It’s interesting that many people create newsletters that, if they landed in their own inbox would be deleted almost immediately!
For you to keep your readers you’ll need to know what they want and deliver something interesting – for them (not for you!)
So what kinds of things do your audience want to know? Here are a few suggestions:
How to …
A quick outline of an activity that is within your area of expertise. Shortcuts or clever work-arounds that will help your reader to do something either better or that they can’t/don’t do at present. In case you think that if you tell people how, they won’t need you – don’t worry. Most people stick to doing what’s in their comfort zone and all you’re doing is demonstrating how knowledgeable you are. Guess you they’re going to ask for help!
Case study
A story showing how one of your clients achieved measurable results from your efforts. People love stories and as long as they get the feeling that this would also be achievable for them, it’s a fantastic way to convert non-clients to clients.
3 top tips
It doesn’t have to be three, it could be five or more, but my advice is keep it short as people will read short text, but skip anything that looks time-consuming. Pick out your best strategies and share briefly.
Topical reassurance
Pick something that’s in the news and people are concerned about (and, no it doesn’t have to be B****t!) and explain what your company will do to ensure clients don’t suffer more than absolutely necessary. Clearly the topic has to be relevant to your business and client-base, so this won’t work for every issue. You can also explain new legislation and what it means in simple terms.
What’s new?
I’m not a fan of using newsletters as a platform to rave about what your company’s latest strategy is, but if you can present your news as real benefits to your clients (and, by implication, potential clients) then go for it.
*****
Style it out!
If your newsletter is in the right tone of voice people will come back to it again and again. Ideally, the reader should feel as though you’re talking directly to them – personally.
The best email marketers (and newsletters are really email marketing) chat as though they’re talking to you. You could write:
We’re proud to announce that we’ve just installed new gizmos to process widgets, which will raise our output from 3000 per week to 5000 per week.
Or instead, try something less formal:
The team have been trying to come up with a way to get our clients a much faster service. It’s taken lots of brainstorming sessions and gallons of coffee (and a few doughnuts) and now everyone is excited as we’ve taken the plunge and got a whole shiny new production line!
This means we can cut days off fulfilment times – in other words you get your orders quicker – and that can’t be bad!
Which one would you prefer to read?
