Newsletters 
Vital communications on the printed page and via email

 Newsletters just keep getting more and more recognition as a means for building profits in all types of businesses.

You can send your newsletter out to your customers once every so often (daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc). The beauty is - it's your newsletter so you get to decide.

Newsletters are nice because you can share relevant information related to whatever you are selling with your customers. They work exceptionally well when the subject matter of interest keeps changing and people have a need or desire to stay current.

Newsletters can subtly prompt your clients to buy from you again, or to generate referrals for your products or services. If you fill it with informative articles, it will not be viewed as advertising - instead, your clients will see it as a service.

Newsletter Content that Customers Read

The focus in writing newletters needs to be on designing content that your customers will want to read. It needs to be informative, eye catching, hold their interest, and leave them wanting more. They will then be eagerly awaiting the next issue of your newsletter.

Creating informative and readable content
Content is very important when it comes to capturing an audience to read your newsletter. Take a moment to see things from the customers point of view. Ask yourself why they should read your marketing newsletter, why will they want to read the next issue, and what makes your newsletter unique and better than that of your competitors. Answering these questions honestly will help you create a newsletter that customers will want to read.

Consumers enjoy newsletters with content that is informative but also energizing. They do not want to be bogged down with lots of technical jargon. They want honest, straightforward information that allows them to be educated and to form their own opinions on issues. You can continue to hold the consumers interest by publishing helpful tips in your newsletter that relate to the areas of expertise of your business.

This makes your company appear to be credible and helpful. Offering customers the opportunity to submit questions that you answer in your newsletter is a great way of letting customers know you care about what they think as well as helping them develop a sense of being a part of the newsletter. You may also want to consider adding a section regarding customer comments and suggestions. This additional outreach to customers will be well received.

Maximize your contents value
To ensure your marketing newsletter reaches the maximum number of people possible, mail a copy to your former, current, and potential customers. Keep extra copies of current issues in your lobby or waiting room. Many people who come in will look through available materials while they wait.

Place a stack of newsletters next to the reception desk, payment desk, anywhere a customer might see it and decide to take one. If your company has a website, have the current edition of the newsletter available. It is also a good idea to have previous issues archived on your website as well.

While it may seem expensive to send newsletters to that many people, think of the revenue it will generate in sales. The more exposure your business gets, the more sales are expected to increase. Keep an eye on these marketing areas. If you need to make changes, you can make informed decisions based on who is responding to your newsletters.

Marketing newsletters are an innovative way to reach more consumers than regular advertising. It is also cheaper. You can identify your target market, and create your marketing newsletter to be appealing to that demographic group. Keeping your newsletter friendly, informative, and written in plain English will lead to loyal readers and likely an increase in customers.

 The latest trends - email newsletters

What makes a great HTML email newsletter?

An e-newsletter is very similar to newsletters which are printed and distributed via mail or other avenues. The most significant distance is the method of distribution. While traditional newsletters are typically mailed to the recipients or distributed in person, e-newsletters are distributed exclusively online. These e-newsletters may be either emailed in the body of an email message or may be included as a link in an email which directs the recipient to the website for the e-newsletter. In either case the recipient can read the e-newsletter while online and print it out or save it to their hard drive for future use.

The contents of an e-newsletter may vary somewhat drastically depending on the business the e-newsletter is promoting, the purpose of the e-newsletter and even the personal preferences of the business owner and the employees producing the e-newsletter. However, the general format for an e-newsletter is to include useful information in the form of full length feature articles or shorter pieces offering useful tips. The e-newsletter should also contain at least some subtle advertising for the products and services offered by the producer of the e-newsletter. These pieces of advertising should not be blatant and should allow readers of the e-newsletter to formulate their own opinions regarding the products or services.

Golden rules for writing effective newsletters:

Think of your audience they are busy and have little time or incentive to read your newsletter

1. Make it relevant to your audience - don't send out a vast email to a wide range of people
   Segment, segment and segment. Much better to send out a really targeted email to 50 people rather than a general one to 500
2. Keep it brief and keep it punchy. Think and write like a journalist. You need to capture people's attention in a headline, not expect them to read a paragraph first.
3. Don't put all of the content online, the reader should be able to get the gist from your newsletter and get more detail from your site
4. Make the links to your site relevant. Include the essence of the message in your HTML link to encourage click-through
5. If you are going to include advertising keep it at the top or at the bottom and don't break up the main body of text with adverts.
6. And remember email newsletters unlike their printed cousins are not a medium for a lengthy dialogue with your readers. They are there to get a few juicy snippets across or promotions that may be of direct interest to them.
7. If you cannot engage your audience each and every time then it's the quickest way to the unsubscribe button.

Good house keeping

A few things EVERY email newsletter sent should contain.

• A link to view the email online
• An opt out facility
• A link to a privacy statement (if you don’t have one try the DMA’s privacy policy generator)
• A recognisable From address
• A relevant subject

Well there’s a few thoughts to help create well designed HTML emails, and that only just really touches the surface. I guess the main thing to consider is:

WOULD I WANT THIS EMAIL ARRIVING IN MY INTRAY OR MY INBOX?