Newsletters are a great way to stay in front of your audience, but I'm amazed by
how many people still have no idea how to manage their own newsletter. I see
sloppy copy or newsletters that haven't been edited (am I really going to buy
from someone who doesn't have the time to edit their newsletter or make it look
nice?). I also see newsletters that veer off topic so much that I instantly
unsubscribe. And, my absolute favorite: how on earth did I ever end up with this
newsletter in the first place?
If used correctly, newsletters can be a great way to get your message out
there, offer helpful advice, and keep people in your marketing funnel. We've had
our newsletter for ten years and it's been a solid way to stay in front of our
audience and educate them about their market and what we do as a company.
Candidly, I would consider getting rid of a lot of things, but never our
newsletter. It's often the single biggest business driver to our company. It's
not easy, it requires work, but the rewards are tremendous. Here are some ideas
for enhancing your newsletter and growing your audience:
* Know your audience: While this might sound trite and a bit "duh,"
it's actually more important than you might think and, ironically, quite
overlooked. Many business owners who put out newsletters write more for
themselves than for their audience. This is a huge mistake as you can imagine
because most of the time, your consumer won't care about things the way you do.
Speak to their pain, their needs and their hot buttons and most important, know
exactly who they are before you start cranking out newsletter copy.
* Other newsletters: It's important to know what other folks are
putting out there in regards to newsletters. This will help you learn what you
like, what you don't like, and what might work for your market. Also, you want
to really understand your space and other experts who share your arena.
* Subject lines: This is probably the most important part of any
newsletter. They need to grab the reader's attention, and if you know what your
audience wants, the subject lines shouldn't be hard. But they must speak to the
needs of your reader. Of all the things going on in their lives, as it relates
to whatever you are selling, what's their biggest need right now? Answer that
and you've got a perfect subject line.
* Who cares? Whether it's a newsletter, a blog post, or a tweet, ask
yourself: "Who cares?" If you can identify the person as your reader and the
content important enough to get them to care, then you have a good topic.
Remember, it's not about you - in fact when it comes to creating great content
and newsletters that rock, you don't matter at all. Keep that in mind, and
understand that this is about putting together a message that 100% benefits the
people you are writing to.
* Personal notes: What prompted this article was an email note I got
this morning. The subject line said "A personal request" which prompted me to
open it. When I did the email started out with Dear, - and a bunch of spaces
after the word "dear" because I had not entered my name into their system. Be
really careful of this. Not everyone enters their name into your email list when
they sign up; if they don't, you want to try and avoid these types of emails
because they look a bit odd to the recipient. A subject line that said "A
personal request" along with an email that was anything but personal caused me
to unsubscribe right away.
* Length: A lot of people say that they prefer shorter emails to
longer ones. I say it really depends on your market. Our newsletter is pretty
long but it's packed with content and I hear from authors all the time that they
keep these issues, often printing them off. Your market will dictate how long or
short your newsletter should be and if you are following others in your market,
this will tell you a lot.
* Colors vs. text: I'm still a big fan of text-based newsletters. I
know that folks will say that color works best but I still think that color
newsletters can be harder to read on your phones and often wind up in spam
filters.
* Frequency: How often you deliver your newsletter will generally
depend on your consumer, but a good rule of thumb is once a month at a minimum
and once a week at a maximum. I would not recommend sending your end-user too
many announcements and newsletters. Also, it's a lot of content to create, so
keep that in mind. If you build a loyal following you can often create special
blasts with more frequency and not lose readers, but keep in mind that we're all
inundated with emails so many times, less is more.
* Editing: Please make sure your newsletter is edited, this is so
important. Remember that everything is your resume. I used to know a guy in
publishing who put out a newsletter that said "this is not edited." I felt like
it detracted from his message, especially when he backed up that statement with
typos. Not good. Everything is your resume. If you don't have time to send out
an edited newsletter, you should consider whether or not you have the time for
it at all.
* Appeal to the "skimmers:" Most people skim email these days, so
appeal to that. Use short paragraphs, bullet points and strong headlines. That
way your reader can glance through the newsletter without having to sift through
endless copy and get to the heart of what they are looking for.
* Promote or not? I'm not a fan of a newsletter that's all heavy
promotion. You know the ones I mean, they scream "Look how fabulous I am" and
then contain a lot of sales copy and special offers. I unsubscribe from those
pretty quickly. Ideally you want to strike a balance. Clearly you are doing this
to promote yourself and you want your readers to know what you do, what your
message, book, or product is about and how they can get it. You can and should
talk about this in every issue but keep in mind that a healthy balance is 95%
information and 5% sales. You'll build customer loyalty much faster this way.
Having a solid base and a consistent way to communicate with your audience
can really help to optimize and increase your bottom line. A newsletter might
seem like a lot of work, but in the end if it's done right it will pay off in
some pretty amazing ways.
Reprinted from "The Book Marketing Expert newsletter," a free ezine offering
book promotion and publicity tips and techniques. http://www.amarketingexpert.com
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