Sensible Marketing for Small Business

The Internet is here to stay – may as well make the most of it! 

This means you can save on printing and postage costs with newsletters because you can send a newsletter out by e-mail or a dedicated online newsletter server and you can also make them available to read on your website. Can it build your business?  Well, yes and no. 

A newsletter in itself will not build your business, but if you write a brilliant newsletter that people enjoy to read and sign up for, then you have an audience for your announcements of new products and services.  Not all readers will buy everything you have on offer, but if your readership IS your target audience, chances are good, they will be regular purchasers of your services/products. Chances are you are already a subscriber to more than one “e-zine” (electronic newsletter), so you know how they work. 

A newsletter can be on any subject – business, family, hobbies, health and wellness… On the subject of coaching alone, there are countless e-zines you can subscribe to.  I even write one which comes out every Monday morning.  You can subscribe to it here:  http://www.terrilevine.com/newsletter.html.  You may be wondering whether it is worthwhile your joining the ranks and putting yet another newsletter “out there”.  It is another marketing tool. Even if you only had 5 subscribers, if those 5 are your target audience and they buy your products/services and tell their friends, they are worth a lot more than a list of thousands who are NOT your target audience and never buy a thing! Apart from which, a newsletter is a valuable means of keeping in touch with your clients. 

You don’t have to do a weekly newsletter – you can do a monthly newsletter.  You can keep them informed of your business activities, special offers, etc. as well as offer them free tips to help them.  On the home page of your website you put a sign up link so visitors who like what they see and read about you have the option of automatically signing up for your newsletter.  Make sure you use a double opt-in system.  People do sign up for newsletters and then forget they have done so and when they receive your newsletter they believe you have spammed them.  Some silly people will report you for spamming them! Building a newsletter does not happen overnight – and don’t be tempted to buy any of those “lists” – most names on those lists are illegally harvested.  Those people are not “true” opt-in subscribers to your newsletter and the moment you DO send them your newsletter, you have in fact, spammed them and have no defense if they do report you. Never add anybody who has not legitimately and freely chosen to subscribe to your newsletter.  Don’t add your friends and acquaintances either – unless you have asked them if they’d like to subscribe and they have said yes, or they havesigned themselves up. 

Anytime you add just anybody’s name to your list without their permission, you are engaging in spammer activity. Be patient.  Your list will grow, and as it grows, your newsletter will become more valuable as a business building tool. 

So Where Do You Start? 

Do you want to send your newsletter out by e-mail while your subscriber base is small and then switch to a larger e-zine dedicated option later?  You can also use Yahoo for sending out newsletters – this is a free service.  You do have options – it is up to you how you want to start – you can use dedicated newsletter services which charge a monthly fee – but the result is professional. I use www.Webvalence.com (as do many other coaching companies and small businesses).  They charge a monthly fee but the service is professional, it is user-friendly and mostly reliable.  It complies with the anti-spam laws and has excellent opt-in and opt-out procedures.  You also have the option of sending your newsletter in plain text format or html format.  There are other companies who will also host your newsletter AND help you design it.  Some of these companies also offer website services and online e-mail services.  Invest wisely – if you don’t need all the bells and whistles, don’t sign up for them. There are also companies that provide various newsletter templates for you and you just type your newsletter online and they take care of the rest.  Fees vary. Remember, you usually get what you pay for, but if you are starting off, you’re on a tight budget and have a tiny subscriber base, you don’t need the top of the range newsletter service just yet!  Do an Internet web search using the terms newsletter hosting – you will find a few different companies offer free and paid for services with various options to suit most budgets and situations.

Your other option is to just use your existing e-mail program.  The only problem with this is some e-mail programs misbehave when you try to send something to too many people at once, but if your list is small this is not likely to be a problem. Another problem is with your ISP who will identify your e-mail address sending out large quantities of mail and may think you are spamming.  Some ISP’s also place limits on the amount and size of e-mail you can send – check with them first.The other problem with this is the entire process is entirely “manual” – you have to manually subscribe and remove subscribers yourself. If you have time to do this, fine, if not, you might prefer to try one of the free services available.

How to You Grow Your Newsletter?  

Of course, the whole point of having a newsletter is that you have people who will read it.  When you are first starting off this is not as easy as it sounds – not if you want to remain “legal” and “can-spam” compliant. Here are some tips: 

1.  Obviously, your current clients would make ideal readers, but don’t just add them. Ask them first for permission to add them. Tell them the newsletter will give them tips to help them with their situations/life/business, or whatever it is you offer them, and keep them up to date with other offerings that might interest them. When you have their permission, THEN add them. 

2.  Previous/inactive clients.  You could try sending them a sample newsletter, with a short introduction asking if they’d like to subscribe and give them details on how to do that.  Don’t just add them without their permission – but DO let them know about your newsletter and DO invite them to subscribe.  You could offer new subscribers a free “something” – an e-book or special report. Whether you consider this a bribe or an incentive is unimportant… if they sign up and trial your newsletter and decide to stay on, then it is worth it. 

3.  Include wording in your newsletter that invites your existing subscribers to let others know, give them permission to forward the newsletter in its entirety and let their friends and family know how to subscribe. 

4.  Ask other businesses if they will advertise your newsletter and how to sign up in their newsletters in exchange for which you will do the same for them in your newsletter.  Fresh markets and all that! 

5.  List your newsletter with the free search engines.  There are many sites on the Internet where you can also list your newsletter free. Check out AltaVista, Google and Yahoo to begin with.

You cannot simply add people to your newsletter just because you know them.  You must have their permission to add them and send them your newsletter – to do otherwise is spamming.  NEVER send your newsletter to people who have not specifically “opted in” (asked for it) or given you permission to add them.   At the least, you can lose your Internet connection for such illegal activities and may have problems in the future, too.

Your Newsletter is Set Up… Now What do you Do?

Decide if your newsletter is going to be weekly or monthly and stick to it. Let your subscriber base know when to expect it.  Always provide interesting information that will interest most if not all of your readership.  At least 60% of your newsletter should be informative.  The rest can be announcements or joint ventures, ad exchanges, etc.  Now and then offer your subscriber base a small freebie. It need not be a freebie of your own. You can exchange “freebies” with joint venture partners so you always have a fresh supply of “freebies” to offer your list and keep them interested and subscribed.  Readers LOVE freebies.