Spotlight on E-Newsletters

Newsletters have come a long way since their origin in England in the 16th century.  Even though the means of production have changed many times over the years, the purpose remains the same: to offer unique information to a niche audience.

Today’s marketing e-newsletters (so called because they are delivered electronically, by email) are employed by businesses of all sizes – from the lone entrepreneur to the multinational mega-corporation.  I don’t know of a better, more cost-effective way to reach and hold onto a target audience.

What E-Newsletters Can Do

• Build relationships with customers
• Drive traffic to your website
• Establish your credibility with readers
• Improve your ranking with search engines

Build Relationships.  Before you can communicate effectively through an e-newsletter, you have to identify your typical customer.  Keep this customer in mind when you write each issue of your e-newsletter.  Be personal.  Let your readers know something about you.  Write informally, conversationally.  You can create a feeling of community by allowing your readers to provide feedback to articles.  You can even invite them to get in on the act and contribute items themselves.  Eventually – as you offer meaningful content in each issue – you’ll build trust relationships with your readers and they’ll reward you with frequent visits to your website and more orders for your wares.

Drive Traffic to Your Website.  Blogs and other websites thrive on traffic.  Your e-newsletter can include links back to your site for special merchandise offers or further information about topics that are summarized in your e-newsletter.  An effective e-newsletter will always increase the visits to your website.

Establish Your Credibility.  If the content of your e-newsletter is timely and useful for your readers, they’ll adopt you as a knowledgeable and dependable source of information that has meaning for them.  Caution: don’t simply repeat information that’s already on your website.

Improve Search Engine Ranking.  Remember to archive past issues of your e-newsletter on your website.  This builds your site’s content – and growing content is something that the search engines dearly love.

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