What's in the marketing toolbox for your small business? Are you all over social media, including LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter? Check. Do you have a website? Check. You have a qualified source for new leads? Check. Okay, how about a newsletter? "A what?" you say. Yes, yes. A newsletter!
Why have a newsletter? As a complement to your other marketing tools, a newsletter can be a source of helpful information for your readers, clients, and subscribers. If it is developed in a professional style and written well, your followers will find it useful, and it will truly provide value for them. What's more, it can bring new clients to your business.
Let me tell you about Darla.
A few months ago, I got a call from Darla. She said, "I don't know where I met you or how I started getting your newsletter, but my company is looking for an administrative assistant. Your company is the one we want to work with. How can we get started?"
It turns out that I met Darla at a networking event a year prior; we had talked, and I put her contact information into our mailing list and sent her our monthly newsletter.
She read it for a year, and then suddenly had a need to find an administrative assistant. Now she is a client. Boom.
If that scenario for earning a new client appeals to you, you'll want to get started right away. At first, you may wonder what goes into creating an unforgettable newsletter.
There's a lot that goes into the creation of a great newsletter. Much of the work can be automated once it is all set up initially. But, it is important for all of the steps to be done in the right order, and you'll need to have the right tools.
Begin by determining content that is useful and relevant for your readers. You, or an assistant, will write and curate your articles. You need a user-friendly software program for publishing with which you will enjoy working. Next, you'll format your articles for paper and/or electronic publishing. Typically, your newsletter will include your company logo, an article or two, some photos related to your current topics, and contact information.
If you are printing your newsletter for snail-mailing, you will want to select a fine paper and set up a mail merge to have addresses automatically printed on the newsletter from your client spreadsheet. Then, print, fold, seal, and affix with a stamp; they are ready to be mailed out. If you determine the laws and regulations for sending out bulk emails, you can save a good deal on postage.
For electronic publishing, you will need to create and maintain an email list of your potential and current clients. When you are ready, your newsletter can go out in an email blast to your entire list. Your newsletter, or an excerpt of it, can also be posted on all of your social media. From there, you'll be able to track the statistics for effectiveness with your readers.
A newsletter might just be your next source of clients for your business.
Ready to get started? Shared Hands can help.
I have created a step-by-step guide of best practices that helps clients get started with creating their own newsletter. Enter your contact information here, and we'll send you the guide.