I’ve been writing and designing newsletters for nearly 30 years. While most of my articles focus on what you ‘should do’ to make your newsletter more effective, in this article I want to focus on a few of the things that you should avoid as you produce a customer newsletter for your business.

Here are Four Critical Mistakes You MUST Avoid! 

1. Not providing contact information — It’s hard to believe, but I have seen this too many times! If you’re going to take the time to create a great marketing tool such as a customer newsletter, don’t forget to tell your readers how to contact you! In fact, I suggest that you have multiple ways for customers and prospects to contact you such as, phone, fax, Web site, email, and some of the social marketing forums.
   
   
2. Forgetting it’s not about you — There is always a big temptation when you start writing your newsletter to write about what is in ‘your mind’ or what’s important in ‘your world’. WRONG! If your customers are going to read and enjoy your newsletter, and therefore look forward to it and read it again and again, it must contain information and content that is important to them. Always strive to make your newsletter fun, informative, and entertaining. Remember, the kiss of death for any newsletter is being boring.
   
   
3. Not enough pictures — One of the quickest ways to get your newsletter NOT READ is to load it up with tons of text and no pictures. I often joke with my clients about what I call ‘The Newsletter Guru’s Patented Rule of Readability’. Here it is: if your customers and prospects can look at your newsletter and quickly determine that it can be read in ten minutes or less, chances are it will probably get read. Otherwise it won’t. It will likely go into the pile of things to be read in the future, but probably never will.
   
   
4. Lack of distinctive personality — As I mentioned, the worst mistake you can make with your newsletter is being boring! People get enough boring marketing messages thrown at them every day. Give your newsletter some personality. Make your readers feel a part of something fun and unique. Trust me on this; your readers will look forward to every newsletter if they learn something, are entertained, and crack a smile! If you are looking for the ultimate resource of fun, entertaining, and informative content, check out my Success Advantage 2.0 ‘Done-for-You’ newsletter program. It is incredibly quick and easy – if you can “cut and paste” you will love it!

If you’d like to learn more Mistakes That You MUST Avoid (as well as a ton of things you SHOULD DO), then get a copy of my new book, The Magic of Newsletter Marketing – the Secret to More Profits and Customers for Life at www.TheNewsletterGuru.com.

A common mistake that many newsletter writers make is the failure to be consistent. If you aren’t consistent with your newsletter, it doesn’t matter what content it contains. It becomes junk mail—just another pest—that your customers receive every once in a while.

Consider it in these terms. Magazines and other publications arrive monthly on schedule. Junk mail in all of its various forms arrives sporadically. In what category do you want your newsletter to be perceived?

            I strongly recommend monthly newsletters because when they are produced monthly on a regular schedule, they have a higher perceived value. They build a stronger bond and brand with your customers, and your customers begin to look forward to them. If you publish less often, you lose that important top-of-mind position. If you publish more often, there will be customers who think you’re bombarding them with marketing messages.

It’s also vital that you publish your newsletter every month. That way you develop habits and get into the rhythm of production. You and your contributors will know when copy and pictures should be done, so you’ll all be on the lookout for good information and pictures. You’ll know when the newsletter will be mailed. Your salespeople will know when the next issue will be available.

That will also set up expectations for your customers. Your customers will get used to hearing from you at the same time every month. They’ll look forward to the fun, interesting, and readable content of your newsletter.

You’ll find that the regular schedule will aid your other marketing efforts too. If you’ve got a special sales promotion planned, for example, you can alert people in the newsletter for two months prior. Then, when it’s promotion time, your promotional efforts will have the way paved for them by your newsletter articles. Your salespeople can hand out newsletters as promotion flyers.

Send your newsletter every month and you’ll build better relationships, improve customer retention, and draw more new customers.

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