How A Company e-Newsletter Establishes Your Expertise and Reminds Current and Potential Customers of Your Brand

Your company can be easily drowned out in all the internet noise out there unless you have a strategic way to remind customers you exist. E-newsletters are one of those ways. E-newsletters are the newfangled version of the traditional business newsletter that are sent through email rather than regular mail. Whether you normally send out traditional newsletters and need a change or are searching for a way to get your brand more exposure, e-newsletters can work for you. E-newsletters reinforce your expertise, brand — and very existence — to current and potential clients.

What They Do

Think of e-newsletters as friendly little reminders to people that your company is out there doing business. One of the goals of the e-newsletter is to let them know what that business can do for them, although you typically don’t want all content to read like an extended sales pitch.

Providing content that educates and enlightens readers is an earmark of e-newsletters that not only get read but also get passed on to family, friends and acquaintances, notes BeConnected.com. Word-of-mouth advertising remains a powerful force.

Include articles that outline advancements if your industry and how you are remaining on the cutting edge. Provide tips and insight on topics related to your field. Opt for informational articles related to your business’s specialties and expertise.

This doesn’t mean e-newsletters have no room for self-promotion. You can still highlight special sales, discounts and new services and products you are offering as well as new developments throughout the firm. Customers that were planning to purchase the products or services you offer may be instantly inclined to do so when they have an e-newsletter right in front of them in their inbox.

Well-written e-newsletters should also entertain the reader to some degree. The e-newsletter need not be filled with jokes and comics, but should be written in such a way they are compelling to read. It is much too easy to hit the delete button, so focus on sending out missives that instead end up saved in your customers’ queues and forwarded to their own contacts.

How to Create and Send Them

Creating and sending out e-newsletters starts with determining the frequency. Since e-newsletters are meant to provide regular updates and information your business, being consistent is a must. The frequency depends on how much information you have to share and the amount of resources you have to put into creating a quality e-newsletter, with business usually opting for once a month or once a week.

Consistency is also vital when it comes to your e-newsletter’s format and style. Readers should realize at a glance that the e-newsletter came from your business, based on your brand’s consistent style business name and logo appearing prominently on the masthead.

Using a table of contents can be useful for lengthy e-newsletters while compelling graphics can quickly and easily capture the reader’s attention. Although html format gives you the biggest bang when it comes to impact since you can use images, video and audio, not every email recipient either enjoys or can receive it. Many large corporations, for instance, filter out html emails or automatically convert them to text.

Having your newsletter available in both text and html format covers your bases. If you’re going that route, allow readers to choose their preferred format when they sign up for your e-newsletter.

If you have the resources and time, creating and sending out e-newsletters on your own can be a feasible option. If you are pressed for both, a handful of companies that offer email newsletter services can do it for you. Although you still have to provide the content, many of the companies offer several different prepared formats to best suit your style. One caveat is making sure the company is reputable and will not turn around and sell your client email list.

Where to Send Them

Although certain companies still sell email address lists, the practice can often lead to recipients automatically deleting or marking as spam any messages from companies with which they are unfamiliar.

Good etiquette for gathering an e-newsletter mailing list is by making it an option for clients who want to receive it. Include a sign-up list prominently displayed on your website as well as an option at checkout during sales. Also make it easy for people to “unsubscribe” by including that option in every e-newsletter you send out.

Since people may forget they’ve signed up for your e-newsletter, PCProfile Trading recommends including the email address at the beginning of the message to remind them of the email address they used to sign up for it.

One of the ways customers get out receiving newsletters is setting up junk email accounts where all such correspondence is sent. Reminding them of the email address they used to sign up for your email reinforces the sign-up was valid and they opted for the service. This can mean the difference between your e-newsletter taking an immediate trip to junk mail and being read and passed on to their friends.

When you send e-newsletters to people who want to receive them, it also helps ensure you are reaching your target audience of those who could benefit from what you have to offer and buy what you have to sell.

Benefits over Traditional Newsletters

The topmost benefit of e-newsletters over traditional newsletters sent through the mail is the cost. You’ll no longer have to pay for printing services, materials and postage. Nor will you have to spend the time to trek down to the post office with a big batch of newsletters or clogging the office postage machine for extended periods.

Because you do not have to pay based on the colors and graphics you use, e-newsletters can be vibrant and filled with intriguing images without the high price. The colors and graphics will not appear in the text format of the e-newsletter, but it can still reach a wide audience.

Additional benefits over traditional newsletters include the ability to include direct links throughout the text that get customers to your website where they can learn more or make a purchase with a few clicks of the mouse.

E-newsletters can give your business a constant voice, one that is knowledgeable, consistent and is much too classy to yell over all that internet noise.

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Tags: ActionCOACH, existing customers, Jodie Shaw, new customers, newsletter, products, referrals, services