|
Advertisment |
How To: Use Your Newsletter to Build Business
by Carey Peters, Ladies Who Launch member, Los Angeles
Newsletters, sometimes called e-zines, are a necessary and effective business
opportunity no entrepreneur can afford to pass up. Depending on your proclivity
for writing, newsletters can either be a royal pan in the butt or a whole lot of
fun. If you’d rather chew glass than write a newsletter, you may want to
consider outsourcing it to a writer who can do it for you. But if the idea of
writing a newsletter makes you as giddy as if you were getting a fresh
mani/pedi, then these five newsletter tips will help you get started building
business with current and potential clients.
1. Personalize
- Build connections by telling your story, sharing your picture and letting your
readers know who you are. People buy from people they know and trust.
- Give real-life stories of problems you have solved for clients.
- Recommend your favorite products and resources. Link them to your Web site,
where readers can purchase them.
2. Engage
- Ask for your readers’ stories, questions, and opinions, and feature a reader
response in every newsletter.
- Offer a reward or prize for the reader whose response is chosen.
- Ask a trivia question pertaining to your industry. The first correct response
receives a prize.
3. Target
- Point out your expertise by targeting the top three areas that you want readers
to come to you for, and develop content for those areas.
- Use “Top Five” or “Top 10″ lists to keep your newsletter concise and fun to
read. Put your best tip at the top to keep readers’ attention.
4. Offer
- Describe your latest product or event.
- Offer a special discount for the first 10 readers to respond.
- Offer a referral bonus.
- Use testimonials to illustrate the benefits of your product or event.
5. List
- Keep a notebook handy to jot down questions from readers. Note when you get
repeat questions, and answer them in your newsletter. If you keep hearing the
same six questions, you have six months of topics ready to go.
- Jot down any ideas you get from articles about industry trends, conferences,
workshops, magazines, other newsletters, TV shows, shopping, or your latest
girls’ lunch out. Novel, exciting ideas for newsletter content can come from
anywhere. Carey Peters is a member of the Los Angeles Incubator, a certified
holistic nutritionist, and the founder of
www.CoachToolsToGo.com , a resource
site for health and wellness coaches and their clients.
Newsletters do a bang-up job building buzz. Join the PR and Marketing with
AvantGarde.com group for tips!