An e-mail newsletter is a powerful communications tool to engage your audience on the topics that are most important to them. If you haven't published a newsletter before, let 2010 be the year that you start.
Here are some types of content that reluctant writers can create easily:
- Customer success stories and testimonials. Nothing says "Buy my products" or "Engage my services" like a ringing endorsement from a satisfied customer. Invite current or former customers to e-mail you their success stories. Publish the best ones in your newsletter.
- Q&A with colleagues, authors and other industry experts. What are the current hot topics in your field? What questions are on your clients' and customers' minds? Get some answers to share with readers by interviewing business colleagues, book authors and other industry experts.
- Existing material from your website and other sources. You can become an aggregator of useful information for your readers. Comb through blogs, newsletters, articles and websites. Link back to their website as thanks.
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Tips!
It's easier to put out a regular newsletter if you have some idea of what you want to feature from month to month. Here are five tips to get you started:
1. Map your newsletter calendar against the yearly calendar - note holidays, change of seasons, lifestyle events and any other times that impact your sales cycles. Plan stories that sync up with your industry calendar.
2. Survey your audience regularly to find out what they'd like to read about. You can plan content in advance and still respond to fresh ideas and customer feedback.
3. Keep a tickler file of article ideas, people to interview and other content that might interest your readers. Get permission to feature other authors' content in advance; that way, when you're in a pinch, you'll have a file of good material ready to go.
4. Archive your newsletter articles from your e-mail campaigns on your website. You'll build an enduring body of work that demonstrates your expertise. Search engines will find those pages, too.
5. A picture helps tell the story! Use photos and illustrations to make your newsletter more visually compelling. Think about artwork to accompany your articles as soon as you plan your editorial calendar.
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