Shhh, Here’s Five Secrets of a Great Customer Newsletter by Guest Author Jim Palmer

When I consult with clients I usually recommend starting a regular newsletter—either electronic, print or both. Most of the time they balk at the idea of either “bugging” their clients or coming up with all that content. This terrific article by Jim Palmer, “The Newsletter Guru”, offers insight into the power of a killer newsletter and five tips for making yours as effective as possible.

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Shhh, Here’s Five Secrets of a Great Customer Newsletter
by Guest Author Jim Palmer
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When I speak live I often refer the “magic of a customer newsletter” because a properly written newsletter can truly do magical things for a business. One of the big reasons is that newsletters are not perceived in the same manner as a postcard, a flyer or other forms of direct mail marketing. When people receive these or anything else that has a sales and marketing feel to it, their guard goes up and they think, “Uh-oh. What are they trying to sell me?”

Newsletters tend to be informational, making them more welcomed when they are received. As such they have higher readership than other forms of advertising. People also tend to be more receptive to what you have to say in your newsletter because newsletters aren’t meant to be sales tools. Rather, they are designed to be a resource.

In one of his No B.S. Marketing Letters, Dan Kennedy put it this way, “People are conditioned to be less resistant to reading information, such as articles, than they are advertising.” Since people are conditioned to be less resistant to reading information, which is exactly what a newsletter should be, most people read a newsletter with their guards down.

A customer newsletter is the strongest marketing and business building tool available—bar none. Newsletters open doors. I now want to share with you five secrets of a great customer newsletter.

Secret # 1 – Tell them what else you do. Many customers initially engage with a business by purchasing a single product or service. Over time they may do repeat business, usually reordering the same product or service, unaware of the other products or services that the company has to offer. How many times have you heard a client I didn’t know you did that,” or, “I didn’t know you also sold that”? Or, “I didn’t know you also sold that!” These are all missed opportunities to increase your revenue and profits. So, every month, tell your customers what else you do!

Secret #2 – Tell them what’s new. As business owners, we are always coming up with new products and services. A newsletter is a great way to get the word out to people who already trust you and find value in what you sell. This can often be done quite effectively by way of customer success stories and testimonials.

Secret #3 – It’s not about you. This is very important. Your newsletter is not about you or how many industry awards you have won. Your newsletter should be about what’s important, interesting, and entertaining to your customers and clients. Every month, if you inform, educate, and entertain them, with a big emphasis on entertaining them, they will look forward to your newsletter.

Secret #4 – Recognize the expensive real estate! The back page of your newsletter is not simply the mailing panel; it is the first thing your readers will see when the newsletter comes out of the mailbox. This is a great place to put important items that you want readers to see. Also, never have a back page article with the headline, “continued from …” as this is boring and not very appealing.

Secret #5: – Frequency trumps everything. Frequency is more important than the size of a newsletter, whether it’s color or black and white, or even the quality of the content! Yes, you heard me right – I would actually prefer a homemade cheesy looking black/white newsletter published monthly to a professionally designed newsletter done twice a year. You simply must have frequency to build trust and strong relationships with your customers and prospects. To learn more newsletter ideas, visit www.NewsletterIdeas.TV

Learn more secrets on how to use a newsletter to boost your business in my book, The Magic of Newsletter Marketing – The Secret to More Profits and Customers for Life.

Jim Palmer is known internationally as the ‘Newsletter Guru, the go-to resource for smart, effective strategies for maximizing the profitability of customer relationships. Jim is also the acclaimed author of The Magic of Newsletter Marketing – The Secret to More Profits and Customers for Life. Jim’s most popular ‘Done-for-For’ No Hassle Newsletter program is called Success Advantage 2.0.