E-Newsletters, commonly called ‘E-Zines’, are a must have for any business in today’s competitive market.  E-Newsletters, done correctly, are a creative, non-aggressive method of reaching your current clients and building your prospect base at little or no cost.  They not only provide useful information to subscribers on a consistent basis but they are a valuable marketing tool that allow you to enter your customers’ lives regularly.   

First and foremost, your E-Newsletter must have a:  

1.  SUBJECT LINE  Your newsletter’s headline, otherwise known as the subject of the e-mail, is responsible for 50-75% of its success.  Other than whom the e-mail is from, it is what your reader sees first.  Without a successful headline, your e-mail is destined for the trash can and you’ve missed a golden opportunity to reach your audience. 

 Here a few keys to a successful subject line: 

Appeal to your reader’s self interest. Provide a benefit to your reader and make it personal to your audience of clients and prospects.  Example:  “10 Ways To Increase Your Portfolio Earnings Overnight.”    This type of headline might work for a financial investment firm, or an accountant.  A headline can be tailored to any industry and what your readers are interested in. 

Make it Newsworthy.  Headlines using the words ‘new’, ‘now’, ‘finally’, ‘announcing’, and ‘latest’ give the reader a sense of newsworthiness.  “New Soil Conditioner Increases Plant Life By 10%.”  This headline is both newsworthy and it appeals to the reader’s self interest-assuming that the newsletter is going to clients of a nursery, florist and the like and not to an automotive repair shop!

Appeal to your reader’s emotions.  Fear, Pride, Insecurity, Curiosity, Love, Happiness, Boredom, Laziness, and Altruism are among many of the emotions that you can use to motivate your reader to open your newsletter.  “How To Ask Your Boss For A Raise,” would be good headline for a staffing company.  It appeals to the reader’s curiosity.  Another curiosity driven headline might be “10 Questions You Should Never Ask A Prospective Client.” 

When in doubt, choose simple and straightforward over clever.  A subject line that simply states the newsletter, issue, and volume will be opened far more often than one with a subject line that is unbelievable or just plain hokey. 

 2.  VOLUME NUMBER AND A DATE.  It may seem obvious, but one thing that is consistently overlooked in E-Newsletter publication is the volume number and date.  When you provide a consistent publication date, and volume, you give your readers a method to archive and/or search when they’re hunting through old issues for the amazing content that you’ve supplied them. 

By organizing your newsletters by volume and date, you also make it easier to track each issue’s effectiveness.

 
3.  INFORMATION.  Your newsletter must contain useful information.  Content Is Key!  Even if your newsletter contains an editorial piece, you need to give your readers something valuable.  

We’re a nation hungry for information.  Non-fiction consistently outsells fiction in the bookstores and ease of information is in high demand.  As far as information goes—Nothing Is Better Than Free, Helpful Information Delivered To You On A Consistent Basis!

According to an article recently published by the Newsletter & Electronic Publishers Association www.newsletters.org  —“Publishers need high-value content to reach readers and advertisers. ……editorial quality is just as important for a free newsletter as it is for a subscription newsletter. ……advises publishers to talk with their user base at all times, survey readers and know their needs.      

4.  AN OPTION FOR READER FEEDBACK.  An option for reader feedback in a newsletter is a good way to build your community and to add content to the publication.  It not only lets you know what the readers are responding to in your newsletter but it encourages reader participation and people, whether they admit it or not, like to see their name in print.  

A simple feedback form occasionally included in the newsletter or a more consistent ‘Dear Abby’ type column where readers ask questions and you (as the expert) answer them, is the easiest way to include this feature into your publication. 

5.  AN OFFER    Besides endearing your clients and prospects to you and your company, the main purpose of an E-Newsletter is to build your business or in other words, SELL. 

Don’t let a single issue go by without some kind of offer; a click through to your web site, a coupon, a new product for sale in your store or on your website, an inside sale.  

Tie the offer in to your theme and with a good headline, you have a sure hit!  Let’s go back to our very first headline “10 Ways To Increase Your Portfolio Overnight.”  Let’s assume that the newsletter is from a team of financial advisors. 

Don't go overboard!  A general rule of thumb is to have 80% of your newsletter copy presented as informative content and 20% of it can be sales or promotional copy.

We've just touched on a few of the requirements for a successful e-newsletter.  Next time I'll touch on  a few more and wrap it up.

Take Care!

Writing copy that converts readers into buyers is a challenge that sends many business owners running for the hills – or at least seeking expert help.   Today I'd like to offer a simple bit of advice for those that prefer to do it themselves…Pay attention to your verbs.

Verbs are the POWER words in your sales copy. 

Verbs are the words that give your copy action.  They compel emotion and paint a scene that makes your writing pop! 

Using Verbs.  4 Simple Steps to Activate Your Copy.

These four steps are designed to be taken after you've written your sales letter, email, article, auto-responder etc.  They're part of the editing process.

1.  Eliminate passive verbs.  Passive verbs tend to leave your copy flat, uninteresting, and easily dismissed.  Powerful, active verbs compel action, engage the senses and even elicit emotions. 

Take the following sentence for example, "We are a provider of excellent customer service." Instead, you could write, "We provide excellent customer service."  or "We excel in customer service." The verbs 'provide' and 'excel' are more powerful verbs. 

Editing Step – Replace your 'state of being” verbs; is, am, were, was, are, be, being, been, with action verbs. Using your computer's software search and replace feature, search for these words in your copy and replace them with more active verbs.

2.  Eliminate the conditional tense verbs.  Conditional tense verbs are would, could, or should.  Instead use future tense verbs like will or must. 

For example, "To save time, you should write your copy first without editing."

"Write your copy first, then edit – it will save you time."

Editing Step – Use the find and replace feature on your word processing software to quickly replace all 'shoulds,' 'woulds,' and 'coulds' with more positive, future tense words. 

3.  Choose specific verbs.  To deliver a clear, compelling and emotive message strengthen your verbs by making them as specific as possible.

For example, the word 'teach' can also be expressed with the following verbs advise, brainwash, brief, catechize, coach, communicate, drill, enlighten, explain, instruct, lecture, train, tutor and so on….

Editing Step – replace vague verbs with specific verbs.  Use your Thesaurus.

4.  Avoid adverbs.  An adverb is a word that describes your verb.  If your verb needs describing then it probably isn't specific enough. 

For example, "Let's get out of here she said loudly."  Loudly is the adverb.  To add power to this sentence, replace the words 'said loudly" with a more specific verb like 'yelled,' 'bellowed,' or 'hollered' 

Editing Step – Using your find and replace feature, look for all words in your copy that end in 'ly'.  Kill the adverb and replace it with a specific, power verb.