Let’s be honest, nobody signs up to a newsletter these days. We’re all busy and our inboxes are bulging without adding any additional email.
That doesn’t mean you won’t get any newsletters. You get on people’s lists because you’ve signed up to get their free information document and now you’re on their list and newsletters turn up, willy nilly.
Firstly, if the newsletter doesn’t deliver useful information, use the unsubscribe link and get off the list.
Secondly, if the newsletter is all about the sender, unsubscribe.
You’ve almost certainly had more boring newsletters than interesting ones. What does that tell you?
Right! To engage the people you send your newsletters to you need to give them information they’ll find useful or interesting.
So your content needs to include:
- Sharing your skills to make their lives easier in some way
- Hot off the press information that impacts their business
- Statistics or the results of a survey that give them useful information
- Opinion or commentary around a subject or in response to a recent relevant news story
- Something new, different or unusual that will interest them
And as a secondary item an offer, promotion or other item that is just for newsletter readers, so they feel privileged to get something others don’t.
It doesn’t have to be an uphill struggle, especially if you write regular blogs. You can use the most useful blog you’ve written recently and use it as your lead item. Most of your newsletter list won’t have read it on your website yet, and even if they have, they’ll probably just think ‘Oh yes, that was a good article’.
The most important thing is to focus on your audience and deliver what they want – not what you think is important.
- A new mission statement isn’t exciting for readers – unless you can explain how this benefits them.
- A new member of staff isn’t going to thrill them – unless you can explain how this person will make their life better in some way.
- A new product isn’t going to amaze them – unless it solves a problem they’ve been struggling with for ages.
- A change of address isn’t a big deal – unless you’re inviting them to a launch or they need to visit you to do business (like a retail outlet).
You get the idea?
Think like a reader and your newsletter will improve with every issue.
