How to Write a Business Newsletter

Newsletters whether in print or electronic are opportunities to regularly make contact with clients and prospective clients which makes them a great marketing tool. The big bonus with electronic newsletters is that there is no printing or mailing costs.

There are a variety of online newsletters out there, but probably the simplest form for most small business owners is the email newsletter or tips. Email provides a quick way to keep your name out there, build trust with your readers, and, hopefully, attract some clients. If you archive your newsletter or provide subscribing through your website, it can be a traffic driver for your website also. I think probably the most important feature of having that newsletter in someone's email box every week or so is top-of-mind awareness/name recognition which gives a small business an advantage over others.

Your email newsletter should, just as in print, provide information and not be just for advertisement. You need to offer information that is of value, and in the course of doing that, promote your products and services. Eventually as your subscriber list grows (5,000 or more) you could start offering advertising to others to offset the costs of producing your newsletter. However, collecting a subscription base of this size could take a number of years, and I wouldn't make this a primary goal of your newsletter. Newsletters are for promoting your area of expertise - they are not a vehicle for revenue generation.

So one of the first things to consider when deciding to do a newsletter is your amount of commitment. Whether you start out on a quarterly basis, then gradually increase to a weekly basis a good deal of commitment must be made. I spend two to three days researching my Tips, then two to three hours writing it. So you can see the time to do a simple tips sheet can in itself be consuming. Just as in print, you must be consistent in both your information and delivery. If you can't make the commitment to consistency, then I would suggest waiting until you can make that commitment.

Well, you have decided to make that commitment to providing worthwhile information on a regular basis - what do you do next? Collect email addresses. Probably one of the easiest is your current database of email addresses. You probably already have current and prospective clients' email addresses. You could send out an introductory email letter about your newsletter to your list to see if anyone would like to subscribe. I think it goes without saying that no one wants to be a spammer - you want to build an "opt-in" list. Remember to press release your newsletter which could bring subscribers. Another option to collecting email addresses is to offer a subscription service through your website. There are programs that can handle the automatic subscribing and unsubscribing which would just take up to much space to go into now.

So now you got your emails, on to writing your newsletter. I think that greatest part of email is that is definitely less formal than writing for print. Email tends to be very informal. I think if you write like you talk, it is much more enjoyable to the reader. As far as content, it depends on what you do. You have to think about if you were the reader, what would you want to see. Another good avenue is input from your readers or questions from clients. Also you don't have to do all the writing yourself. You can ask colleagues, employees, or reprint (with permission, of course) articles others have written.

So are you at the point where you are saying this seems like a lot of work? Yes, it can be. Although an electronic newsletter may not have some real dollar costs, it does have some time costs. However, I feel it is an investment well worth its time. Sending out that weekly tips or newsletter regularly, helps you build a relationship with your online readers which can be a great income generator in the long run.

Don't forgot to post your newsletter to your website - another opportunity to attract traffic. You can also promote your newsletter on several sites that list other free newsletters. Lastly, if you want to keep your subscribers' trust, don't give or sell your list to anyone unless all your subscribers have agreed. Remember for most small businesses reputation keeps them in business.