Here in the northeast, spring is finally in the air.  What a beautiful day.  I was guest expert on a teleseminar today, for a friend’s marketing company.  She asked me if I would mind sharing three secrets I have learned about producing great newsletters.  I must have answered this question hundreds of times before, but somehow, looking out my office window at the beautiful day, I zoned for what seemed like an eternity!  It was probably only a few seconds until I brought myself back to the task at hand, and this is what I told the listeners: 

1. Tell your customers what else you do!  Many customers initially engage with a business (and perhaps do repeat business) knowing about only one item or service and unaware of the other products or services offered.  How many times have you heard a client say, “I didn’t know you did that”?
2. Tell them what’s new.  Most companies regularly introduce new products and services, and a newsletter is a great way to get the word out to the people who already trust you and find value in what you sell.
3. It’s not about you.  Your newsletter must be interesting to its readers.  Inform them, educate them, and entertain them!

This is going to have to be a short one, time to go outside for some fresh air!

I thought I would share with you how I became so convinced that a newsletter is an awesome marketing tool.  Back in 1980, I was managing a bicycle store.  In those days, bicycle clothing was not very popular.  In fact, if you had seen someone wearing the tight black shorts, you would probably have thought that he or she was a professional racer.  But being a cyclist myself and knowing the benefits of the clothing, I wanted to find a way to communicate those benefits on a large scale.  So guess what?  I wrote my first newsletter about the benefits of bicycle clothing!  

In addition to our customers, I also mailed the newsletter to the mailing lists of all the bicycle clubs near our store.  Our sales skyrocketed, and three years later, we sold more than $100,000 worth of clothing—a huge amount, even in today’s dollars.  Needless to say, I was sold on the power of newsletters as effective marketing tools.  

Several years later, I was working for a national franchise.  I was still known as the newsletter guy and had the responsibility of putting out the company’s monthly newsletter.  Now check this out:  Whenever we had a prospect contact our company with interest in a franchise, I immediately put them on our mailing list.  There were two franchise prospects that showed initial interest but went cold.  However, they resurfaced about nine months later and ultimately bought franchises.  We later learned that every month, these folks had been reading about our company’s growth and success, and finally they decided to be part of it! 

The BIG lesson is this:  Whether you sell a $20 pair of bike shorts or a $150,000 franchise, newsletters can play an important role!

A brief word about my companies. With Dynamic Communication, I work one-on-one with a limited number of clients to produce their organizations’ newsletters.  I provide everything from content, copyediting, and proofreading, to designing, printing, mailing lists, and distribution.  As my business grew—and not wanting to hire employees—I realized that the number of clients I could work with was limited, so I spent a year developing No Hassle Newsletters.  Using my proprietary web-based ordering system, customers nationwide now order, personalize, customize, and mail high-quality newsletters at a very low cost.  You can check this out at www.nohasslenewsletters.com.Over the years, I’ve learned many secrets of what makes a great newsletter, how to start and grow a business, and how to have fun doing it!  I am a big believer in sharing with and helping others, and I thought that a blog would be the perfect place to share what I’ve learned.  I hope you enjoy it and visit often. Speaking of fun, I predict that this blog will not only be informative, it will also be fun to read.  You see, I think humor is a very important part of life.  So, for the most part, while I share some of what I’ve learned about newsletters and business, I plan to do so in a humorous way. So let me close this first posting with one of the biggest secrets about a company newsletter: It’s not about you!  I call this a secret because apparently not many companies know about it.  Too many companies use their newsletter as a vehicle for self-congratulatory articles about how great they are, how much profit they’re making, their latest industry awards, and include perhaps one of the least-read columns of all, the message from the president or chairperson  I’ve seen many companies try to disguise this by calling it “The Corner Office” or, here’s one of my favorites, “View from the Top.”  Whatever it’s called—take my word for it—few customers will read it and most will not find any value in it.  When you write newsletters for your customers, I urge you to continually put yourself in their shoes and ask, “What’s in it for me?” 

Looking ahead… In one of my next postings, I will share with you how I got hooked on the power of newsletters as awesome marketing tools, by proving that a newsletter can sell not only  $20 bike shorts, but also $150,000 franchises!  So that you don’t miss a single posting, subscribe to this blog and I’ll e-mail you each new post.  Also, in the near future, I will begin sharing my very private resource toolbox: a list of companies and resources that have helped me build my companies.  Thanks for visiting, and see you soon!