How to Start an Email Newsletter

The use of e-mail newsletters has quickly come to be an indispensable component of the advertising campaigns of many for- and not-for-profit organizations. In fact, e-mail newsletters can be used for virtually any organization. A typical e-mail newsletter will include events, news, as well as articles on topics of interest to your readers. First, you will determine the type of content you wish to provide to your readers. Next, you will decide on the format of your articles and finally you will focus on building a subscriber base.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. # Content If people are to read your newsletter, they are going to want to be able to get something out of it. It is up to you to decide what your readers will see. Decide on a topic or topics that you are interested in writing and your potential customers would be interested in reading. Try to select a topic you are knowledgeable in. For example, if you have a medical practice, you might want to give medical advice. However, if you do not think you are knowledgeable enough on a particular topic that you think is best to write about, there is an alternative. You can ask someone else to write it for you. You can pay this person or barter with him for a link to his site. Or, you might want to look into article syndication by typing "article syndication" into your chosen search engine. In addition to informational content, you can also include news concerning your organization or business as well as upcoming events or other announcements. Newsletters are an excellent way to increase awareness of your organization, company, brand, or product.
2. # Formatting The format of the newsletter is another important aspect of a successful e-mail newsletter campaign. One option is the traditional article format. Your articles should be clear, concise, and coherent. Two other options are a question-and-answer format and a top 10 list. The former is especially good for interviews, even if you are just interviewing yourself. The latter is a very versatile format and can be any number of items you like (i.e. top 25, top 100) and can vary in subject (10 ways to sell your home, 50 things to do to improve you garden, 25 easy ways to relieve back pain). To use this format simply decide on a question or problem you would like to solve and come up with as many answers as you can think of.
3. # Publishing There are various options for publishing your newsletter. There are free sites such as Topica, Zinester, Coollist, and Yahoo!Groups that are efficient and easy to use. These sites are supported by advertisements that are shown beside your content. If you are going for a more professional look, a paid site may be better for you. Some sites worthy of being looked at include Sparklist, Lyris, List Host, Topica and Zinester.
4. # Developing a Subscriber Base Next, you will need to work on developing a subscriber base. There are several avenues of acquiring new subscriptions including advertising, directory listings and ad-swapping. A good e-mail newsletter marketing campaign will include all of these. Another method that is in wide use is using sign-up forms on websites. This is a very effective method because if you have traffic to your site, you can require subscription for access to certain parts of the site. You can also simply allow visitors to opt to receive a subscription. Be sure to give your subscribers an opportunity to opt out at any time.

Tips & Warnings

• Finally, I must once again stress the importance of content. Without good content, no one will want to subscribe to your newsletter. Good content will keep your audience reading and help you develop a positive reputation for whatever entity you represent.