We had a client recently asking us if it was worth the time and effort to arrange for a newsletter that was worthwhile.  The short answer is, yes it is almost beneficial if you have a mailing list (see our other blog on acquiring a mailing list!).  Your newsletter isn’t going to be a game-changer, but it is going to be one of those easier, more organic ways of “getting in front of” people.  So, an e-newsletter…what’s that all about?

Basically, I believe the big three for e-newsletter services are Constant Contact, Mail Chimp, and iContact.  Since they’re all pretty solid, I would recommend trying them all for free if you plan on putting in some effort into your newsletter campaigns.  It should be easy to move your mailing list around if it is in excel or something comparable, and each one has templates that are easy to customize to your liking.  If you have HTML, you’ll be able to move that around easily as well.  If you don’t want to mess around with all of them and just want to ask “Ryan, which one do you like the most?”, I’ll just outright say Mail Chimp.

So once you have your mailing list in, if you don’t have a newsletter template formed in HTML yet, use a template that is available – everything will be as user-friendly as possible implementing both drag & drop functionality and a “what you see is what you get” format (for the most part…though these email marketing websites do the best they can, some emails can turn out wonky on some email platforms and some browsers, so make sure you always test multiple times before you do your official send out.

So what are some topics you can talk about?

  • Talk about trending news in your industry.
  • Showcase some of the work and specials you have.  If you are a hair stylist, showcase a great haircut you got excellent feedback for (that means remembering to ask for pictures!) If you’re a restaurant, show off one of your specials so more customers can rave about it.
  • Talk about what’s going on in the office.  New employees, new babies, promotions, or birthdays.
  • Maybe a challenging game of crossword or word search?
  • Ask people to check you out on your social platforms.
  • Do a fun and educational list, like “Top 5 Ways You Could be Saving Money on ____”, or “6 Things You Didn’t Know About ____” – whatever relates to your business.
  • Flaunt some of your most recent accolades, like being featured in a local paper or receiving an award.

Just remember to make the newsletter completely me, me, me.  Give your readers something to think about, and something to remember you by.

Falling a little flat with your current newsletter? Maybe it needs a fresh look and some solid new ideas.  Contact the newsletter marketing experts at Market My Market today for a free consultation!