by: Jim Palmer, The Newsletter Guru (GKIC-Philly Chapter Member)
As I stated in the first installment of this series, newsletters are darn effective if done correctly! As Dan Kennedy states in his book, nothing works better to maintain your fence than a customer newsletter. The key to a successful customer newsletter is to write it with your customers in mind. Think about what they will enjoy reading, not what you want to write about. Successful newsletters are not all about your business. You need to have a balance of content that informs, educates, and entertains! If your customers feel entertained, and enjoy reading your newsletter, they’ll look forward to it, issue after issue. And guess what happens if your customers read your newsletter issue after issue … you’ll build credibility, increase your reputation as an expert in your industry, and increase name-brand awareness.
Your customers will remember you and will do business with you again, and refer others to you as well. Newsletters should be written in a conversational tone and you should avoid the use of technical jargon. In addition, make your newsletter fun to read by including some trivia, humor (be careful not to include anything offensive), and general interest articles about health, home/life issues, as well as some leadership or management tips. In the next issue, I’ll discuss what to put in your newsletters and how frequently you should publish them. I’ll also address the question I am most often asked, “Can I save money with e-mail newsletters?”
Stay tuned!
