Creating An Effective Food Truck Newsletter

Loyal customers love to keep up-to-date with their favorite food trucks. Mobile food vendors have the unique opportunity to communicate with their customers via newsletters. They show your customer base that care about your employees and customers to go above and beyond when it comes to communications.

First and foremost – decide whether you should implement a hard copy, email version, or both. You can use the same content across both of these platforms. Have in-house copies for customers to snag when leaving your service window. Ask loyal customers if they would prefer to receive an exclusive e-newsletter with special coupons or perks.

10 tips to creating an effective food truck newsletter:

Regular Communication

In order to be perceived as credible, you must communicate regularly and consistently. A monthly or bi-monthly newsletter is appropriate for most mobile food operations. You can adjust the quantity based on the amount of content you can generate without adding an extra element of work or stress to yourself. However, once you decide, do your best to keep true to your pattern of posting. Consumers prefer to know what to expect, so try your best to cater to their expectations.

Visually Pleasing

Add photographs of events, customers, chefs, or specials of the month. Also consider implementing snapshots of your Facebook or Twitter feeds highlighting customers’ positive feedback or a positive rave about a particular dish on the menu.

Be sure the layout is aesthetically pleasing as well. For branding purposes, utilize the food truck’s colors and logo. Find the perfect balance between content and photos. Content heavy pieces are less likely to be read than those that have a combination of both photos and writing.

Make it Easy to Digest

In addition to the layout being visually pleasing, break up text-heavy sections by utilizing bullet points of subheadings. The content should be readable, using average language and avoiding jargon.

If your readers are overwhelmed, they will bypass these sections, regardless of how rich or engaging the content may be.

Clickable Links

Make your newsletter as user friendly as possible by making your links clickable. For example, always have your Facebook or Twitter accounts linked on your e-newsletter.

Make sure you always add a link to your menu. If there is not enough space to upload photographs from an event, you can add a hyper linked keyword that directly links to an ancillary photo site, such as a Flickr account. If you have been featured on Mobile-Cuisine.com or a local blog, link to it.

Social Media Icons

Always include any social media platforms you are a member of, such as Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram and or Foursquare. Even if it is not an e-newsletter, add small icons that represent these sites along with the URL. They will remind your customers that you have a presence on these various social media platforms.

Probe them to interact with you by providing an incentive such as a check-in on Foursquare. For example, checking-in 5 times unlocks 10% off of your meal.

Add Boilerplate Info

Your food truck has a history, even if it be short and sweet. Give your mobile food business a little personality by adding a brief, but interesting background of your truck.

List Upcoming Events and Specials

Dedicate a section of your food truck newsletter – preferably the same location for consistency purposes – that lists upcoming events and the specials of the week or month if you have planned them out in advance.

If possible, include photos to entice customers to join you for the next special menu item or event. Spice up your descriptions and vary your content to keep readers engaged.

Include a “Spotlight” Section

Food truck customers love a human element to writing pieces. Make your star employees and customers feel special by adding a “Spotlight” section.

You can create a Q & A interview, feature article, biography or simply a “Getting to know____” to create a more humanized feel to your food truck newsletter.

Call-to-Action

As mentioned previously, give your readers a reason to not only read your article, but also go a step beyond. For example, if customers sign up for a your food truck newsletter, they will receive 5% off their next visit or a free meal on their birthday.

Add a hidden code to bring to your food truck for an exclusive deal only offered to those who read your food truck newsletter.

Be Creative

Your customers are your brand ambassadors, so maximize your resources. If you have given them a reason to love your food truck, they will continue to be an advocate for you. Ask them to forward your food truck newsletter to a new friend and they will receive a free appetizer or dessert.

The Bottom Line

Customers love to be informed and feel as if they are a part of your family; therefore, the main purpose of your food truck newsletter is to engage with your customers in a different way, while still leveraging it as a marketing ploy. A food truck newsletter is a cost-effective and unique way to communicate with customers.

Do you have anything else to add to this list that you include in your food truck newsletter? Share your thoughts on this topic in the comment section, our food truck forum or social media. Twitter | Facebook