With the number of Internet users worldwide approaching two billion, electronic newsletters have become a necessity for every type of business. Newsletters can be one of the most effective mediums for keeping in contact with clients and attracting new prospects. If a periodic newsletter is not part of your marketing plan, you may be missing out on a vital marketing strategy. With the newbie in mind, I have summarized 12 reasons why your business needs an email newsletter.

Here comes reason number TWO…

 One of your greatest assets as a business owner is your reputation. We’ve all heard it before, that clients are much more likely to do business with companies that they know, like and trust. We also know from experience that a recommendation or referral can have a huge influence on purchasing decisions. Let’s look at some of the ways that you can use a newsletter to help to establish you as an authority in your industry and to demonstrate your expertise to your audience.

• Include specific information and free resources that you think will be of particular use to them…and tell them so!

• Publish testimonials from satisfied clients. Never underestimate the value of a third-party recommendation. If they are also business owners, include a link so that you can promote them at the same time.

• Be sure to recognize awards or other kinds of achievements that you have earned.

• Add timely announcements specific to your industry in your newsletter. Subscribe to an RSS feed that will help you to keep up with new developments.

• Announce new products and services, but try to offer them more for their educational value rather than as a promotion.

• Include case studies so that your audience can see how you can offer a solution to a problem, or something to fulfil a need.

• Write “expert” articles to use in your own newsletter and offer them free of charge to other associates to use in their newsletters. You can also submit the same articles to other Internet sites that link back to your website. There is nothing like being on the first page of Google results to reinforce your standing as an industry leader.

As you differentiate yourself from your competition in this way, your database of clients and prospects will naturally develop a greater sense of loyalty as well as a desire to spread the news about your company.

With the number of Internet users worldwide approaching two billion, electronic newsletters have become a necessity for every type of business. Newsletters can be one of the most effective mediums for keeping in contact with clients and attracting new prospects. If a periodic newsletter is not part of your marketing plan, you may be missing out on a vital marketing strategy. With the newbie in mind, I have summarized a few of the more important reasons why YOUR business needs an email newsletter. 

Here comes reason number ONE…

An email newsletter is cost-effective, allowing you to communicate frequently with a highly specific audience while saving yourself printing headaches and mailing costs. Other than the time taken to produce the copy and format the newsletter template, plus any costs associated with contact management programs, there are virtually no additional charges involved.

Producing an email newsletter can be even more cost-effective in turn if you delegate it to someone else while you invest your time in running your business. You can also undertake a number of communications that you couldn’t do via direct mail, and there is always the advantage of being able to insert direct links that direct your audience to the information that you need them to see.

Response rates tend to be better with direct mail; however, email marketing gives you the opportunity to reach exponentially more people and attract more prospects.

Here is an example of how it works.

That’s a lot of numbers, but the bottom line shows that the drastically reduced cost of email marketing compared to direct mail translates to increased profits. Even with a very low response rate, the profits can be substantial.

Imagine that, for the same cost of a direct mail campaign to $20,000 people, you could have potentially reached 250,000 via email for the same cost per message and earned 12 times the profits!

Used wisely, your database of prospected email addresses can be a veryt valuable commodity, compared to a simple list of names and mailing addresses.

Stay tuned next week for number TWO…