How To Develop A Great Partnership Newsletter

According to One Source’s 2009 B2B Buyer’s Transformation Study, 60% of the salespeople report that the sales cycle is getting longer.  You might want to consider adding a newsletter to your marketing mix to keep your name in front of your prospective clients.  If you think it’s too much trouble, consider the following five secrets to having a great newsletter.

Five Secrets of a Great Newsletter
by Jim Palmer – the Newsletter Guru

Based on my 27 years of experience producing kick-butt newsletters that get results, I want to share five secrets with you on how to create a great company newsletter. 

Secret # 1 – Tell them what else you do. Many customers initially engage with a business by purchasing a single product or service. Over time they may do repeat business, usually reordering the same product or service, unaware of the other products or services that the company has to offer. How many times have you heard a client I didn’t know you did that,” or, “I didn’t know you also sold that”? Or, “I didn’t know you also sold that!” These are all missed opportunities to increase your revenue. 

Secret #2 – Tell them what’s new. As business owners, we are always coming up with new products and services. A newsletter is a great way to get the word out to people who already trust you and find value in what you sell. This can often be done quite effectively by way of customer success stories or testimonials. 

Secret #3 – It’s not about you. This is very important. Your newsletter is not about you or how many industry awards you have won. Your newsletter should be about what’s important and interesting to your customers and clients. Inform, educate, and entertain them, and they will look forward to your newsletter. 

Secret #4 – Recognize the expensive real estate! The back page of your newsletter is not simply the mailing panel; it is the first thing your readers will see when the newsletter comes out of the mailbox. This is a great place to put important items that you want readers to see. 

Secret #5: – Frequency trumps everything. Frequency is more important than the size of a newsletter, whether it’s color or black and white, or even the quality of the content! Yes, you heard me right – I would actually prefer a homemade cheesy newsletter published monthly to a professionally designed newsletter done twice a year. You simply must have frequency to build trust and relationships.

Jim Palmer, The Newsletter Guru, has been writing and designing newsletters for clients in just about every industry for nearly 30 years. If you’re ready to boost your profits by increasing your repeat and referral business, get Jim’s FREE e-course, The Awesome Power of Newsletter Marketing, at www.TrippsNewsletterSecrets.com