Publishing an Email Newsletter

You’re running a small business single-handedly, rushing here there and everywhere, answering phones, meeting clients, sorting out paperwork.  And somehow you have to find time to fit the actual work in too… So the last thing you want to be doing is writing a newsletter to send out to your customers. Or is it…

First let’s consider the traditional printed newsletter.  It serves several functions – it keeps customers up to date with developments in your industry, it keeps them up to date with developments within your company, and it keeps your company in the forefront of the recipients’ minds.   Of the three, it’s perhaps the last one that makes the most impact.  Here’s why – and this might seem odd at first glance.  How many times have you received some printed ‘newsy’ material only to throw it in the bin moments later? 

Even if you don’t actually read the contents, you will have at least registered who it came from.  And it’s not really a nuisance unless you specifically asked NOT to receive it. 

In other words, by sending your audience a nicely written, information-packed, newsletter on a regular basis you ensure your company is the first one they think of when they have a need for the product or service you offer.  Now let’s translate that into web terms…

Distributing your newsletter over the web, ie, by email,  gives you a number of advantages.  Firstly – cost.  Imagine how much it would cost you to print a thousand double-sided full colour sheets.  Now add the cost of postage, then add the cost of your time to batch them all up and send them out.  You can do all of this online for just a few pence – AND it will take you hardly any time.

Sending out a regular newsletter to your database of subscribers – all willing to receive your communication – helps to drive traffic to your website and of course helps boost your sales and profits.  What’s more, it’s a marketing strategy that costs very little and doesn’t need a huge time investment to implement. 

Your newsletter serves to inform your customers and prospects about your company’s products and services.  You keep people updated about what's going on within your industry and within with your company – and you can also let people know about your latest promotions and special offers. Best of all, you remind your subscribers that you’re out there ready to do business with them!