What's Up With Newsletters?

Business never exists in a vacuum. Volumes line the shelvesof the library on the art and science of communication, but you already knowthese basics, or your business wouldn’t be alive and kicking right now. Whatyou may need is a little inspiration and some new facts & figures, so let’schat!

In this month of love, we’ll focus on how you communicatethat love and end up with the reciprocating friendship of devoted customers.Your business relies on communication and it revolves around sharing yourservices either electronically, verbally, or by written word. This weekremember that email is still your friend. More than 60% of marketers findthat e-newsletters drive their businesses and they are the third most popularform of sharing B2B content.

Here’s the deal: People like your business. While no onelikes to be hounded, keeping up with special offers is a valuable service. Anewsletter is also a great way to win referrals. Your customer has a friend.The friend has a problem. It’s easy to forward your online newsletter, and thatreferral is 10 x more valuable than any unsolicited advertisement.

Internal Newsletters

Your peeps need to know things, but don’t we all groan atthe idea of yet another meeting? And who really pays attention? An emailnewsletter lets your people learn when they are ready. A quick responseverifies compliance. A monthly email fosters employee’s camaraderie within yourbusiness. It keeps everyone on the same page, and ensures your customersreceive a uniform experience no matter who represents your business. Thetakeaway? Internal newsletters are a good thing.

External Newsletters

A killer newsletter is like an invitation into your customer’sliving room. It’s non-intrusive, easily digested, and because you’re a guest,it offers a high ratio of sales conversion. Here are some tips to keep in mind:

• Make it value driven.
• Make your subject lines short, to the point, andtickle your reader’s funny bone.
• Make your words compelling. It needs to be 90%educational, limiting promotions to 10%.
• White space is your new best friend. A clutterednewsletter turns readers off.
• End with a clear call to action.
• Make it easy to unsubscribe. I know. Youwant readers, but everyone needs to be free. Knowing they can unsubscribeactually works in your favor here.

Look at these statistics from CampaignMonitor and get enthusiastic about the process! If you currently have anemail but need to judge its efficacy, look at UberFlip and see if it needs to be tweaked. Whether your communication ishandled internally or outsourced, a regular email is a valuable form ofcommunication.