Use newsletters to get more customers
A client once said he didn’t want to send out newsletters because he didn’t want to appear to be too pushy.
If you are constantly sending people material to promote your business, they will naturally get fed up with you. They will press the unsubscribe button pretty quickly.
Newsletters are not used to promote a business. They should not contain advertisements (or if they do, be very sparing). They are there to help you keep in touch with your customers and prospects and to add value for them.
Why do you want to keep in touch with them? Because if you don’t, they might be tempted to go elsewhere, or they might even forget all about you when next they want a service you provide.
A good newsletter will contain material valuable for the reader. It will not be seen as an intrusion, but rather appreciated because it provides useful information.
If you are going to send out newsletters, you must be disciplined. It is easy to get started, but it is much more difficult to maintain a constant supply of newsletters on time. It is doubtful if one person in 100, who starts newsletters, ever continues them consistently year in and year out.
How often?
Quarterly newsletters have a lot going for them, particularly if there is plenty of material in them.
However, if you feel you can maintain it, you could break down a quarterly newsletter into three monthly newsletters. Some people manage more than one newsletter per month and some share brokers are in touch with their customers almost every day.
One broker sends out a newsletter almost every hour of the working day and he rarely gets the delete button because his customers and contacts know sooner or later they’re going to read something of value to them.
How many?
We have heard of a small law firm which claims to be emailing 7000 to 8000 people each time.
Boost up your database with anyone you can think of who might be likely to read your newsletters. Don’t overlook your suppliers.
Whenever you get the opportunity, grab your customer’s contact details. If you are a retailer getting a lot of customers walking in off the street, a weekly competition for a small prize might enable you to do this.
Conclusion
You are most unlikely to upset any of your customers with frequent newsletters. Just make sure each article contains something of value to your readers.