Six tips for effective newsletters

It's been on your to-do list for weeks. When everything else has been crossed off, it's been reluctantly carried over to your new list. Once you've had it written, it costs a fortune to send it and readers don't care, or if they do, they keep it a secret from you.

Newsletters are a failure, right? Wrong.

An email newsletter could be your most effective acquisition and retention tool, and should be at the very top of your emarketing plan.

Newsletters build trust with your prospect base by educating and informing. For example, during a long or complex technical sell, a regular newsletter strengthens your proposition, breaks down barriers and helps position you as an ally.

On the retention front, email newsletters answer customer queries, create a reason to engage and show the breadth of your product offering. We're finding time and time again that this opens the door for repeat business.

Your newsletter doesn't have to match War and Peace for length, but it does need to educate, entertain and clearly communicate.

So how do you get started? Here are six content ideas to put you on the road to newsletter nirvana:

1. Industry news, trends and insight
It might take a bit of digging to get all the facts in place, but for many niche markets there isn't a single reliable source of news. Become that source, and you will be seen to lead the market. Don't forget the value of informed commentary - we can all reproduce facts - customers will be most interested in your interpretation of what the news means to them.

2. Success stories and case studies
Perhaps your existing customers have advice to pass on to your prospects? There's an opportunity here to remind readers about how great your product is as long as you add value by passing on nuggets of advice too.

3. Customer surveys
We all like to know what our peers are thinking, and conducting a survey involves readers in content creation and shows them you're listening to them.

4. Product and service launches
Give your valued supporters a chance to preview your latest offering and be among the first to try it out. Don't forget - your newsletter subscribers will include your greatest fans.

5. Press releases
If you're telling the world what you're doing, don't forget your newsletter readers. You might have investors subscribing to your newsletter too, so the business news might be relevant to them. Don't get too bogged down in 'me, me, me' though - people sign up for content that will be useful, not undiluted advertising.

6. Product or service 'how-to' information
Whether it's small tips or in-depth tutorials, practical advice increases value to the recipient. If you're selling intangibles, you can offer personal skills tips that will help your customers work more effectively. Don't forget - you can always invite guest experts to contribute. We know it's hard work producing great newsletters, but it's also rewarding.


We help most of our clients to communicate with their customers and prospects via email newsletters. If you'd like help with any aspect of your newsletter campaign - from strategy and creative to execution - we'd love to hear from you on 020 7628 4444.