When appearances count, readers can count on Appearance Plus Cleaners, the e-mail newsletter sent by one of Cincinnati’s largest dry cleaners.

Appearance Plus has three locations in greater Cincinnati and a newsletter that reaches out to 20,000 customers.

Why would anyone subscribe to a dry cleaning newsletter? For starters, it coupons for cleaning services. But there’s more to it than that.

The Appearance Plus Cleaners newsletter was launched in 2001, but it was upgraded last April, boosting its popularity and editorial reach.

The Upgrade

“Before its restructuring, the newsletter was devoid of a good consistent strategic communications program,” says Roger Roeser, vice president with Justice & Young Public Relations, which serves Appearance Plus. “A newsletter like that is a waste of technology, time and money.”

According to Roeser the original newsletter didn’t get much of a response. “They were just sending coupons for like 10% off your dry cleaning,” he says. “It wasn’t even being used to gather business intelligence.”

That version of the e-zine had an open rate of 13% and no more than 20 to 30 people per issue used the available coupons. Since April, though, open rates have averaged between 70% and 80%, and Web traffic has jumped from 872 hits a day to nearly 2,000. In addition, sales at the company are up from 16% to 20%.

Oh what a difference an update makes.

“The look of the newsletter was completely changed,” says Roeser. “Old addresses were purged and we utilized a new tool with the local newspaper’s online version to get new subscribers.”

That “tool” was the purchase of a banner ad on the Cincinnati Enquirer’s online Tip Sheet, a synopsis of the news. Clicks on the featured Appearance Plus offer would take the reader to the Web site where they could sign up for the newsletter.

Newsletter editorial was also changed to reflect the needs of the cleaner’s clients. Editorial pieces included fashion tips, cleaning tips, articles on how to look your best, dress for success and interviewing techniques. Also added was a news section that carries clips linked to local television station. “It all fits into the overall strategy of the PR program,” says Roeser. “And that’s critical.”

Roeser says they didn’t ditch the coupon offers but now they’re leveraging it with gaining publicity for the cleaning chain. “We were on a CBS affiliate news show with a story about the cleaning of American flags,” says Roeser. “We took an unused medium and made it robust. We leveraged the publicity and used business intelligence to give the newsletter more purpose.”

As part of the upgrade, the firm embedded surveys embedded in the newsletter. Readers were queried on their satisfaction with the service, what would make them more satisfied, their opinion of Appearance Plus Cleaners and their awareness of various cleaning services. Personal information was also gleaned—age, marital status, occupation and income. Those responses gave Appearance Plus a clear view of its customers.

The Customer

“Our customer is a 34-year-old busy businesswoman,” Roeser says. “She’s probably married and lives in a $200,000 house with a household income between $70,000 and $100,000. It’s wonderful to have this knowledge. It allows us to pinpoint that cluster and strategically market to that person.”

It also comes in handy when renting opt-in lists of prospective subscribers. Additionally, offers made in the newsletter are targeted to that demographic along with articles of interest. But catering to the 34-year-old businesswoman doesn’t stop there. Appearance Plus supports programs and charities favored by that demographic.

Appearance Cleaners sponsors collections of personal care items for the Assistance League, a battered woman’s shelter. There are money-off promotions for military personnel and if a recent graduate from a local school brings in a diploma, a suit for their first job interview will be dry cleaned for free.

“It’s novel. People are accessing the programs. I expect the novelty will wear off but obviously people are enjoying it,” says Roeser.

Hard costs for the initial newsletter ran about $500 a month for hosting and distribution by ExactTarget. Additional time spent on the newsletter cost the company another $500 for a total of $1000 monthly which Roeser feels was wasted. Now, costs run about $500 a month, he says.

“Once we put the template in all we’re doing is leveraging and re-purposing work that has already been completed and embedding it into the newsletter. So all we need to do is utilize the distribution point we just use the host to distribute the newsletter.

If you’re doing a newsletter for the sake of doing a newsletter you’re wasting brain cells, says Roeser who feels that the offering should be part of an integrated program that brands the company and gathers business intelligence.

And the future? “Right now we’re going to let this dog hunt and see what happens,” Roeser says. “It’s working well so far.”