Email Newsletters - Writing Tips
How do I write an email newsletter?
Either you write it yourself or you pay a writer to do it for you. If you keep them short (which you should!) then a professional writer can do the job at an affordable cost. You need to have some idea of your customers and what they would find interesting so that you can brief the writer. Subscribe to some online newsletters and see what other people are putting in them.
What should I put in my newsletter?
Anything you think your readers and customers might find of interest. It doesn't have to be business related either. Keep the content fresh and make it useful. Some ideas to get you started:
- Anything useful, new or interesting about your business.
- A short statment on your services or products (usually at the end of the newsletter)
- Interesting statistics, pehaps about your website.
- Useful or unusual internet links
- Links from your sponsors (if you have them). Try to use sponsors whose services might also be of interest to your email list.
- Summaries of relevant news stories
- Jokes (but keep them tasteful!)
- Always include CLEAR contact details.
Try to avoid use your newsletter to 'hard sell' your business to your readers. You should view its primary function as a "customer service" and not as a sales vehicle. If you bore or sell to your mail list you will see your statistics for the number of emails that are actually "opened" plummet.
Ask your subscribers for Articles
You can ask your subscribers to contribute to your newsletter. This could be in the form of competitions, suggestions for articles or actual contributions for inclusion. Some of your readers may appreciate the chance to get involved. ALWAYS give them a "credit" in the form of an email link or a link to thier website.
