RatePoint

Five Tips to Effectively Create a Newsletter

Delivering a newsletter to your customers can provide a personal touch and keep them updated about new features, functionality and press without the feel of an advertisement.

Here are five tips that can help you create a newsletter that is fresh and appealing to your customers.

1. Try not to highlight more than one or two new features in a newsletter. It’s easy to get caught up in trying to tell your customers everything that is going on, but this can quickly overwhelm your customers. By limiting the number of features in a newsletter, you can focus on what is most important and make sure your readers take that information with them.
2. Consider selecting a general theme for a newsletter. It’s easier to bring various articles together when there’s an overarching theme. Themes such as holidays or seasons are really easy ones to start with. As you become more ambitious and your messages become more targeted, company initiatives, product roll-outs and industry trends are all great themes to create a newsletter around.
3. Don’t over-do it, but be consistent. Send a newsletter whenever you have enough compelling information to warrant one. For most small businesses this is every one or two months. Some larger businesses find themselves sending out campaigns every week. Remember, if you don’t have anything interesting to report, your customers won’t read it. By the same token, you want to stay on the top of their minds.
4. It doesn’t always have to be about you. As a business owner, you’re not just an expert on your business, you’re also supposed to be an expert on your industry. Consider highlighting your customer’s success, or influential trends in your industry that can get people thinking about your products and how they use them. Educating your customers can drive sales and conversion as much as a promotion.
5. Offer Discounts and Promotions Judiciously. This isn’t an advertisement. Resist the urge to offer a coupon, promotion, or discount in a newsletter unless there is truly a good reason or a special occasion. Offering too many discounts can not only devalue the message of your newsletter, it can also send mixed messages about the quality of your products and your business.