Benefits of
Email Marketing
The 4 Secrets to an Effective E-Newsletter
by Michael Katz, Blue Penguin Development, Inc.
Around 65 percent of marketers say they plan to increase their use
of email newsletters." Source: Intermarket Group
It's no secret that offering value to your customers in the form
of useful information is one of the best ways to initiate, develop
and solidify relationships. But, how do you continue, issue after
issue, to make your newsletter stand out in the crowd and keep your
readers reading? Our friend and newsletter expert, Michael Katz,
tells us how.
by Michael Katz,
Blue
Penguin Development, Inc.
What I'm about to tell you is so valuable, that I frankly
wouldn't blame you if after reading it, you felt compelled to
take $5.00 out of your wallet, stuff it in an envelope and send
it directly to me.
Here's why: What I'm going to share with you
now are the four guidelines which we use to make sure that all
the newsletters we're involved in stay on track. Here they are:
- Make it Useful. With a business to
business newsletter in particular, it's difficult to get any
traction with readers if you don't give them some kind of
actionable "aha" with every issue you send. They are
barraged with emails, and eager to click the delete button
as often as possible.
Your goal therefore, is to give them
pause. To make them live in fear that if they delete your
newsletter, they will miss some insight that would have made
a significant impact on their success. Useful
information rises to the top of the pile, and when your
newsletter is on top, you need not worry about how big the
pile is.
- Make it Interesting. I don't know who
started the rumor that significant and profitable businesses
must also be serious and boring, but it seems to have caught
on nonetheless. That's good news for you and me. Because
with all the dry as dust E-Newsletters out there, all trying
to sound like the front page of the Wall Street Journal, we
can make our newsletters shine with little effort.
Personal anecdotes, conversational language and the
occasional joke here and there will keep your readers
involved long enough for them to hear the "real" information
you're trying to give them. They probably won't
read it just because it's interesting, but they certainly
won't read it if it's not.
- Make it Simple. An effective newsletter
isn't a doctoral thesis; it's not even a case study. It's
what I like to call, "a nugget." One insight or tip or
concept that your readers can take in, understand, and
hopefully remember long enough to put into practice. If you
give me too much information (even if it's good), I'm likely
to stockpile your newsletters until I delete them in one,
"I'll never get around to reading these old ones anyway"
frenzy. Give your readers something small enough
to understand and remember.
- Make it Authentic. Done right, your
E-Newsletter is the voice of your company. It reflects your
unique personality and culture, whatever that happens to be.
I've walked into enough companies to know that each of them
- even the ones in seemingly straight laced, hard to
differentiate industries - has its own language, pace, sense
of humor and approach. Don't hide all that in an effort to
sound "professional." Marketing is the opposite
of fitting in - do yourself a favor and fit out!
That's it for this issue. I hope you found it useful,
interesting, simple and authentic. I'll be waiting by my mailbox.
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