Each week, dozens of MSP, IT services, and marketing e-newsletters hit my inbox, but only a handful of them capture my attention and generate a click-through. There’s a clear pattern to the ones that jump out and inspire action. Here are a few quick suggestions to make your newsletters valuable to your customers and prospects – and motivate them to act.
1. Get to the Point
It’s amazing to me how many newsletters waste the most critical first-screen view with this redundant introduction: “Welcome to our newsletter.” Hopefully your readers have opted in to your newsletter because they want something of value from you. Dispense with the chit chat and deliver that valuable something right off the bat. One good idea delivered – and read! – is far more valuable than a laundry list of platitudes skimmed and deleted.
2. Skip the News
Just because it’s called a “newsletter” doesn’t mean your customers are interested in updates of all that’s happening at your office. Stand in your customer’s shoes and ask yourself: “What’s in it for me?” When you do this, you’ll find that you need to stop talking about you and start talking about what your customer cares about – their business. The occasional important news item such as an expansion, receiving an award, and press coverage is worth noting, but rather than featuring them as the core of your newsletter, list such items as short briefs with links to your website’s news area.
3. You Don’t Have to be Original
This is not to say you should plagiarize, but one big value you can offer your clients is to track trends and other industry information that’s important to them. Your customers are busy, and they’ll appreciate fact that you can find, summarize, and present valuable information that they don’t have time to find themselves. But take the extra step and add your two cents’ worth. It could be a tremendous value for you to summarize an article or two with your own actionable conclusions for your clients, and include links to the full articles. Most will read your summary only – and be thankful for the brief, but useful, information.
Next Steps to Better Newsletter Content
- Tell your readers something that’s good for them – not good for you.
- Your customers are just as busy as you are. Respect their time and get to the point.
- Stick to one main idea. Your news can be a short link to your website.
- Keep a tickler file of ideas and links. Then when it’s time to write your newsletter, you’ll have a ready source of good ideas.
- Distribute your newsletter on a regular schedule – short, consistently delivered messages are better than long and erratic ones. Being consistent is a good statement about your business standards.