote all over the web.

‣ When you have life problems, you refer to those most important to you. When your customers have a technical issue, they should feel just as comfortable approaching your team for help. Providing polished customer experiences increases the likelihood of positive referrals, boosting your growth.

‣ Building a solid customer support foundation doesn't just please your patrons; it also keeps your employees happy. Happier customers usually lead to a happier team, and a positive work environment leads to positive customer experiences. It's the circle of life, the chicken or the egg, time is a flat circle, etc.

‣ If you're a publication known for exceptional customer service skills, you'll always have a competitive edge over your competition. It's not easy consistently living up to subscriber expectations, but if you can master the art of providing exceptional customer experiences, the results will be priceless.

Curator's pick ✍️

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