Before I dive into today’s topic (which you’re going to love!), I’m going to take a moment and be a proud father. Last week my twin girls each received awards at college. Amanda received an award for being the top sophomore in her major. Unfortunately her school is 3 hours away and we were not able to attend the ceremony. Jessica however is only 45 minutes away and we got to see her get an award for outstanding leadership. My wife, Stephanie, and I are very proud parents! 

And now, as the stage manager says … on with the show!  

Customer-focused marketing is the last refuge of the small or start-up business owner. This form of marketing, which uses newsletters as its main marketing tool, is a backlash against mass marketing. As a small-business owner, you can give your customers what the big corporations can’t – a real person to connect to and identify with. This is because a newsletter can have a “voice” – the personality you and your company.   

Most corporations can’t offer a customer much more than a big logo, an aloof Web site and a reply card asking for feedback. This type of marketing has gotten incredibly impersonal. 

Customer-focused marketing is an effective strategy for the small-business owner because it resists the big corporations’ tendency to make all customer relationship marketing about embracing the corporate identity. I discuss this and other topics in my book, Newsletter Secrets Revealed – How to Use Newsletters to Make Your Profits Soar. To the readers of this posting – if you would like a copy of my book at a discount, order it within the next 5 days and I’ll take 20% off your purchase. To get your discount, all you have to do is enter the word “bonus” in the coupon window. 

When you write a customer-focused newsletter, it is not about you – it is always about the customer. It is not about, say, a “happy face” logo (in the case of Wal-Mart) but about the needs, desires and wish lists of the customers. Even the way that copy is written for customer newsletters is an important component of this type of marketing.  In my next posting I’ll share some strategies to help you really connect with your customers. Don’t miss it!

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you’ve heard me say that how often you send a customer newsletter is the most important thing. It is more important than its style, color, size, name, or anything else you can think to ask me about. Some companies will send their customers a holiday card, a birthday card (not many these days!), and some might even send a quarterly newsletter. I consider this random, and while better than nothing, it is not enough to effectively build and strengthen client relationships. 

To determine the right frequency for your customers, ask yourself a couple of questions: “Am I communicating with my clients enough to convey how much I value them?” and “Am I doing enough to stand out among the thousands of marketing messages my clients receive every day?” 

Here is why a monthly newsletter is so important to your company: because it arrives every month, it is looked at as a regular “publication.” Think about it, magazines arrive monthly, and sometimes weekly; newspapers arrive daily; even bank statements arrive monthly! The point is that people see things they receive on a regular and frequent basis as having value, or at least important, and they generally anticipate them. Things like advertisements that arrive sporadically, including postcards and other marketing pieces, are just that — solicitations.  

So start off a new regimen accepting the fact that your customers will find more value in your newsletter if it arrives monthly.  

The previous concept is very important and worth rereading. In addition to frequency creating perceived value, frequency also increases brand awareness, which in turn will help to drive repeat and referral business. See how this works?! 

You may be surprised how many people resist my urging to do a monthly newsletter by saying, “It’s too expensive.” Quite frankly, this astounds me and I find it somewhat shortsighted. As a business owner, you need to figure out what you currently spend to attract new customers and clients, and also what the lifetime value of a typical client is to your business. If you can figure out what each new client costs your business, and what the lifetime value of a client is, I predict that you will start to see that building and maintaining these client relationships takes on a whole new meaning.  

I am very excited to announce that the book you’ve heard me talk about for months has finally been printed! Dream, Inc.: Million- Dollar Business Strategies From 32 Successful Philadelphia-Area Entrepreneurs is an exciting collection of stories about how successful business people dreamed, persevered, and succeeded in building the company and lifestyle of their dreams.

Each chapter is packed with strategies and “nuggets of wisdom” that I know you will enjoy. Also included is “must-read” list of books complied from these 32 business owners.The book is only $19.95, and as a subscriber of mine, you can order the book directly from me — and I will pay your shipping!

Please click here to order your copy of Dream, Inc.If you are a newer business, you might be concerned about how to get your newsletter read. This is particularly true if you are a new business owner and have very few names on your subscription list. 

And now for the featured article!

You have probably heard of cold-calling; leaving your newsletter on a stranger’s doorstep is similar. You are simply looking for leads by trying to entice them with your well-laid-out, informative and entertaining newsletter.   This entails having your newsletter printed on paper and then distributing it on doorsteps. You can pay to have someone distribute this newsletter, or you can save money and distribute it yourself. You can also pin copies of your customer newsletter on bulletin boards at laundry rooms and grocery stores or give it away as a handout at seminars or conferences that have a theme related to whatever it is you are selling. The idea is to create more repeat and referral business by getting others to spread the word about you by passing on your newsletters to other interested parties. However, whether your business is newer or older, you should always remind your readers to send the newsletter out to anyone who might be interested in the information. You can also offer incentives such as discounts or free gifts to individuals who bring another person into the store with them.

People enjoy two-for-one deals and free perks.  If your newsletter is composed in a journalistic style, you might be able to get it printed in a local newspaper or magazine. Sometimes you can also pay for print advertising space and get your newsletter printed as an advertorial in the local paper. 

Alternatively, if your newsletter is well written, it will be picked up and read. What you want to do is make sure it contains unique information that others will find of value so it is physically passed on from one person to another. This is a quick and not very expensive way to spread the word about your business.

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