AMiable Solution #53: Using E-mail Newsletters to Deliver Sales

Content marketing allows you to increase customer retention and activity and create long-term relationships with customers and prospects. 

One of the best ways to share practical information and regularly remind your audience of your presence is through emailed newsletters.  E-mailed newsletters give you the opportunity and the forum to address issues that are important to both your particular customers and to your industry.

Creating a newsletter is an easily achievable goal if you follow a few simple tips.

Plan ahead.  Determine how often you want to publish your newsletter, and then create an editorial calendar identifying your planned topics.  But allow yourself to be flexible.  If a topic becomes newsworthy and should be addressed, don’t hesitate to bump a previously planned theme to accommodate more pressing or relevant information.

Keep your design simple.  Don’t try to get fancy with tons of graphics or non-traditional layouts and color choices.  Use plenty of white space and keep your text readable.  White or light-colored backgrounds with dark, contrasting text works just as effectively in emailed newsletters as they do in printed catalogs.

Edit carefully.  Clear messages are key no matter what format you publish them in.   

Not sure how to fill your newsletter?  In his email-marketing-reports.com article, “31 content tips and ideas for your B2B email newsletter,” Mark Brownlow offers the following ideas:

• Problem/solution
• How-tos
• Top tips
• Opinion/analysis
• Look into the future
• Horror/disaster story
• Case study                                        
• Reviews
• "Best of"
• Surveys/feedback request
• Event recommendations                         
• Resource links
• Amusing or inspirational anecdotes, stories, and quotes
• Answering feedback
• Interviews
• News
• Statistics and lists
• Quizzes

Although your content should be original, it doesn’t have to be exclusive.  To make the most of your time and expertise, consider how you can re-use your newsletter subject matter and text in other content marketing and sales marketing efforts, including blogs, catalogs, web pages, and other marketing materials and communications.