The primary responsibility and purpose of a newsletter is to retain the attention of this growing group of subscribers and to position your company as the vendor they trust most when it comes to making a purchase.
Much like a branding campaign, this long-term focus can make it tricky to measure the precise return on investment. But many organizations have found it’s more than worth the time and energy it takes to produce it.
High-quality newsletters are the marketing medium of the future. More appealing to a reader than a standalone sales pitch, they give companies and organizations a chance to build a long-term relationship with prospects and customers.
Newsletters and e-Newsletters feel personal because they arrive in your mailbox and inbox; you have an ongoing relationship with them. In contrast Web sites are things you glance at when you need to get something done or find the answers to a specific question.
A lot of newsletters are executed very professionally, everything is done well from a practical point but had the editor thought a little more clearly about the purpose of their newsletter, the potential of their newsletter and how to really think it through and get the greatest value from their newsletter for their company, customers, prospects and everyone else.
A good newsletter is written and published to a regular schedule with every issue including valuable and useful editorial content. The subject of editorial content is central to the power of a newsletter. While promotional email campaigns are developed to drive sales, newsletters should be viewed as a tool to educate, inform and engage your audience over the long term.
The role of the newsletter is to engage your subscribers and hold their attention for years to come.
A newsletter is also a remarkable branding tool. This is not in the visual sense (like a brand logo) or the communication of your positioning statement — but as a way to build strong feelings and positive word of mouth about your company.
A newsletter is about: Giving useful information, giving help, and giving advice.
The return on this investment comes when a subscriber needs to make a purchase. He or she will have several vendors to choose from. And if he or she has been reading your newsletter for months or even years, then you have an advantage.
Satisfied newsletter subscribers are more likely to choose your company, simply because you have held their attention and built confidence and trust in your products or services. You become the obvious or even the only choice.
Once you have built a list of thousands or tens of thousands of subscribers, you will have created a remarkable asset. That is to say, you will have tens of thousands of highly qualified prospects who trust you, listen to you and are willing to follow your advice and recommendations.
Make your newsletter interactive. When you interact with your readers, you have a huge impact on their loyalty and the amount of attention they give your publication. There are a number of ways you can introduce interactive elements to your newsletter. Include surveys in each issue. Not everyone will participate, but many will. And be sure to share the results in your next issue. People will look forward to reading about the results. Over time you will find the survey results will teach you a great deal about your readers and their core interests. It is a good way to get feedback and to steer your publication forward in a direction that is of interest to your most engaged readers.
Invite readers to ask questions. The “ask the expert” feature is one used successfully in many newsletters. Invite people to send in their questions, but also make it clear you can answer only one or two questions per issue. People will understand that. One thing you can be sure about: Everyone who sends in a question will open and read the next issue. Also, every one of your subscribers will appreciate that you have taken the time to answer the question and that you are really there — a living, breathing human being.
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