Wednesday’s Wisdom: Schedule your newsletters to be sent during a
time of month when not too many other newsletters are being sent. One group realized a 20% increase in
readership by sending their newsletter at the end of the month.
If you are deciding whether or not to create an email
newsletter this is definitely the article for you. However, before we discuss building a
newsletter there are a few general things that you should know about writing
the newsletter.
First, know that starting a successful newsletter is a
serious undertaking. You really need to
be sure that you have the right infrastructure as well as the commitment to
sustain it. Without these two things
your newsletter could do more harm than good.
Commitment to the publishing timeline of your newsletter is
very important. Once you distribute your
newsletter you will be creating an expectation among recipients. If you do not meet those expectations your
customers and prospects will begin to question your reliability. Let the reader know when the newsletter is coming. You need to include in your newsletter its
delivery days. For instance, if you are
sending a weekly newsletter include somewhere near the top of the submission
that it is a weekly newsletter.
Infrastructure of your newsletter is as important as
commitment. You need to include relevant
content and graphics. You also need to
employ the use of an autoresponder which will allow you to easily collect email
addresses and efficiently send your newsletters.
Now that we have covered the few general things you should
know about writing the newsletter lets discuss six phases of the construction of a
newsletter.
The First Phase is Content
Whether or not your newsletter stands or falls will depend
on the quality and the relevance of the content. You need to determine if your newsletter is
meant to entertain or educate. If it is
meant to entertain, then include in it articles meant to entertain. If it is meant to educate then you better
include content that is educational. Don’t
send a lot of self-serving advertisements.
Remember that the newsletter is meant to be of service. Write the newsletter based on what the reader
needs and not what you need. Have a good
idea of what your reader needs and try your best to fill those needs.
The Second Phase is Frequency
You need to know up front the frequency that you will send
your newsletter. To decide how often you
will send your newsletter you need to consider two primary things. The first thing to consider is how often your
customers will actually open and read your newsletter. If your customer base is situated in a
targeted market that gets a flood of newsletters then you might want to settle
on only sending your newsletter quarterly.
If your targeted market only gets a few newsletters a month and is
starving for information then a bi-weekly newsletter would be better. The second thing to consider is what you are
actually capable of. You don’t want to
place at the top of your newsletter that it is a weekly publication if you are
not able to actually research and write fast enough to fulfill that
obligation. Before publishing your
newsletter you need to know realistically what your limitations are.
The Third Phase Is Database
The database is your customer list. This list should only be comprised of people
that have opted into your list. You
should also make sure that everyone on your list has a way to opt out of your
list. You could always send your
newsletter by snail mail but the cost would be astronomical compared to sending
by email. If you send your newsletter by
email you can use several different formats.
There is HTML, PDF and text. You
should pick the format you use based on your customers preference.
The Fourth Phase is Design
Even though we are cautioned to never judge a book by its
cover, people are often drawn to and repelled by how something looks. Remember that the appearance of your
newsletter represents your company.
People will be drawn to read your newsletter based on its appearance. Make sure that the content of your newsletter
is clearly delineated. Make sure that
it has relevant images and has an identity that is compatible with the identity
of your company. Know that your
newsletter is a part of your company.
Make sure that it reflects an image that you want your customers and
prospects to see.
The Fifth Phase is Marketing
You need to know how to market your newsletter so that it
can reach a larger audience and be a better marketing tool. The marketing could be as simple as the
newsletter being listed on your website as an extra benefit to the reader. Spend some time searching the web for
innovative ways to market your newsletter.
The Sixth Phase is Testing
The way to send out the best newsletter possible is to test a
newsletter before sending it to your entire list. Send it out to a random group of about 50 to
200 people. Include a brief questionnaire
with the content asking for opinions on the appearance of the newsletter as
well as its content. Upon receiving responses
you can update your current newsletter to incorporate the suggestions given by
your test group. Your newer version will
be more closely matched to what your targeted market wants and needs.
Conclusion
The email newsletter is an exceptional way to reach out and connect with your target market. The
helpful and relevant content that you send will give your customers and
prospects the chance to get to know you, like you and trust you. Before you begin sending a newsletter make
sure that you have the time and resources to sustain it. If done properly, a newsletter will increase
awareness of your company and will reinforce your expertise.
If you learned anything new from this article then please leave a comment.
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