The most important principle to grasp with newsletters is that you want people to read them – not just once, but every time they arrive in their in-box.

The end-result you are looking for is that people actually look forward to receiving your newsletter. You don’t want your clients to simply delete the newsletter whenever they see it arrive.

No – you want them to read the newsletter so that your organisation stays in the forefront of their thinking. You want to do this because:

• Whenever they need your products or services, they will be more likely to buy from you.
• They will refer your products and services to their friends and business colleagues more often.

What Makes It Interesting?

The golden rule here is to focus on your audience. A newsletter should not be all about you and your operation. It should be about your customers and the ways you have been improving the experience your clients have when dealing with you.

Do These Things:

• Write about your clients and their successes. If one of your customers, for instance, just secured a large and important contract, get them to tell you the details and write it up.
• Included pictures of your clients and their organisations; simply stating what they do (not promoting how they use your services).
• If you have streamlined some aspect of your delivery system, tell them about it, because that shows how you are making things better for your clients.
• Always make a strategic statement about the overall purpose of your organisation and the results you produce, but place it near the end of the newsletter.

Don’t Do These

• Never do a high pressure sell on your services – keep the touch very light.
• Do not write lengthy articles about how good your company is.
• Avoid often-repeated, heavy-duty, in-your-face testimonials.

A newsletter is a “marketing” device, not a “selling” device. Setting the focus on your audience will generate the positive vibes that will guarantee that your clients will read your newsletters.

Included Some Helpful Information

Write a short article for each newsletter that gives your customers some useful information on some aspect of the products or services that you deal with. Depending on how big your organisation is, you might get one of your people to do this, or you may have to do it yourself. For example:

• If you are an accountant, write a series of articles on different aspects of tax law, or accounting methods that your clients could use.
• For a recruitment agency, you could give some tips on writing job ads, or on how to interview candidates.
• A builder might present helpful hints on repairs and maintenance, or how to build a simple garden shed.

Don’t be afraid to “give away” some of your unique technology and methodology. You won’t lose customers because they “now know how to do it themselves”. You will never give them that much, but by giving them some of your expertise for free, they will become more involved with you and your company. You will definitely make a friend and cement a longer-lasting relationship.

So, focus your newsletter on your clients and what is of interest to them. They will not only read your newsletters, they will look forward to receiving them. They will even send them on to their friends and their clients.