There are lots of ways to build your reputation, but it’s easier to influence people who already have some experience of you, than to start cold with someone who doesn’t know you at all.
That’s where a newsletter is invaluable. It serves three main purposes:
- Keeping you visible
- Reminding people of your expertise
- Educating people about your services
1: Keeping you visible
Even if the recipient doesn’t open the email, your newsletter appearing in their inbox is enough to remind them that you exist.
If they are too busy to read it or the subject line doesn’t tempt them enough, then at least you’re ticking one of your three boxes.
If they’re not interested they may unsubscribe, but at least you know you’re not sending information out to people who don’t fall into your potential client category.
2: Reminding people of your expertise
If you’re doing it right, your newsletter is an opportunity to deliver value to your readers. It’s not primarily an email campaign with an offer or promotion, it’s an opportunity to share your knowledge and wisdom and create reciprocity.
If you send a monthly newsletter with great value in every issue, people will start to look forward to receiving it and begin to feel they ‘know’ you (even if you’re never had any other communication with them).
Q: What’s the best way to deliver value?
A: Share your current blog articles.
If you’re writing a couple of articles for your blog each month, they can be repurposed to lead your newsletter with value. Better still, if you’ve written a great engaging headline, you can use that as your newsletter’s subject line.
This kills two birds with one stone – you’re showing off your expertise AND you only have to come up with one great headline!
Rather than include your entire blog in the newsletter, provide the first two or three paragraphs and add a ‘read more’ button, linked to the actual article on your blog. This gets the reader onto your website – which is where you want them.
3: Educating people about your services
Your newsletter can do this in two ways, firstly, through the content of the main article and secondly, you can add a second item underneath this with a promotion, offer or feature about one of your products or services.
Even existing customers are often unaware of all the things you can do for them. A newsletter is a great way to educate existing and potential customers about the range of services you offer.
Just pick one at a time – don’t overwhelm them with too much information at once.
I often use this section of my newsletter to offer a free webinar, where people can experience a little of my services. This is an excellent way to deliver even more information and, maybe, upsell them to a paid service or product.
What a newsletter isn’t’
It’s not about you! If your newsletter is full of information about you, your company, your staff and a thinly disguised vehicle for selling your wares – your list will shrink as people disengage.
While you may be really proud of your business and its progress, most people outside the business aren’t that interested. It may be reassuring to know you’ve won an award, but it’s not going to make them open your next newsletter. There has to be something in it for the reader.
Try using this formula and see how you get on.
