Company Email Newsletter Program
Heartland Overview
Heartland Interpretation and Translation Services is a professional language service provider based in southwest Indiana. Founded initially as a one-person Spanish interpreting business, Heartland has grown to a team of 52 linguists supporting 20 languages as of 2024. The company now serves 63 clients across Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois, achieving a 42% growth rate in 2024.
Under the leadership of owner Jacob Brown, Heartland provides interpretation, translation, and language training services to healthcare facilities, courts, educational institutions, businesses, government agencies, and social service organizations.
As they expanded, they recognized the need for a more structured approach to client communications and marketing.
The Communication Challenge
Starting from Scratch
Prior to 2025, Heartland had no established newsletter program in place. Client communications were primarily:
- One-on-one emails for specific projects
- Occasional company updates sent ad hoc
- In-person conversations during service delivery
- Basic website information
This approach was sufficient when Heartland was a smaller operation, but as their client base and service offerings expanded, several limitations became apparent:
- No systematic way to announce new services to all clients
- Difficulty showcasing linguist expertise and credentials
- Missed opportunities to highlight community partnerships
- Inefficient process for sharing company milestones and updates
- No mechanism for regular touchpoints with inactive clients
- Limited ability to demonstrate thought leadership in language services
As Jacob Brown noted in the company's year-end review, "Our growth in such a short time frame speaks volumes to the willingness of our team to adapt and meet the needs of our clients as they come." However, without a structured communication channel, they struggled to effectively share this story of growth and adaptation.
The Newsletter Implementation
Starting Simple but Strategic
Recognizing the need for a more systematic approach to client communications, Heartland engaged Lambent to develop, write, and manage the first regular newsletter program in late 202. Rather than creating an overly complex system, they focused on establishing core fundamentals:
- Committed to Monthly Frequency: Established reliable schedule clients could anticipate
- Selected Appropriate Platform: Implemented MailerLite for its balance of features and simplicity
- Developed Basic Content Mix: Created a straightforward format including:
- Service highlights
- Team member spotlights
- Client success stories
- Industry insights
- Applied Brand Identity: Used their established brand colors, typography, and visual style
- Built Focused Distribution List: Carefully compiled relevant contacts rather than purchasing lists
- Set Clear Performance Goals: Established benchmarks for open rates and engagement
- Assigned Clear Responsibility: Designated a specific team member to manage the newsletter
Newsletter Stats
The February 2025 email campaign results, as documented in the provided analytics report, demonstrate the immediate impact of implementing a newsletter:
- 56.4% Open Rate: Significantly higher than the professional services industry average
- 4.27% Click Rate: Showing healthy engagement with the content
- 7.56% CTOR (Click-to-Open Rate): Indicating relevant content for those who opened
- Zero Unsubscribes: Validating content quality and appropriate sending frequency
- No Spam Complaints: Confirming proper list-building practices
- Audience Insights: Discovered that their audience primarily reads emails on desktop (43.70%) and webmail (53.80%)
For a first-time newsletter, these metrics were exceptionally strong, providing Heartland with confirmation that their audience was receptive to this form of communication.
Business Impact Beyond Metrics
The newsletter implementation delivered several immediate benefits beyond the measurable metrics:
1. Unified Messaging
Creating the newsletter helped Heartland articulate its core messages, value proposition, and service offerings clearly and concisely. This exercise helped unify the entire team's language about the company.
2. Content Resource Creation
The process of developing newsletter content produced valuable assets that could be repurposed across other channels, including their website, social media, and client presentations.
3. Client Discovery Opportunities
The newsletter generated direct replies from clients inquiring about services they weren't aware Heartland offered, creating immediate new business opportunities.
4. Community Partner Recognition
By highlighting community partnerships in the newsletter, Heartland strengthened these relationships and demonstrated their commitment to the region they serve.
5. Team Pride and Engagement
Featuring team members in the newsletter boosted internal morale and recognized linguists for their expertise and contributions.
Starting Simple, Seeing Results
Heartland's experience demonstrates that implementing even a basic newsletter program can yield significant benefits for a growing business. By starting with a straightforward approach focused on consistency and quality rather than complexity, they created a valuable new channel for client communication that enhances their marketing effectiveness.
The strong performance of their very first newsletter campaign validates that clients and partners are interested in staying informed about Heartland's services, team, and community impact. For service businesses like Heartland, a newsletter isn't just a marketing tactic—it's a relationship-building tool that showcases expertise, reinforces value, and keeps the company top-of-mind.
As Heartland continues to refine its newsletter strategy based on performance data and audience feedback, they're building a marketing asset that will compound in value over time, supporting its impressive growth trajectory with minimal ongoing investment.
This case study is based on Heartland Interpretation and Translation Services a growing language service provider serving southwestern Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois. For more information about their services, visit heartlandlanguage.com.
