Newsletters – your must have marketing strategy!

Over the past month, have you noticed that there has been quite a bit of commentary around the humble e-newsletter making a comeback! Personally, I don’t think it actually went anywhere. Yes, it may have got a bad rap for a while, and might have been side-lined for the whole social media onslaught, but there will always be a market for receiving strong, practical, value-added information.

In fact, I was reading a report today by Ali Brown in which she stated “According to a 2010 study by ExactTarget, 56% of Internet users interact with brands only via marketing emails, compared to 1.3% who interact only via Twitter and 0.7% by Facebook.” Interesting statistics don’t you think?

A well written e-newsletter really is a must have within your marketing campaign.

Whether you are starting out, or are a seasoned email marketer, developing an e-newsletter that attracts your ideal clients and makes you sales, is what you really want to be focusing on. Remember that you don’t want too be ‘in your face’ pushy with your clients. What you do want, is to build strong solid relationships, engage in a conversation, and increase the overall trust factor between your client and yourself.

You can do this by making sure your e-newsletters adds value, that it's practical and makes a difference. Your clients' email addresses are valuable commodity, and they’re not going to hand them over to just anybody!

Over the past ten years, I’ve always done some type of email newsletter. At first it was monthly, then fortnightly, but now it’s sent out weekly to all within our community. The frequency works and we have no illusions that you read it every week, but we do know that you will read the topics that add value to you and your business, and that is really all we can ask for.

Our current format was worked out last year with my mentor MaryEllen Tribby (ME), as she had a specific strategy for successful e-newsletters. And interestingly enough, I’ve received emails this week asking me about my newsletter, after she had presented it as one to follow in a webinar she was co-hosting with Ryan Deiss. Together they were launching their new Inbox Empire product, which focuses on the whole business of e-newsletters. So when ME is focusing on developing a product based around e-newsletters, you know they're back on the radar.

So what are three strategies you can put in place to make sure your e-newsletter engages with your clients and makes you money?

1. Add value with your content.

Don’t waste your clients’ time by not adding value to their day. You ideally want your content to be practical and focused on results. The best way you can do this is to be really clear about your ideal clients, because as their problem solver, you will know exactly what they will want to read. Focus on them – your client!

Stuck on ideas? Then why not include a case study illustrating a client’s success story; interview other experts; have guest writers write for you. These are a few additional strategies you can include to add value to your content.

2. Direct your clients to make the right buying decision.

You can be providing great content, but unless you have a sales strategy in place, you won’t make money from your newsletter. Now that’s okay if you don’t intend it for that purpose, but if you do, then your clients are looking to you for your advice. In fact, they will want to know what your new products and promotions are!

You’ve built a strong relationship and they know you deliver results, so don’t feel shy about sharing your latest promotion. You don’t have to fear coming across as a used car salesman. Just keep consistent with your personality and style and they will appreciate it.

There is a rule of thumb that for every newsletter you send, you can do two promotion emails – do you do this?

3. Be consistent.

In your initial confirmation email, you should aim to provide your clients with the information they need to receive about your e-newsletter. This includes the frequency of your e-newsletter, as well as what day they can expect to see ‘you’ in their inbox. Once you’ve stated this its up to you to stay consistent.

So, if like me, you’ve committed to a weekly format with delivery every Thursday, then you have to make it happen each week. This is how you build the relationship with your clients and increase the trust between you and them. If your email comes in bits and bursts or whenever you feel like it, how do you think this comes across to your clients?

Putting together your e-newsletter will take time and commitment, but once you get going, it really is worth the effort. There is nothing more special than when you receive comments about how your articles have impacted another person, or made a positive difference to their business. Words can’t explain how good that feels.

So what are you doing with your e-newsletter?