Newsletters have long been used to share information about an organization, new services and products, and information to assist customers. With today’s blogs and plethora of web technologies, many companies have turned to web-based versions allowing both customers and employees to access critical information and the latest news. Email newsletters offer many benefits beyond a printed form and can reach out to both your current customer base and potential new customers.

Email newsletters create an atmosphere to…

Make you an expert.
By allowing readers to learn about the latest trends in the industry, your customers can enjoy keeping up to date with emerging technologies. You can write up a brief summary or report about a particular news item for delivery each week or month and it’s a great way to position your company as a market leader or industry expert – even a guru.

Teach your customers how to do something new.
How-to articles are well received when they can provide helpful information to your customers about your products and services.

Spend less money on marketing.
No matter what your marketing budget may be, email newsletters are a simple and low-cost way to create an immediate impact. Many email newsletter programs are also equipped with tracking services that let you see how many newsletters were opened and which links were clicked.

Promote your brand.
The more consistently you deliver your newsletter, the easier it will be to promote your brand and raise brand awareness. Your logo, colors, and theme can be incorporated into almost all email newsletter templates and encourages the mind-connection with your customers.

Build web traffic.
Direct links to articles, blog posts, or just your website can be included in each email newsletter and make it easy for readers to simply click to your site. Google loves this type of activity and it will have a positive impact on your Search Engine visibility.

eNewsletter Tips:

  • Write out its purpose
  • Use the same layout and features each issue
  • Use compelling subject lines
  • Serve your readers
  • Show some personality
  • Publish like clockwork

So, you understand and appreciate the benefits of an eNewsletter; the next step is planning and developing one that is well executed to ensure those benefits are realized! The following are some general guidelines to help you put together a highly effective email newsletter.

Get the relationship off to a good start
Do privacy and unsubscribe right by respecting the eNewsletter audience member with a documented “no sharing of email addresses” privacy policy and readily available unsubscribe capability.

Get their attention
Pay attention to production values with a great looking email newsletter which uses well-designed graphics, an appropriate layout and plenty of images or photos. Offer a high-impact, sophisticated eNewsletter in the same league as large competitors.

Keep their attention
It’s likely your audience will open the first one or two eNewsletters out of curiosity alone. Now it’s imperative to have great content that will keep them engaged. Think like a publisher as much as a marketer and build a community of interest.

Respond appropriately
If someone has shown a deep interest in a particular product, send him or her more information; if she or he would like to schedule a sales appointment, give the prospect a call.

Keep their attention for the long-term
Measure not only open rates and purchase transactions, but also content popularity (what are they reading, how long are they spending reading it?). Use that analysis to tune the content over successive email newsletter editions to hang on to your audience. An auto dealership discovered that its eNewsletter readers are more interested in what they could do with their cars – movie or restaurant reviews that would help them plan excursions – than in tips about automotive maintenance.

Segment your audience
Consider providing separate eNewsletter variations based on clusters of content popularity. For example, offer a product line specific eNewsletter to subscribers who have shown a more focused interest.

Lower the threshold to viral marketing
Sure you should invite the audience to “tell a friend” about the email newsletter, but consider lowering the barrier to vial marketing by making it easy for a recipient to forward just an article from the eNewsletter.

Sustain and supplement the content with audience contributions
Invite email responses to eNewsletter content, use and report on surveys in the email newsletter and consider using a moderated blog with audience posting as a source of eNewsletter content.

Plan for and play with the future
Try inserting a podcast in your email newsletter and see how it pulls. Consider offering your eNewsletter content as an RSS feed, particularly if you have a techno-savvy audience.

Supplemental Information on eNewsletters:

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