Any seasoned advertiser will tell you that putting together a well written and attention grabbing newsletter is an integral part of any email marketing campaign. Email marketing newsletters are an effective way of taking care of several tasks in one single communication: you can keep customers up to date on recent news at the company, you can introduce prospective customers to a new product or special offer and you can help to build on existing trust between you and your base of customers. There is a flipside to the coin in that if not prepared properly, then it can significantly compromise your business. Here are a few tips that will help you to avoid some of the more commonly made mistakes.

When you are writing your newsletter, make sure it is just that – a newsletter. It is all very well and good to have an advert within the content; however you should make sure that the majority of the content is indeed newsworthy. If your email is a blatant sales pitch then the reader will pick up on this immediately. As an example, if your company sells shoes then your newsletter could contain a mixture of articles on topics such as running, back pain or perhaps an article on good posture. Covering topics that are indirectly (or directly) related to your particular business niche will help to build a connection between you and your audience. You may wish to include some coupons within your newsletter; alternatively you could add an unobtrusive advert within the copy. This will have the effect of subtly making a connection between the content and your site.

It is important that any email marketing campaign is focused around good quality content. Remember that an email newsletter should not be treated as an overt sales tactic, instead relying on useful information that helps to convey your brand. This may seem somewhat counterintuitive; however this will indirectly market your product and provide your customers with information that will be of value to them. Having customers who will look forward to receiving your next email will clearly be more valuable to you as a business than customers who will immediately delete it as soon as they spot it in their inbox.

Any email marketing campaign must be built around the concept of gaining trust from your subscribers. With this in mind it is important that you always give them what they want. Whilst you will obviously want to keep as large a readership as possible you must also make it easier for a customer to unsubscribe from your mailing list. If you continue to send them newsletters they have not requested then this will alienate them further and as a result you may well lose further business. This will be especially dangerous if said customer is in a position of influence where they are able to communicate their displeasure to their own readership. This is especially true in the age we live in where blogging and social media are especially effective in spreading the word about customer service, both good and bad.

Author Bio: Trevor Richards is writing on behalf of Extravision, a leading UK email marketing company.

Category: Marketing
Keywords: email marketing, marketing, newsletter, copywriting, advertising, website