Feeling a bit stuck on where to get started? What you include in your newsletter is entirely up to you, and it is important that you find the right style for you. There is no right or wrong answer, no “one size fits all” design. Instead you need to develop a template that suits you and your business, and don’t be afraid to adjust it if needed. There are some ideas below to help you get started on creating YOUR newsletter: Welcome Message
People like to read a personal note from you, it helps to build trust in you and your brand when you share a little bit of info. Latest News Share the latest information from your business or your industry. People like to know what is going on and what is coming up. Upcoming Events Whether it is a timetable of craft fairs you will be attending or an invitation to a trade show people like to know where you are going to be. You could also include dates for upcoming workshops you are hosting. How-To Guides or Tutorials Nothing shouts “expert” more than sharing how to do something. Tutorials establish a line of trust as you are giving your customers knowledge about how to do something. Some will eagerly go away and try it out, while others will decide they can’t do it and will buy from you instead. But don’t worry about those that try it themselves, many will be back to find out more or buy something different. You may not lose them as a customer. Interviews You could conduct an interview with a prominent figure in your industry. Ask questions that you think your customers would find interesting, and remember to keep your questions open (who, what, where, when, why, how) to encourage detailed answers. Contests and Promotions Your newsletter is a place you can add a small advert for your latest time limited offer, but remember to keep to the 80/20 rule – 80% great content, 20% selling Product Reviews You could give information about your latest product range or draw comparisons between products that you use. Don’t be negative about your competition, even if their product isn’t as good as yours! Videos If you are not comfortable writing your newsletter you can always create videos to put in your mailing instead. Just keep them short, maybe just 2-3 minutes each and include clear titles for each one. If you include different articles in your newsletter I would love to hear about them in the comments below. If you would like some assistance with setting up your newsletter please email me at jamie@jamiegoodenough.co.uk
0 Comments
We've all sat there pulling our hair out trying to put together a newsletter at the eleventh hour while searching wildly for inspiration on what to write. Searching for images at midnight and trying to remember how to use the mailing software while feeling stressed and tired can bring you to breaking point. But don't despair! There are a few things you can put into place to make this task a little easier on yourself: 1. Be Consistent
Create a template for your newsletter to that it looks the same every time you send one out. Your audience will come to expect your newsletter to look a certain way when it arrives in their inbox, if you change the design every month or two your audience may get confused and delete your mailing without even looking at it, just because they don't recognise it. 2. Writing Articles Some people are very secure in the knowledge that they are an expert in their field, they may have worked hard to qualify to be able to do what they do, and as such may have lots of information to write about in newsletters. But for others, recognising yourself as an expert can be a little more difficult. Put yourself in your ideal customer's shoes, what do they want to read about? What interests them? Knowing why they buy from you, what it is that you give them that your competitors don't can help you identify the best subjects to write about. 3. Schedule It Make a schedule of your newsletters. How often do you want to send them out? Weekly? Monthly? Quarterly? Write down all of the subjects you feel comfortable writing about, and create titles for articles that your ideal customer will be interested in reading. Then organize those titles into a newsletter schedule along with any other content you wish to include in that issue. Then when you sit down to write you won't be searching for ideas. 4. Short and Sweet Everyone is busy, and many people don't have huge amounts of time to read articles, so forget "War and Peace" and focus on sending out your message in a direct and compelling way. Try to draw attention with your opening paragraph which will encourage your audience to continue reading. Asking questions or identifying a problem that your customer experiences can create a need to read more. 5. Write in Advance Try not to leave things to the last minute. As soon as one newsletter has been published prepare the next one, and if you're having a really good day prepare the next two or three! If you have created a schedule of topics to write about then taking the time to write the articles when the words are flowing will help you get ahead of the game. Most mailing systems will allow you to schedule your mailing to be sent out so you would create the entire newsletter and then choose the date and time for it to be sent. Hopefully these tips will make creating newsletters a little easier to manage, but if you've got any other tips I'd love to read them in the comments below. |
AuthorJamie has spent many years working in administrative roles, she has also spent time as a stay at home mum and now loves the flexibility of working from her home office and being available for her family whenever they need her. Archives
June 2017
Categories
All
|