Unlike any other marketing vehicle, newsletters give you the opportunity to contact your audience and convey your expertise in a way that offers value and information. Newsletters provide a reason -- and a structure -- to maintain ongoing contact. One of our clients has even said that recipients call if her newsletter is a few days late.
A newsletter can include all kinds of information you might otherwise have to develop multiple vehicles to communicate.
Provide Information :: new phone numbers, address changes, new hires, additional services.
Get feedback :: announce a contest, run a survey, promote a hotline.
Brag :: share recent successes, a case study, announce staff speaking and publishing efforts.
It's very important to provide some non-self-serving information too. Educating your audience about your field can only enhance your image and the value of your relationships.
If gathering all this information on a regular basis seems daunting, it doesn't have to be. There are ways to manage the task and develop a valuable piece in a timely and cost-effective manner.
After managing schedule, size, scope, sending, and style of a newsletter, the last "S" in the list could easily be "Spend." If launching a newsletter still feels time consuming, expensive and beyond your experience consider these ideas for getting a professional look while watching the budget:
Newsletters are a bonus, as articles can be multi-purposed to become a section on your website, a submission to other online and off-line publications, the basis for other marketing tools and the outline for seminars and speaking engagements. That's four potential uses from one effort.
Maximizing your ability
Most professionals are not trained designers, marketers or desk-top-publishers. Think carefully about the cost/benefit ratio here. If you are putting in extra hours struggling with details and the results don't reflect the style and quality of your business.
The most important thing to remember when developing any tool is to think about the why. If you haven't spent the time to develop you message, position, brand and strategy you are on a path with no destination. If you know where you're headed, a newsletter can help make it an easier journey.
About The Author
Beth Brodovsky is the president and principal of Iris Creative Group, LLC. Brodovsky earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communication Design from Pratt Institute, New York. Before launching her own firm in 1996, she spent eight years as a corporate Art Director and Graphic Designer, providing a sound foundation in management and organizational standards and structure. Iris Creative specializes in providing marketing and strategic communication services to clients in service industries and small businesses. For more information contact Beth at bsb@iriscreative.com or 610-567-2799.
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