Succeeding with Email Newsletters

Mark Twain once said, "Climate is what we expect. Weather is what we get."

This also applies to your email promotions. The goal of any email-marketing strategy is to create a proper "climate" to sell your services and wares. Unfortunately, in many instances, all you get in return for your efforts is stormy weather.

The reason is this: If you're using your electronic newsletter as a primary way to sell your wares, not only will you be disappointed with the results, but your subscribers will inform you of their disappointment by using the Unsubscribe button. On the other hand, if you use your newsletter to build an ongoing relationship with your subscribers and create a climate for selling your product and services, subscribers will read it and you'll have a customer-retention vehicle like no other.

When subscribers sign up for your newsletter, they expect to get news, not offers. Pulling the old switcherroo on them will show your attempts at relationship building as they really are: a cheap way to promote your product or service.

So what's the difference between a promotional email and a newsletter? First, it's in the percentage; second, it's in the format.

News Versus Promotion

Let's consider percentage first. Your newsletter should have at least 80% to 90% of news consisting of links to third-party information, articles about the product or service you sell, and concerns of your prospects and customers. That is, your newsletter should contain information your subscribers can use, such as movie, book, or music reviews, or upcoming updates to the product they've purchased. You can also enhance your reputationand make salesthrough well-written articles in your product or service's subject area.

Customers and prospects are always looking for information that can help them either use or purchase the products and services they need. This is where you can shine as a helper and facilitator for your clients. The remainder of your newsletter should be about your company and its products or service. In other words, 80% to 90% of your newsletter should focus on your subscribers' needsthe rest can focus on yours.

Now on to format.

Format Considerations

How long should your newsletter be? If you have valuable information to include in your newsletter, don't be afraid of its length. If you provide valuable information that subscribers desire, they'll read every word. Here are the basic elements of an electronic newsletter. Use them when creating your company's email newsletter:

• The welcome Thank your readers for subscribing and give a quick summary of what is contained in the current issue. And remember, you're speaking to one person at a time. Write as if you're speaking only to one subscriber, and keep the tone causal and personal.

• News they can use Link to current news items about your product or service and market niche. If you're selling gaming software, for example, give brief news summaries of articles that review the latest games and the gaming industry; then link to them in your newsletter.

  Tip: Clip Art Can Help Your Email Promotions

  Microsoft's Small Business Center (www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/resources/marketing/advertising_branding/how_clip_art_can_make_your_marketing_shine.mspx) has a great article on how to use clip art to make your email messages shine.

  
  

• Customer focused news You might profile one of your customers in each newsletter and explain how your services or product helped him or her solve a problem. One-on-one interviews with industry experts are another way to spotlight your customer and the challenges your industry faces.

• Feature article or tips Write a short useful featurebetter yet, supply a series of tips that your customers can use. Think about packaging your message. People like to think in terms of numbers. Package your message in terms of "The 10 Tips for. . ." or "The 6 Secrets of. . ." or "The 7 Mistakes of..." Another way to package your content is in the form of "Did You Know. . ." or frequently asked questions.

• Tell-a-friend Ask subscribers to tell a friend about your newsletter. If they like what they read, ask them to forward the newsletter to friends, family, and colleagues, and build in the referral code in your newsletter to do it. Don't assume they will think of it.

• Subscribe and Unsubscribe Supply simple and easy instructions on how to unsubscribe and, for those who have had the newsletter forwarded by friends, family, or colleagues, how to subscribe.

• Link to your website Provide multiple links in your newsletter to your website.

Some Additional Tips

Don't be afraid to learn from your competition. Subscribe to their newsletters. You'll pick up some competitive information, and you'll see how they use their newsletters to stay in touch with clients and prospects. Scan their newsletters to pick up ideas on content, writing style, personality, and tone.

There's even a revenue-generating opportunity with electronic newsletters. If your newsletter is unique and offers information or support that consumers can't get anywhere else, you can solicit paid subscriptions. You can also ask the manufacturers of your products to sponsor your newsletterin effect, selling advertising space.

Don't be shy about asking visitors to your site to subscribe to your newsletter. Ask visitors to sign up when they first enter your website by placing your subscription offer on the home page (top right), and tell them what they'll receive as a subscriber. You also might want to offer an incentive to sign up, such as a discount coupon they can use on their first purchase, a free sample, or a demo of your product or service.

Remember that many of the popular email programs today can read an HTML-formatted email. When opened, an HTML-formatted email appears as a Web page instead of lines of simple ASCII text. That means you can display images, photographs, colors, and graphics in your email to make for a much richer experience for your reader.

Finally, and most important, keep your subscriber's privacy in mind. Building trust starts with building a good privacy policy. Make sure that your company has a privacy policy. Remember that building trust with your customer is a long-term prospect. You can easily lose that trust by sending promotions instead of news and mishandling the personal information you collect when consumers subscribe.