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Keep your company front-of-mind with an online
and/or printed newsletter. Newsletter readers evaluate newsletters using
criteria such as readability, interesting information, well-written,
well-designed, access to additional information/content, and overall
satisfaction.
e-newsletters can be especially effective -- and affordable. A recent
Nielsen Norman Group Report finds that “users” (recipients)
have highly emotional reactions to e-newsletters. This is in strong
contrast to studies of Website usability, where users are usually much
more oriented towards functionality.
Create a Bond with Content
The positive emotional aspect of newsletters is that they can create
much more of a bond between user and company than other marketing techniques
can.
Here are some generic newsletter content ideas:
- Coming events
- A calendar of regular events
- Project updates, particularly if they have been supported financially
or otherwise by readers (include progress graphics like tote boards,
charts etc)
- New and mooted projects, personnel involved, objectives, form of
assistance sought etc
- Other news from or concerning the organization
- Contact information for the organization (as distinct from the
newsletter masthead, where contact information regarding the publication
appears)
- Update on aspects of the organization (such as news on finances
etc)
- Notes about special offers, special discounts to readers
- Case studies and success stories about the organization and how
it functions
- Stories about people who were helped by the organization (or the
newsletter's readership)
- Miscellaneous articles around the general theme of the group's
main interests
- Lists of current customers/readers regardless of the value of their
contribution
- Profiles of individual customers/readers
- Excerpts from articles (found in newspapers, magazines etc) about
the organization or the group's common interest
- Features that focus on the operation, success and (particularly)
personnel of departments within the organization
- Profiles of experts or “celebrities” connected to,
or who are known to have sympathetic views to, the readers' common
interests
- Stories about the early days of the common interest or organization
- Inspirational passages, quotations and extracts
- Calls for contributions to the newsletter from amongst the readership
Before you begin your newsletter campaign, put your goals to paper.
It is important for your organization to understand why a newsletter
campaign, printed or electronic, is an integral part of its marketing
efforts to:
- Inform people about how to choose, buy and use your product or
service.
- Convince prospects and customers to buy/use your product or service.
- Counteract misconceptions about your product, service, organization.
- Persuade prospects and customers to contact your business or visit
your Website.
The time and effort to create a plan will save your organization a
lot of headaches at a later date. A plan will include:
- Marketing objectives
- Target market and audience profile(s)
- Key messages
- Content and design strategies/tactics
- Authority and approval process
- Timeline and budget
So, what's the first step to making your
newsletter campaign a reality? Call Johnson Direct. Our newsletter know-how
may be the direct response solution that helps you improve your bottom
line.
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Solutions to Your Newsletter Challenges
Johnson Direct develops a combination of print and electronic newsletters
very effectively for clients across the country. We’ve found that
their biggest challenges in creating an effective newsletter are:
1. Setting Goals
Don’t underestimate the power of putting your goals in writing.
Your goals might be to generate leads, drive traffic to your Website
or to keep your company’s name in front of prospects and customers.
Your newsletter’s success depends on a strategy and content that
is designed specifically to achieve the goals you’ve put to paper.
After you decide on these goals, quantify them whenever possible. Measure
the success of your newsletter and make adjustments to your strategy
and content to create a stronger marketing tool.
2. Creating an Effective Subscription Page
Getting people to subscribe to your e-mail newsletter isn’t easy,
but it is critical. If you request too much information on the subscription
page or the e-mail newsletter description is weak, you'll lose prospects.
Many, many Websites solicit a visitor’s e-mail address without
providing a description of what the newsletter will offer. Remember
to include a brief description of your e-mail newsletter. It must be
written to appeal to your audience (here’s what’s in it
for you) and should include the following:
- Audience: Who should read your e-mail newsletter
- Content: The type of content your e-mail newsletter offers
- Benefit: Benefits to the reader of subscribing/reading the e-mail
newsletter
- Frequency: How often you publish
- Call to action: Exactly how to subscribe
3. Finding and Creating Appropriate Editorial Content
Finding good quality articles highly targeted to your audience is often
difficult. However, there are many ways to create editorial content.
For example:
- Case Studies/Testimonials: Write a story that demonstrates a customer’s
problem and the strategy your organization used to solve it.
- How-to articles: Offer advice and tips that your audience can apply
to their professional lives. Make sure they are relevant to your audience
and relate to your business.
- Interviews: Speak with an industry expert. Write the interview in
a question-and-answer format. This can work well with a panel of experts.
- Seminar coverage: Attend an industry conference or seminar, and
write an overview.
- Guest columnists: Invite industry experts to contribute. Often,
they'll do it for free for the exposure. If you get someone who's
good, ask him to write on a regular basis.
- Previously published pieces: If you read something you find valuable,
share it. It's usually not a problem to write a brief intro, then
link to the original. If you want the article to appear on your site
or in your newsletter, you must request permission and possibly pay
a fee to avoid copyright violation.
Finding quality content takes time, whether you create it from scratch
or subscribe to a syndicated service. To produce a higher quality e-mail
newsletter, be organized and plan each issue ahead, with enough time
to write and edit articles. Or, call Johnson Direct. Our newsletter
know-how may be the direct response solution that helps you improve
your bottom line.
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Newsletter Examples
| One message does NOT
fit all. Johnson Direct helped Proven Direct use the
customer/prospect data it has to speak to its varied audiences
as individuals. This newsletter is designed to:
- Let each individual know that Proven Direct understands his
or her needs.
- Tell that person Proven Direct is working on new solutions
based on his or her recent inquiries.
- Offer products and services to support their past orders.
- Illustrate the benefits you know mean the most to them.
How can a newsletter get so specific and so personal?
Variable Imaging. It’s the strategic
integration of personalized, accurately targeted content (copy
and graphics that are specific to the personal interest of each
recipient) into your printed piece.
When an individual receives a marketing communication that contains
a message of relevance to his or her particular needs, you’re
more likely to make an impact – and increase response rates.
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At Johnson Direct, we practice what we preach. To
keep in touch with and in front of our prospects and clients, Johnson
Direct publishes three distinct newsletters:
1. Dealing Direct eZine: the twice monthly electronic
magazine-style newsletter you're reading right now.
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2. Second Monday News: a bi-monthly
printed newsletter offering brief but practical
advice that our marketing audience can
apply immediately to their day-to-day activities. |
3. Dealing Direct: a printed, quarterly newsletter
that provides in-depth how-to articles and case studies. |
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Subscribe
to one or all of our newsletters today!
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