There are many, many ways of marketing your business that don’t have to cost an arm and a leg. They are all great ways of ensuring that your contacts are aware of what you do and whom you can help.
One of the best forms of keeping your name in front of the eyes of your clients, your associates, and others that may be in your target market is a newsletter. It allows you to show them that you are more than just someone who is looking for projects to work on. It shows that you are also willing to pass on information that will help them run their own businesses.
Think about how many newsletters you read each week or month? For instance, the newsletter you are reading right now. Do you enjoy getting and reading it? Do you find the articles and other information helpful? Do you know who or what company produces it? Of course you do.
Newsletter Formats:
Newsletters can be produced in several formats. For businesses, the most economical and most readily acceptable formats are plain text emails, HTML emails, HTML page on your website, PDF, and print. Each format has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Format Pros Cons Plain Text Email * Easy to Format
* Size remains manageable and easy for readers to open
* Costs only your time * Limited to text only
* Cannot include graphics or fancy formatting.
HTML emails * Visually appealing
* Costs only your time
* Allows for creativeness * Restricted in size as it takes a while to load
* Can only be fully viewed while reader is online
* Some readers may opt to receive only plain text emails so won’t see your creativeness
HTML webpage * Endless possibilities for design
* Room for lots of content & graphics
* Can be as big as you like
* Don’t need to send as email attachment
* Costs only your time * Takes time to design
* Reader has to be online to view
PDF * Endless possibilities for design
* Room for lots of content & graphics
* Can be as big as you like
* Can send only a text email with a link to the page
* Readers can save to their computer and read or print at their leisure
* Almost everyone has the free Adobe Reader in order to view
* Costs only your time * The larger the format, the longer to produce
* Need to have the full version of Adobe to produce or a PDF printer driver
Print * Endless possibilities for design
* Room for lots of content & graphics
* Can be as big as you like * Costly to print and mail.
Deciding which format to produce your newsletter, and the frequency which you publish it, may be a process of trial and error. For instance our newsletter, Virtual TidBits (www.docutype.net/news.htm), started as a monthly text only email. This was done by formatting it in either Word or Notepad. The only essential formatting that needs to be included in text emails is that it is kept to 65 characters per line. This didn’t take very long to put together, only about 2 hours a month.
For creative types, plain text just didn’t seem to be appealing enough. So, we tried designing it in HTML. Well, they turned out very visually appealing but seemed to take a long time to produce. You see, we would design the newsletter in Word and then transfer it to HTML using FrontPage, a longer process than we had hoped. It took about 4-5 hours to produce each month. Eventually, we changed our publishing schedule to bi-monthly, which seemed to justify the time it took to produce.
But, it still didn’t seem to be exactly what our readers or we fully enjoyed reading. So we made yet another change. Our current format for Virtual TidBits is PDF and feedback has shown that everyone loves the new format and the freedom to add in as much as possible. It does take quite a bit of time to produce but, when you enjoy being creative, it doesn’t seem all that bad. We use MS Publisher to design the newsletter and then convert that to PDF. If you have the full version of Adobe, you can choose to distil it or print to file. Distilling it leaves the hyperlinks in place while printing it to file will require that you go into the newsletter in Adobe and re-insert the hyperlinks.
If you do not have the full version of Adobe to accomplish this, you can choose to use one of the many PDF printer drivers that are on the market today. Some of those can be found at http://www.visagesoft.com/easypdf/, http://www.pdfzone.com/, & http://www.win2pdf.com (I used this one before getting the full Adobe and was very happy with the results). The only drawback of some of these printer drivers is that some of them (if not all) do not allow for hyperlinks to be active.
What should be included & where do I find it?
One question that many people ask when they are considering starting a newsletter is what should be included. Again, your target audience will be the main factor that will determine what you want to include. But no matter who your audience is, be sure to make your content timely. If a world event may affect your industry, be sure to include articles that show the various possible points of view.
Another question that many readers (and prospective newsletter editors) ask is, “where do you find your content?” Actually, most of the content in Virtual TidBits finds me. I do write articles myself but also include information from other writers and sources.
Once you start publish a newsletter, you can submit it to Ezine directories. Most of these directories will ask you if you accept content. By answering yes, writers will submit their articles for your newsletter.
A few sites you can submit your newsletter/ezine to are http://bestezines.com/submit, http://ezine-marketing.com/cgi-bin/search/search.cgi, & http://ezine-universe.com.
Another way of finding content for your newsletter is to read other newsletters and ezines that are similar to yours or that target similar markets to yours. These newsletters may include information that you may find helpful and your readers find helpful. If you spot a particular article or other content that you would like to use, it is recommended that you contact the newsletter editor or the author of the article and ask to use it before you go ahead and include it in your newsletter. Editors will appreciate that you are actually reading the content in their newsletters and authors usually like to have copies of publications that their articles appear in and may request a copy or subscribe to your newsletter.
Once you have approached an author, you will probably be added to their mailing list and they will send you future articles that are appropriate for your newsletter.
You can also pick up articles from various websites that collect articles strictly for the purpose of offering them as newsletter content. Some of those sites include http://www.marketing-seek.com, http://www.ezinearticles.com, http://www.web-source.net/articlesub.htm, & http://www.authorconnection.com.
Other ideas for possible content for your newsletter are:
Special dates for the month,
Jokes or limericks (be sure they are not offensive),
Helpful links and tips,
Crossword or Word Search puzzles,
Testimonials,
Profiles of your clients or contacts,
Book Reviews,
Upcoming events in your industry,
And of course, information about what your business offers.
Some of the above suggestions will come to you through emails, discussion lists, or just surfing the net. Be sure to set aside a folder in your email program and an area in your Favorites list in your browser for anything that may seem like good content for your newsletter.
Whether or not you choose to include advertising in your newsletter is your own choice but don’t overdo it. It is a way to make a few bucks to offset your time but ask yourself one question, “How much advertising do I like to see in a newsletter?”
Also, learn by example. What is it about other newsletter that you receive that you like and dislike? Just remember to think about your readers when deciding what to include in your newsletter. Ask them for feedback and what they would like to see included in upcoming issues. Producing a successful newsletter is not all that difficult but you must be sure to make time to do it on a regular basis.
How do I promote my newsletter?
The next step in the success of your newsletter or ezine is promotion. The following are just a few ways you can promote your newsletter:
Include your article archives on your website and be sure to have a sign email address or form for your visitors to sign up.
Put a link to your newsletter in the signature lines you use in your emails.
If you write articles, be sure to add a short sentence in the contact information that you include at the end of your articles.
Invite your newsletter readers to pass on each and every issue of your newsletter to their friends and associates.
If allowed, announce the your current issue of your newsletter is available to those on any email discussion lists that you are on. Don’t include the newsletter, just include instructions on how people can get it and how they can sign up to receive it automatically.
Exchange ads or information with other newsletter publishers.
And, be sure to submit your newsletter to various submission sites, http://bestezines.com/submit, http://ezine-marketing.com/cgi-bin/search/search.cgi, & http://ezine-universe.com.
No matter how you choose to format your newsletter or what you choose to include in it, newsletters are one of the best ways to showcase your business, build credibility as an expert in your field, and stay in touch with your contacts.
Janice Byer is the owner of Docu-Type Administrative & Web Design Services (but you knew that already when you read the first paragraph :-). She invites you to visit her website at http://www.docutype.net and sign her guestbook (another opportunity to get your business name out there).