How To Market With Newsletters...Where The Top Story is Always YOU

Newsletters can be an effective marketing tool...IF someone reads them. This article covers the basic do's and don'ts for success.

Written Apr 09, 2008, read 224 times since then.

Newsletters are a great way to keep in touch with your customers and an effective way to promote additional products and services to your current customers. Your customers will appreciate the information and your efforts to keep in touch with them on a regular basis, as well.

Newsletters have a number of other benefits as well.

For instance, "subscription lists" can be a method of acquiring the names and addresses of prospects. Invite all your walk-ins to sign up for your newsletter. Newsletters can also serve as a tool to remind your current customers to refer their friends to your store.

CONTENT IS KING, AND BREVITY IS QUEEN

Keep your newsletter short and make sure it's news-y as its name implies. The content of your newsletter must come before graphics, ads, or anything else.

Sectioning off your newsletter makes it easier to develop because you know what you have to create for every newsletter. You should divide the newsletter into different sections such as the, “Master Tips”, “Message from Joe (the owner)”, or “Customer Spotlight."

Each of these sections will have a new story every month. Here are some suggestions for news items and section titles that you might consider including in your newsletter:

New Kid on the Block - Introduction of any new products or services
Bigger, Better, Brighter - A change or enhancement in your service or product models
Leading the Charge - New innovations and technology
We Can Fix That - Tips and advice
Tipsheet - Tips on how to use your products or services
Law and Order - Report any new law changes that may affect your customers
The Welcome Mat - Spotlight a customer and interview that customer (a good way to get a testimonial)
Wish I’d Thought of That - Report on any unique uses that your customer’s came up with for your product or services.
Unsolicited Testimony - If possible, report on new customers and why they chose to buy. Specifically why they chose to buy one from you (another good way to get a testimonial)
A View From the Top - Interviews with notable people in your industry
State of the Nation - If appropriate report on how your business is doing

THIS TIME IT’S PERSONAL

Remember, people like to buy from people they like, so make it a point to humanize your employees in your newsletter.
Make your newsletter personal. When you use staff names, people will come to recognize them when they come into the store. Bingo, immediate recognition, familiarity, and trust
Don't use technical jargon. Unless you have a compelling reason to be technical (such as being an IT technician), don’t show off your knowledge of buzzwords
Keep your words simple. People don’t want to read your newsletter with a dictionary at their side. Most folks read at about an 8th grade reading level, so ask a teen you know to give your content his/her stamp of approval for readability

Include photos of customers, the staff, and other events. (Photos personalize your newsletter more than any other element.)

ONCE IS NOT ENOUGH...BUT WHAT IS?

The biggest mistake you can make is sending your newsletter too infrequently. Sending a newsletter once a year just doesn’t cut it. Don't waste your time and money.

You should send your newsletter on a quarterly basis, at the very least, and preferably monthly. If your business is seasonal, you may want to send it less frequently when you are out of season and more frequently when you are in-season and have more real news to offer…and a greater likelihood that your newsletter will produce results.

WRITE HEADLINES NO SANE PERSON COULD IGNORE

You should know this by now, but it I’ll say it again, just in case you're still not quite with the program:

If you go to the expense of developing your newsletter, publishing it and sending it, you may as well do everything you can to get it READ!

Use great, eye-catching headlines that will make your reader stop and read every word. Remember, your headline is an ad for the ad and your content must be interesting.

People stories are always a big draw, so consider "leading" with a human interest piece. Let’s face it we are a voyeuristic society and we like to know about other people whether it’s customers, vendors, employees or even family members.

DON’T FORGET THE POINT OF ALL THIS...MARKETING!

One of the primary reasons for doing a newsletter is to make offers to your current customer base. The best pulling offers are ones that piggyback or mesh with your editorial content.

For instance, you may write an article about a new accessory that is really cool and a lot of fun. Next to the article you offer a discount coupon for the accessory. You can do this for any product or service you are trying to sell. Write a good article about the need for a certain product that solves a problem and next to it give a discount coupon to solve that problem.

Don't put too many ads in with your newsletter. The last thing your customers want is another piece of self-serving, self-promotional junk mail. Your customers have entrusted you with their address. Don't abuse it; respect it by giving them valuable content in the mailings they receive from you.

If your so-called NEWSletter turns into the BUY ME letter, your customer will get wise quickly and toss it in the trash without even opening the envelope. It'll be just one more piece of unsolicited junk mail.

Learn more about the author, Debbie Feldstein.

Comment on this article

Posted by Brandi Pierce, Seattle, Washington | Apr 16, 2008

Dead on! Great job! =)

Come realize the power of COLOR.
Posted by Cherie Killilea, Spokane, Washington | Apr 16, 2008

I am just preparing my second newsletter, so I appreciate the advice and mostly, the list of suggested topic catagories. A monthly newsletter is more work than it sounds like, if you are committed to quality and not a full-time writer. Thank you, Debbie.
Posted by Elizabeth Rightor MA MEd, Seattle, Washington | Apr 16, 2008

Debbie,

Thank you for this article. I especially liked the tips on suggested topics. It is so important to provide valuable content to subscribers. You gave me lots of good ideas I can use for future newsletters.

Thanks, Elizabeth

Live, Laugh, Love--Boldly
Posted by Karen Pierce Gonzalez, Rohnert Park, California | Apr 16, 2008

Very sound advice. I think that newsletters should be more than just a "buy my product" message. It truly can provide a beneficial service to the receiver that is not dependent upon their having to purchase something. I unsubscribe to newsletters that are filled with ads... am hoping your article finds its way to those publishers! Best, Karen
Posted by Mark Silver, Portland, Oregon | Apr 17, 2008

Definitely some good stuff here and... even once a month can be less effective. The most effective newsletters I've seen have been either weekly, or even up to three times a week.

The pluses to having a newsletter that comes out more frequently is that you can include less in each. If you send out a whole, several-page equivalent newsletter once a month, people might glance at it, but not read it.

However, sending out an article with a short promo once a week means that there's a higher chance your readers will actually read it 2-3x/month.

You may have heard that it can take 7-10 contacts before enough trust and familiarity is built for someone to buy. At once a month, that takes 7-10 months- most of a year. But if you are sending a shorter one weekly, those same seven contacts happen in about two months- plus the frequency builds intimacy and familiarity more deeply.

It's the same if you have a new friend that you only see once in a while- how quickly do you get to know and trust them, versus seeing them regularly?

:)

Can working on your business nourish your heart?
Posted by Debbie Rosemont, Sammamish, Washington | Apr 17, 2008

Wonderful, practical, "I can implement easily" ideas. I'm working on my May newsletter right now and will certainly review these tips as it comes together. Thank you,

Debbie

Professional Organizer and Productivity Consultant
Posted by Judy Dunn, Seattle & Renton, Washington | Apr 17, 2008

Debbie,

This is all good advice for someone starting out in the "marketing with newsletters" arena. We send out our marketing e-tips weekly and I tend to agree with Mark on the frequency issue. The more often you send them out, the stronger the impact. Ours is short, usually just one page and we hit them with a single concept, one practical marketing tip that they can use now.

At first, the "open" rate (statistics showing who and how many subscribers were opening them, even though they had all requested to receive them) was rather dismal, 50% or so.

But we found that with more time, when they were consistently getting them every Tuesday, the open rates increased and we are at something like 80% now.

Your article stressed something that is really important. While it might be tempting to use your newsletter as a direct sales tool, the goal of providing useful content should guide you as you write. Our subscribers seem to genuinely appreciate the advice with no strings. (Our e-tips are ad-free.)

Thanks for sharing your expertise.

One more thing: we just started including separate links to our last three blog posts at the bottom of our e-tips and have seen an increase in readership on our blog page since then. We also have a link to sign up for our e-tips on our blog.

Seattle Copywriter
Posted by Mark Silver, Portland, Oregon | Apr 17, 2008

Hi Judy-

Interesting point about the 'ad-free' - and I actually disagree. People may seem to appreciate the lack of ads- but what about those people who want to work with you, and yet don't know how to proceed?

I believe strongly that you are doing your potential clients a disservice if you don't make a really clear invitation to take the next step. It shouldn't be hypey, or hitting them over the head.

But a simple and short invitation to take the next step can dramatically increase response rates, and will also help those who may be shy to actually step forward and get the help they need.

Can working on your business nourish your heart?
Posted by Judy Dunn, Seattle & Renton, Washington | Apr 17, 2008

I'll clarify. The purpose of our e-tips is to build value and credibility and we are not using them as a direct sales tool right now. We will eventually be marketing our paid e-zine to this list. We haven't reached that point yet because we are just two months old. At the top of each issue are links to our blog, e-tips archives and the e-zine sales page. But we are not making it front and center right now. As we build the credibility (and our subscriber list), our strategies will change.

Seattle Copywriter
Posted by Ilise Benun, Hoboken, New Jersey | Apr 18, 2008

Great article, Debbie. Your tips and ideas are excellent. I've been writing my newsletter, Quick Tips by Marketing Mentor every two weeks (and sometimes weekly) since 2001, and beyond the content, people tell me they like because it's short and sweet!