Publishing an e-newsletter is an excellent way to attract sales leads, enhance one’s brand, educate and inform people, maintain contact with clients, announce special events and assume the role of a problem-solver/expert in one’s field. All for a fraction of the cost of traditional direct mail. However, if not prepared and distributed with care, an e-newsletter can hurt one’s image in the marketplace and create other serious problems.
Know Thyself – and Thy Readers
To decide if publishing an e-newsletter is right for you, answer the following questions:
- Are you willing to invest a great deal of your time, effort and perhaps money?
- Are you passionate and knowledgeable about a subject?
- Can you supply meaningful content that will hold readers’ interest for years to come?
- Are you a disciplined person?
If the answer to any is “no,” or if one’s motive is self-expression, consider a different outlet. People read newsletters for only one reason: to learn useful things and/or to solve problems. If an E-newsletter isn’t totally focused on answering the readers’ needs, it won’t succeed.
Starting Out
Vickie Sullivan, president of Sullivan Speaker Services, Inc. (and a TPS client), has been publishing newsletters for twenty-two years (E-newsletters for the past twelve). She is nationally recognized as a top market strategist for experts on the professional speaking circuit. Sullivan uses her E-newsletters to distinguish herself from the competition, and offers this advice to anyone considering launching one:
- Content is key. Sullivan believes so strongly in the importance of market intelligence that she gives it away for free in “Tips & Trends” and “The Sullivan Report,” her two newsletters. “No fluff!” says Sullivan. “No ‘Here’s what’s going on with me.’ Truthfully, readers don’t care that you’re a new grandma! They want something that will help them.”
- Keep it short. The writing must be brief and thought-provoking. It’s not easy. “Be prepared to kill off brain cells as you pare down the writing,” says Sullivan. “Seriously! Brain cells will be harmed!”
- Be consistent. Establish a publishing schedule and adhere to it. “If you start this, you have to keep at it,” says Sullivan. “I am committed! I could be dead in a ditch, but my newsletters keep going out!”
- Stick to a simple formula. People are more likely to read a newsletter with a consistent graphic appearance, writing style and framework for presenting information. Sullivan’s “Tips & Trends” is comprised of four “nuggets” of market information, each leading off with a news item or statistic, followed by Sullivan’s analysis and a recommended “next step” for the reader – all in five sentences or less.
- Email etiquette is essential. Common sense dictates much of this. The most common faux pas: repeat distribution of unsolicited e-newsletters, which can result in being blacklisted by anti-spam watchdogs.
- Inject some personality. Adopt a writing style that conveys enthusiasm, passion and a sense of who you are. A little humor helps, too – but only if it’s genuine and comes naturally.
- Be a resource person. Always credit information sources and tell readers how and where to find out more.
- Integrate the newsletter with one’s website and other marketing tools. A solid e-newsletter linked with a robust website will increase traffic to both. Be sure to put a ‘To Subscribe/Unsubscribe” newsletter link on every page of one’s website.
- Collect data and experiment. Employ the services of a list server to distribute one’s e-newsletter – the best ones can provide a wealth of valuable data regarding how many newsletters reached their destination, were bounced, opened, read, forwarded and much more.
For examples of a well done newsletter, please visit Vickie Sullivan’s website.
Marketing Tips
One of the big advantages of editorial coverage over traditional advertising is its long shelf-life. Here are a few suggestions for extending and increasing the value of published articles:
- Display framed, laminated or poster-sized copies in one’s lobby, reception and public areas
- Provide sales and marketing staff with glossy, professionally duplicated reprints that can be used at trade shows, in presentations or as leave-behinds
- Make reprints of articles available from the company website
Most publishers are very happy to grant reprint rights, but be sure to check with each one before doing so.
Business Resources
To find out more about list servers:
Recommended Reading: Best-Sellers
According to Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based bookseller 800-CEO-Read, the ten business books most likely to be found on the desks and nightstands of corporate leaders in the U.S. today are:
- The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, From Edison to Google by Nicholas Carr
- How: Why How We Do Anything Means Everything…in Business (and in Life), by Dov L. Seidman
- Release Your Brilliance: The 4 Steps to Transforming Your Life and Revealing Your Genius to the World, by Simon T. Bailey
- Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value and Build Competitive Advantage, by Daniel Esty, Andrew Winston
- We Are Smarter Than Me: How to Unleash the Power of Crowds in Your Business, by Barry Libert, Jon Spector
- Meatball Sundae: Is Your Marketing Out of Sync?, by Seth Godin
- A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future, by Daniel Pink
- Rules to Break and Laws to Follow : How Your Customers Will Help You Beat the Crisis of Short-termism, by Don Peppers and Martha Rogers, Ph.D.
- Becoming a Resonant Leader: Develop Your Emotional Intelligence, Renew Your Relationships, Sustain Your Effectiveness, by Annie McKee, Richard Boyatzis and Fran Johnston
- Corporate Reputation: 12 Steps to Safeguarding and Recovering Reputation, by Leslie Gaines-Ross
Quarterly Quote
“Long-range planning does not deal with future decisions, but with the future of present decisions.”
–Peter F. Drucker (1909-2005)