When you start writing a newsletter it can be hard to know where to start. When I work with a client we first figure out what all they want included in their newsletter each month. For me – you know that I always have 3 things and a picture of Norm. (If you didn’t know that you can fix it here.) If you have a system in place for your newsletter each month it’s way easier to keep up on it. Here’s 10 things I’ve seen in newsletters that I think are great:
- Previous Blog Posts – if you have a blog and are updating it regularly there’s your content for the newsletter! You can also feature a topic and pick a few blog posts that go together
- Featured Employee – Have a team? Let’s meet them!
- Tips – Your Newsletter is not about getting people to buy something (always anyway) – it’s about educating them. Give them helpful information that makes them want to work with you.
- Feature Another Business – Do you often partner with another company or small business owner? Feature them!
- Specials & Promotions – is it your slow season? Great – how about if I sign up by X I get Y as a bonus!
- And You Are? – If you’re often updating your list or it’s been a while since you sent out a newsletter it might be helpful to feature your boiler plate or a quick feature of a specific service.
- Events! – Duh – are you speaking or holding a workshop or webinar? Make sure we know!
- Promote Yourself – if you’ve been featured on a blog or podcast or radio show – make sure to include a link to it! I was featured on a podcast last month and made sure to share that with my network.
- Pictures! – Please oh Please include images and graphics! My newsletter always includes a picture of Norm so you are guaranteed a cute puppy photo at the very least!
- Something Fun – Are you enjoying something right now you want to tell your network about? It doesn’t have to be all about work – feature a picture from your recent vacation or a short book review or a recipe you’re enjoying this summer (this would be weird for an IT company but great for a personal trainer or body work practitioner…)
Okay – that’s a good start right? Juices flowing? What else do you like to see in a newsletter? What else do you have in yours that I forgot to mention?
Great tips! I find it difficult to sometimes prepare good content for the newsletter and it’s very important to stay relevant to the subscribers. At least the technology side of email is solved with tools, like GetResponse. Subject lines are also tricky.