In my business of creating and designing customer newsletters, I spend a great deal of time writing. Like most things, doing it a lot tends to make you better. As I have mentioned at least a few times in this blog, I read TONS of books. Reading also makes you a better writer.  As a blogger, I visit and read a lot of blogs and one of the things I notice is that many focus on what to do. In this entry I want to focus on some of the things that you should avoid as you produce a customer newsletter for your business. By the way, I think I will list some of the blogs that I visit in a future posting, so keep coming back.  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!
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 read it again and again, it must contain information and content that is important to them.
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 my patented (just kidding) rule of thumb for readability. Here it is: if people 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 that someone intends to read but probably never will.
4. Lack of distinctive personality — For heaven’s sake, don’t be 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!

Be sure to get a copy of my new book, Newsletter Secrets Revealed, How to Newsletters to Make Your Profits Soar at http://www.newslettersecretsrevealed.com

In this blog posting I want to talk about one of the things that makes a great newsletter - the all-important topic of content.  Great newsletters are newsletters that customers love to read. Here are the important points about the kind of writing that customers love.  

Customers love stories. Don’t just describe what you do. Demonstrate your benefits for the customer by telling them about someone like them who succeeded because they purchased your product or service.  

Customers love to learn new things. You’re the expert on your business and what you do. Tell them about new developments. Introduce them to new products or services. Offer them articles that help them learn. 

Customers love a little humor. Just because newsletters are serious business doesn’t mean you should be long-faced and serious all the time. Lighten your message with gentle humor. 

Customers don’t want to work hard to get value from your newsletter. The best newsletter writing is like the best writing anywhere. It’s simple and easy to read.  I’ve been producing newsletters for nearly thirty years for clients in just about every industry.

Whether it’s working with my private corporate clients in Dynamic Communication (http://www.dynamiccommunication.net ), or producing my nationally famous No Hassle Newsletters (http://www.nohasslenewsletters.com), I can tell you that following these rules is not always easy.  Sometimes it is just too easy for companies to take some copy from other marketing sources and drop in the newsletter – just to get it done. The problem with this approach is that your newsletter reads like just another marketing piece. This is a sure fire way for your newsletter to therefore receive the same treatment – which is usually a fast trip to the circular file!    

Aside from the overall appearance (emphasizing the importance of a first impression), nothing screams “amateur” like a poorly written headline. The vast majority of your newsletter’s readers will scan the newsletter and read the headlines first. I can’t overstate the importance of writing good headlines.  

A well-written headline will tell the reader what the point of the article is. Your headlines need to contain positive, strong action words – the shorter and simpler, the better. 

Unfortunately, I see too many writers try to be cute or clever when writing headlines. Many of our major metropolitan newspapers do so every day – perhaps giving the impression that this is acceptable! Let me remind you that you have but a few seconds to grab the attention of your readers and make them want to read your newsletter. I strongly believe that 99 percent of the time, “cute” will not close the sale. 

Here are three things that a headline should do:

Grab Attention – Simply put, the headline must stop the readers in their tracks and cause them to read further.Tell the Story – A well-written headline tells readers right away what a story is about.   Enhance the Page – The headlines on a page should all work together to help you close the sale. In this case, the “sale” is merely getting your readers to agree that giving up five or ten minutes of their time to read your newsletter is a worthwhile decision. 
 
Here are five tips to help you write great headlines:

1. Use active voice.
2. Use present tense.
3. Use short, descriptive words.
4. Make positive statements.
5. Avoid abbreviations and jargon. 

Finally, you may want to avoid using consistent headlines for recurring articles, instead varying the headlines according to the theme. For example, if you must have a “President’s Column” or something equivalent, change the headline with each issue to reflect the important message of the individual article. Learn more about this topic in my book, Newsletter Secrets Revealed - How to Use a Newsletter to Make Your Profits Soar.

Hello everyone! Recently I mentioned that I was making the final edits to my new book, Newsletter Secrets Revealed – How to Use Newsletters to Make Your Profits Soar, and that I was also assembling some awesome bonus items. Well – the wait is over! This truly one of a kind book is finished and I will be announcing it first to my loyal subscribers next Thursday – so watch for it!

I also want to let you know that I am going to be one of 30 entrepreneurs featured in the upcoming book, Dream, Inc. - Million Dollar Business Strategies from 30 Successful Philadelphia-Area Entrepreneurs. This book will be out in early January 2008.

There are many important pieces to a great newsletter that gets results. Right at the top of the list is the use of powerful attention-grabbing headlines.

Here are a couple ideas to use in your newsletter. 

Make your headline a startling, interesting, or provocative comment. Geico’s “Fifteen minutes could save your fifteen percent on car insurance” is an example. So is “Europe on $5 per day” and “At 60 miles per hour, the loudest sound in a new Rolls Royce comes from the electric clock.” 

Make your headline a question. The classic “Do you make these common mistakes in spelling?” is a good example.  

Use your headline to tell your readers who your piece is for. Engineers stop for headlines with the word “engineer” in them. Managers pay attention to headlines with the word “manager.” 

Promise a benefit in your headline. What’s a benefit? It’s a promise to make your reader rich or famous or powerful or loved or just to make things easier. It’s a promise that things will be different.  

Emotional, news, and promise words can make headlines better. Emotional words include “darling,” “love,” “excited,” “joyful,” “proud,” etc. News headlines announce something “new” or “revolutionary.”  And words such as “original,” “biggest,” “top-rated,” “museum-quality,” “profit,” and, of course, “free” are promise words. This might seem like a lot of extra work, but trust me – a great headline can mean the difference between getting your article read or not read.   Enjoy your weekend!