Writing a Noteworthy Newsletter
Stacy Kontrabecki, MBA Jan. 2007Every good marketer knows the value of a well thought out newsletter for their business: keeping your customers and leads apprised of developments in your industry, sharing company news, featuring client businesses or customer testimonials, teaching your contacts how to do something, and growing your community. To be an effective marketing tool that is read time and again, your newsletter must offer valuable insight to the reader beyond mere programmatic discourse and unabashed sales.
Committed newsletter readers are so because they learn something by reading your newsletter. Keep sales pitches, up-selling and other promotion to a minimum, say 10%. Use most of the space to tell a story, teach a skill, describe a process or connect people. Consider a recurring column of articles or Q & A (remember Dear Abby and Click & Clack?) that readers can look forward to. Find ways to mine readers for information that will make you a better business by making them happier customers: Surveys, contests, referral affinity campaigns – all these build community and promote two-way flow of information and ideas. Consider these options:
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Giving away a free session, seat in a workshop, widget, one month of service, an upgrade etc. in a raffle of those who bring X number of referrals your way in a given time period.
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Have a customer or vendor write a recurring article to provide a fresh perspective on a topic you know like the back of your hand – and provide the variety your readership may enjoy.
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Feature a different client or customer in each newsletter edition. Same idea as above, but focused more on who that client is as a person and/or as an organization. By promoting your business partners you are in effect promoting yourself!
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Post a job vacancy in your firm. Your readership, by merit of the relationship you’ve grown over the years, may know just the right someone to fill out your staff. You never know – maybe one of your readers will be your next best employee!
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Tell your readership about opportunities that exist for them related to but outside the realm of the services & products you provide. If you’re a nutritional counselor and Dr. so-and-so is speaking about such-and-such at the local hospital and you’ll be there, why not invite your readership to join you? If possible, try to secure reciprocal mention/advertising for yourself in the Dr.’s newsletter.
Last Updated: 2/15/07