Do not make yours just another newsletter

If you are interested in marketing in general, and more specifically online marketing, then you will know all about email newsletters. They are invaluable and people have made a name for themselves from selling through their email lists. Having a newsletter is literally a list of potential leads, which you can contact quickly and easily with very little effort and have a good conversion rate. This is the theory at least. Is this the reality though? The answer is of course no.

Why you should have a newsletter
Lets recap quickly the reasons you should have a newsletter. Firstly, to inform your subscribers of new products, and special offers. This is the main and often only reason for most businesses. It is also a great way to let people know about changes in the company, any issues such as product recalls, and to offer some industry news. It gives you the opportunity to build a relationship and therefore trust.

So the question your all thinking about is – if everyone else’s newsletters are doing all these marvelous things and bringing in a constant stream of sales, why is mine not? The simple answer is that almost every business offers some form of newsletter, and yours is simply just another newsletter. Imagine this – if every product we buy has a newsletter, we will end up with inboxes flooded by newsletters. It is simply not feasible to expect people to read every newsletter.

Getting people to read your newsletter
How can I make people read my newsletter? Getting people to subscribe to your newsletter is a big step. They have made a commitment and shown some trust in you. Now you need to reinforce that and make sure you give them a reason to keep on reading. We set ourselves apart quite simply by offering value. The key is to make your newsletter a lot more than a sales pitch. People do not like being sold to, but they do like buying.

Some guidelines to follow:

• Form a relationship with your readers by letting them know more about you or your company.

• Offer free information and products to your subscribers.

• They are subscribed because they are interested in your product, so by all means let them know about them. Let them know about industry news and developments.

There are no rules or guidelines for newsletter format. Some may prefer to release a regular newsletter perhaps monthly, or even weekly, letting people know what is going on. Others may only send out newsletters when they have something to say. Both are fine. Just make sure you have a good balance between keeping your subscribers informed and interested, and overloading them with information and cluttering their inboxes. Your subscribers are willing to give you some of their time, but not all of it. Be respectful and aware of this and you will do well.

There is no doubt newsletters are very useful tools and should be part of your sales process. How do you make your newsletters stand out? What reasons are you giving people to keep reading?