1. COMMIT TO CREATING YOUR NEWSLETTER
A Web site without a newsletter is like a car without a
motor. It may look nice, but you're not going to get
very far.
In order to market your business effectively you need a
system to attract prospects and then you need a system
to follow up with those prospects repeatedly to convert
them into customers. An electronic newsletter is an
inexpensive and very effective way to do that.
2. TARGET A SPECIFIC GROUP OF PROSPECTS
You can't be all things to all people. Select a specific
group of prospects to write your newsletter to. When
reading your newsletter, your prospects should say,
'They're talking about me and my concerns!'
3. DON'T SPAM PEOPLE WHO DON'T WANT YOUR NEWSLETTER
Your subscribers should voluntarily opt-in to receive
your newsletter. Describe the benefits of your
newsletter, and provide a simple way for people to
subscribe to it.
Don't just add people to your list without their
permission or send it out to people who didn't ask for
it. That's called spam, and you'll be building a bad
reputation if you resort to it.
4. GIVE YOUR SUBSCRIBERS AN EASY WAY TO UNSUBSCRIBE
When people don't wish to receive your newsletter any
longer, they should have an easy way to unsubscribe.
Provide the information your subscribers need to
unsubscribe, if they want to, right in your newsletter.
5. FOCUS ON A SPECIFIC THEME
Your newsletter should be centered around a theme that
relates to your products or services and is of high
interest to your prospects and customers.
Our theme for this Give to Get Marketing newsletter is
focused around tips to help you market your business
more effectively. That ties in perfectly with what you
want, and it ties in perfectly with the marketing
products we offer.
Maria's theme for her Get Organized Now! newsletter is
focused around tips to help you get organized. Her
products are organizing products a perfect match.
Someone who sells cosmetics would create a newsletter
theme that focuses on beauty and fashion tips.
Get the idea? What would your theme be?
6. 80% HELPFUL CONTENT, 20% PROMOTION
No one wants to receive and read a newsletter filled
only with product promotions and they won't.
We teach the Give to Get Marketing philosophy Give
your prospects and customers what they want, and you'll
get what you want.
Fill your newsletter with helpful information that your
prospects and customers would actually want to read,
maybe even look forward to receiving
Of course, you also want to include information about
your products and services, so be sure to provide one or
two offers in each issue of your newsletter.
80% content, 20% promotion is a good mix.
7. DELIVER IT ON A REGULAR SCHEDULE
You can deliver your newsletter once a month, twice a
month, or once a week.
The more frequently you can send out your newsletter to
your prospect/customer list, the more effective it will
be. You'll have to decide how often you want to commit
to this marketing effort. The important thing is to be
consistent.
8. ASK YOUR READERS FOR FEEDBACK
Your newsletter should be written for your subscribers
to address their interests not yours.
To determine if you're delivering what your subscribers
want, ask them. Let them know that you want their
feedback and suggestions on how you can improve your
newsletter to make it a more valuable resource for them.
9. DIRECT YOUR READERS BACK TO YOUR WEB SITE
The point of all your effort of creating and sending out
your newsletter, is to follow up with your prospects and
customers to gain their trust and their business. Give
to Get.
If your product or service information is on your Web
site, then you must direct your subscribers to your Web
site in each issue.
You can do that by directing them to an article on your
Web site that they may find appealing, or you can guide
them directly to your product information pages.
The last thing you want to do, is just send out a
newsletter filled with terrific content, and then fail
to get the kind of action you need to grow your
business.
About the Author
Joe Gracia - Give to Get Marketing
http://www.givetogetmarketing.com