A couple of weeks ago, I sent you an article “5 Strategies to Position Yourself as the Obvious Expert.” One of those five strategies was sending a print or e-mail newsletter on a regular basis. So today, I wanted to share seven benefits of sending a newsletter.
As I said in that article:
“The Direct Marketing Association says that it takes 7-9 “touches” before someone will buy from you the first time. People rarely buy from you the first time they meet you or hear about you, so followup is crucial. The fortune really IS in the followup.
Publishing a regular newsletter is a fantastic followup tool and not really hard to do. You can either publish a printed newsletter that goes out in the mail, or publish a virtual newsletter, also known as the e-newsletter or e-magazine (“e-zine” for short). For ease, speed and cost, we recommend publishing an e-zine to get started.”
7 Ways a Newsletter Will Help Your Practice
1. A newsletter lets you grow a mailing list to market to over and over again.
This is critically important.
When you have a list of targeted prospects interested in what you have to offer, you have a built-in audience for all of your products and services. Offering a regular newsletter positions you as a helpful resource (instead of an unwelcome pest) and gives you permission to share appropriate offers.
The value and benefit of this cannot be overstated.
2. A newsletter is a very effective way to promote your products and services.
In traditional advertising, you’re tooting your own horn, talking about how great you are. A newsletter lets you SHOW how great you are by sharing your expertise with your prospects. You’re giving people a taste of what you can offer them and educating them on why they need your product or service.
Best of all, it’s all done from a place of service to your prospects – NOT just as a pitch for your products and services.
Makes sense, doesn’t it? And your newsletter does this for you over and over again.
3. Publishing a newsletter positions you as an expert in your field
When you generously share your expertise in a published format, you’re viewed as an expert. And experts are sought out by the media and for speaking engagements.
Do you speak or would you like to? Your newsletter will invite event organizers and meeting planners to call you, because your newsletter has spread the word about your expertise.
4. A newsletter is the perfect way to stay in touch with your clients and prospects
Remember that it takes 7-9 “touches” to make a sale. Very few people are ready to buy on first contact. It’s the later contacts that seal the deal.
Publishing a regular newsletter keeps you on people’s “radar screens” in a way that’s viewed as helpful – not obnoxious. (Remember, it’s not your prospects’ job to remember that you’re still in business!)
5. A newsletter allows you to effortlessly spread the word about your business
Even a short, simple e-zine is often forwarded to friends, family, colleagues, etc. – often, some very important people!
Here at GIWE, we’ve gotten referrals from current members who then also became new members. E-zines are also often forwarded to other important potential clients as well as the media.
6. A newsletter is the ideal way to capture the contact information of your web visitors
Ok, this is a big deal.
If someone comes to your website, but they’re not ready to buy today, then you’ve likely lost them forever when they click away! (Up to 99% of your web visitors won’t buy the first time they visit your site.)
You might as well watch dollar bills fly out the window! Those visitors are very valuable to you. They already took the time to find you and learn about you. They are “pre-qualified” leads. Now it’s up to you to find a way to “capture” them.
So if you invite me to sign up for a free newsletter that features helpful information on your topic, I’ll be happy to sign up. And now you’ve got me to market to over and over again – automatically.
7. A newsletter is simple and inexpensive to publish
There are all kinds of tools and resources to help you get your newsletter out, including done-for-you options. So don’t let the idea of publishing a regular newsletter overwhelm you. It needn’t be complicated. A simple tip of the week (for e-zines) or month (for printed newsletters) will work just fine. You can even publish postcard newsletters!
For publishing an e-zine, we recommend AWeber.com, which offers a wealth of publishing options, including pre-designed templates. To publish an e-zine, you need to use a publishing service like AWeber, which is designed to send out mass e-mails. (You do NOT want to be sending this out through your own personal e-mail account!)
For publishing a print newsletter, we recommend NoHassleNewsletters.com, which offers complete done-for-you printing and mailing services. They’ll also provide content for your newsletter if you need it.
I hope you found this helpful. Please let us know if you have any questions at all.
Supporting you for your success,
Michelle Nightengale
Founder & CEO
