The Sales Consultancy: The death of enewsletters?

No. No way.

In fact our own weekly enewsletter (thank you for reading this!) goes from strength to strength. That’s if your measurement criteria for a successful newsletter includes the number of those signing up to receive it, the numbers opening it, the numbers reading it – and the amount of favourable comments received.

Oh and the number of enquiries we receive through it too.

Yes, actual leads each week, even though we don’t promote anything within the newsletter (ok then maybe a teeny weeny bit at the bottom sometimes!)

So I remain convinced that a company newsletter could be a very powerful contributor to helping your company achieve its strategic goals.

Fundamental rules of newsletters

It’s got to be good! People aren’t reading as many newsletters as they were and there are lots to choose from so, depending on the sector you operate in, you may have a lot of competition vying for the attention of your customers and potential customers. So your newsletter content needs to be top notch. More later on this.

Make sure the content is highly focussed on the needs of your readers. It must be interesting. And it must be useful too. So who are your readers? What are their needs? For example we have three different versions of this newsletter, the version you receive depends on your company type and your role within it.

Make sure it can be read in 2 - 3 minutes. We’re all very busy these days! If your newsletter doesn’t look crisp and clean and easy to read, it won’t be read, it’s as simple as that.

Give not sell. Yes you might include a discreet promotional link but the crucial overriding principle with a newsletter is that it's a giving platform. Be satisfied that when you're giving your reader handy information, you're indirectly promoting yourself anyway.

Why you should produce a newsletter

It's a great way to keep in touch with previous customers so that they will also be your future customers. Maintain your relationship – keep the business.
For those contacts on your database that haven’t yet purchased from you a newsletter is a wonderful ongoing reminder of who you are and what you specialise in.
You build and maintain a relationship with those that read it, even with those you’ve never met. They become familiar with you and your offering - and when the time comes that they’re ready to buy, you’re well positioned to make the sale.
An excellent newsletter will help define you as an expert in your field. You build a reputation as the ‘go to’ people in your sector.
You get additional exposure you wouldn’t normally get. Even if your newsletter is not read, it will still appear in your contacts’ inboxes as a subject line and sender – and even that small amount of exposure helps keep you and your company in their minds.
It will generate enquiries for you – later if not sooner.

What you should put in your newsletter

The simple rule here is ...anything that you know your contacts might find useful. Our rule at The Sales Consultancy is simple. When we’re considering ideas of what to include in our newsletter the one question we have to answer with a YES is ... Will it increase the sales success of the readers if they implement our suggestions?

But if you’re struggling for ideas, here’s an article I came across which has a fabulous check list of the type of content you should consider for your newsletter.

21Great Ideas For Your Next Company Newsletter

So yes, based on our own experiences and results I remain a big fan of regular newsletters.

What do you think?

Until next time...

Leigh