Category: enews

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How to Create a Great Newsletter for Business

Newsletters don’t merely inform — they’re also effective tools to connect with readers to subtly sell them on a product, a service, or a cause.

To create a great newsletter for business, it helps to know the content to feature in every issue and its length. Consistency is important to build trust and so that readers know where to look for the information they need and want.

Your content should be easy to create to save everyone’s time and be easy to read. Here’s how to create a great newsletter for business.

E-newsletters and e-blasts

An ideal length is 600 words. It’s enough for snippets on one or more topics — the fewer, the better, to keep readers focused, per newsletter studies.

Eblasts are good for short news items and are generally 500 or fewer words. They can feature one or two items with copy that links to more information at a website.

Either way, it’s best to link as much as possible to shorten the copy and make it easier to scan; links help emphasize the text, too.

No matter the content, include the date or the month and year, links to your social media sites and email address, your mailing address, with links to forward the newsletter and to unsubscribe, according to the CAN-SPAM Act (U.S.).

Your most important, eye-catching copy should be at the top to entice people to read more. An engaging subject line can also influence opens.

Essentially, the less said, the better, done in an intriguing style that doesn’t reveal everything all of the time.

Like blog posts, you can include “calls to action” to get leads.

Print Newsletters

These tend to work best at one to four pages long — roughly 2,000 or fewer words, depending on how you format the text. Anything longer than six pages creeps more toward magazine territory, which is fine, if you truly need all of that copy (and design).

For more than a few pages of text, breaking it into columns makes for easier reading. Graphics and photos work well to enhance the text, too. A logo at the top, with a masthead that shows the issue date and how to contact staff, looks professional.

For more advice, read five elements of effective e-newsletters for business.

Need help learning how to create a great newsletter for business? Want some thoughts on yours? Get a free e-news audit today!

What do you think about newsletters?

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How a Newsletter Can Boost Your Business

Imagine a marketing method that can multiply your business income with little effort. It may help you:

  • Stand apart from your competitors
  • Enhance your reputation
  • Build trust to keep your current clients and attract new ones

Most importantly, it’s affordable, can provide a repeat income, and you don’t need to take time away from serving your customers to create it.

This magic money-making machine is an e-newsletter.

In this digital age of short attention spans, it can be hard to stand out effectively and make money. An e-newsletter can solve those problems and become a valuable marketing tool.

How a good newsletter can boost your income

Repeat advertising = sales – Studies show that the average consumer must be exposed to a product several times before they decide to buy it. A newsletter keeps your business in your customers’ minds, helping you stay in touch with them and reach new ones. A Nielsen Norman Group study of online newsletter subscribers found that e-newsletters form a greater bond between customers and a business than a website (NNG, Email Newsletter Usability, 2011). Building a relationship with your customers is crucial for boosting your sales over time.

Newsletters can also increase referrals.

A New York Sales and Marketing Club study showed that 71 percent of your customers base their initial buying decision on how much they like, trust, and respect you.

Customers who feel a connection with you are more likely to forward copies of your newsletter to others. Linking to your website from your newsletter can boost your traffic; you may also easily link to a blog or social media.

MarketSherpa’s 2010 Email Marketing Summit revealed how social media and email can be a powerful marketing combo:

  • 75 percent of daily social media users said email is the best way for companies to communicate with them, compared to 65 percent of all email users
  • 49 percent of Twitter users said they made an online purchase because of an email, compared to 33 percent of all email users

Offering printed copies of your newsletter in a waiting room and for networking at events can also spark readers’ interest in subscribing. This works better than a business card, flyer, or brochure to market your business more memorably; people are more likely to hang onto something they see as useful (instead of advertising) and show it to others.

A newsletter is cheap, competitive advertising.

Once you have it set up on an email marketing platform, an e-newsletter is a free or low-cost way to stay ahead of your competitors. And if they lack a good one, your business can stand out more.

Also, if you show your personality, your clients will see you not just as a business owner, but as a friend. Combined with your advice, readers will consider you an expert, giving you and your business credibility, boosting your image, and building trust and sales.

Lack time or the skills? Explore how a quality custom e-newsletter can help you boost your business and gain the right leads.

What do you think about newsletters?