Top tips to get the most from your customer newsletter

For many businesses, newsletters are a great way to keep in touch with customers. You can tell them about new products and hopefully drive some new sales. Or, at the very least, retain existing business.

We live in a world where our email in-boxes are overflowing with newsletters, weekly bulletins and virtually every bill we receive has a newsletter enclosed. So how do you ensure that your newsletter is among the ones to actually be read?

Whether you're preparing a printed edition or an sending an email version, here are some tips for driving some return on investment from your company newsletter:

1. Keep the content relevant. Customers find no value in reading about your recent staff bowling night or Christmas party. So if the company news does not have a direct relevant effect on your customers, leave it out.

2. Create several versions. If possible, segment your customer database and write newsletters to appeal to various different customer groups. This may even involve a different creative look for each, depending on the diversity of your customer base. Use whatever purchasing intelligence you've got on hand to build a picture of your customers.

3. Be informative. It might sound obvious, being a newsletter and all, but it's surprising how many company newsletters are devoid of news. We all love a piece of gossip, or to be first to hear the news. We like to be kept up-to-date on new trends. So communicate something that your reader can't find out anywhere else. Empower them with news, and they'll look forward to the next edition.

4. Make them feel special. Customers need a reason to open your newsletter. They want to know what's in it for them. Show them you appreciate their business by giving them a special offer that they can only have from receiving the newsletter.

5. Listen to your customers. What do they want to hear about? Conduct surveys. This doesn't need to be expensive market research. Put a poll on your website. Get your call centre staff to ask a few questions at the end of a call. Get feedback from your sales representatives. There are lots of simple ways to gather information. And importantly, your customers will appreciate you all the more for it.

6. Plan regular communications. How often have newsletters been started and launched with great gusto, only to print one edition? Think ahead about how you will sustain a regular newsletter. If you know your customers will appreciate a weekly newsletter (and I'll come to frequency in a minute) then for goodness-sake make sure you've got enough material to make it worth reading.

7. Get the frequency right. There are some really bad offenders out there (and I won't name names) who alienate their customers by communicating far too frequently. Don't let this be you. Working out a reasonable frequency all depends on your product and how often customers interact with your business. But let's just say that most people will hit the delete button on a daily email.

8. Drive interaction. Use your newsletter to encourage customers to get in touch with you again. Some examples of ways to do this include running a  competition, gathering feedback from a poll or giving them a voucher to redeem in store. Avoid hard sell tactics. Encourage interaction and customers will feel good about doing business with you.

9. Feature customers. Use real case studies to demonstrate the value of your product or service. Other customers will identify with these stories and may learn something new about your business offerings.

If your customer newsletter needs re-vamping or you want to start up a relevant, interesting and well-written newsletter that your customers will appreciate, then contact CraftWrite today: jill@craftwrite.com.au