Newsletters, whether hard copy or ezines, can often be the most effective way to publicize and promote a business, especially small, owner-operated businesses and, in the case of ezines, those with a wide geographical reach. There are a number of reasons why this is so but, for the purpose of this article, I will just sum up the main ones from the point of view of email marketing only.
How to Make a Newsletter That Works
First, you need to come up with some newsletter ideas but don’t be put off by what’s involved. After all, creating newsletters isn’t rocket science! Considering newsletter names might be a good start. Look at a few newsletter examples and then choose a name which embodies the gist of what you want to convey but leaves room for a twist. Try to avoid using a product or company name but do use a name that offers a general idea of what the content of the ezine will be.
When considering how to write a newsletter (if you are going to do the writing, that is) first draw up a list of ezines articles you’d like to see in it if you were the reader. Empathizing with the reader is half the battle if you want to create email newsletters that will be read. Also, try an email newsletter template that keeps you to a set layout for consistency; consistency is so important. Of course, you will need an HTML email template if you are not sticking to plain text, and why not look for some email marketing templates while you are at it?
Marketing Strategy
Regularly produced and well-written newsletters are wonderful platforms for demonstrating expertise (on the part of the owner) in a particular subject. Readers automatically acknowledge the authority of the newsletter owner (it goes without saying that this is assuming she has a degree of expertise to demonstrate!). Secondly, regularity of production establishes credibility that helps overcome the doubt and uncertainty that readers would have if they were dealing with people they don’t know. And thirdly, newsletters can engender loyalty. Reader loyalty can be every bit as potent as the loyalty that members of a club might feel, and it comes from the same source: through them identifying with an entity that offers them something special—something unique to them as a group.
These are really powerful marketing factors. They are so powerful that every small business owner, without exception, should consider a newsletter, either hard copy or online, as part of his or her overall marketing strategy. The benefits vary depending on the type of business concerned but, in general, they center on developing a mutually beneficial and receptive sales environment in the target market, devoid of any pressure. Once the benefits are understood it is simply a matter of balancing them against the costs of production and distribution. In order to determine the costs involved it is necessary to decide which format is to be used and, in the case of email, the costs of production and distribution are negligible.
Electronic Newsletters
The number of electronic newsletters, or ezines, is growing at an incredible rate. Originally, ‘ezines’ referred only to online magazines; publications consisting of a number of articles covering a fairly broad range of topics. These often included illustrations, formatting etc such as those found in the real world—and that they often emulated. Over time, however, the term ‘ezine’ has come to mean virtually any electronically published and distributed periodical, including short, plain-text, relatively focused newsletters. I once preferred to differentiate between them more easily by calling these ‘e-newsletters’ but the accepted jargon now is for them to be called ezines.
Why Ezines Are Popular
It is not hard to work out why publishing ezines has become so popular. For a start, anyone with an Internet connection can produce one. As a result, there are many that, frankly, are not worth the bandwidth they use up. To put it bluntly, these are often written by people with scant knowledge of the mechanics of language (spelling, grammar etc) resulting in text that is barely readable. Also, the novelty of the medium has given rise to an inward-looking culture that tends to feed on itself. There is surely a limit to how many newsletters about Internet marketing even the keenest student of online commerce can digest. Seemingly, however, there is no limit to how many might be produced, including some written by people with little or no practical knowledge of the subject. Many of these, like a lot of other activities online, are the result of some individuals recognizing an opportunity (in terms of numbers, ease of communication etc) and feeling compelled to do something—anything—to cash in on it. This is not a criticism but an observation. More people need to think more carefully about why they want to produce an ezine in the first place. If it is purely a vanity thing the best advice would be not to bother. There are many easier ways to get their name up in lights.
Business Promotion
If the purpose is business promotion, however, then it is always worthwhile, provided it’s done correctly. Assuming that the business is a real-world venture (as opposed to a purely online one) the first consideration should be whether electronic production will get the best results. The format works best for businesses with a (geographically) widely spread target market; and/or with a high proportion of ‘connected’ individuals in their target market (such as computer users).
If these criteria are met then I would recommend going ahead but only after studying how to do it properly. There are many helpful articles and plenty of good advice on the LetterWell blog and more are being added all the time.