Do you send out a regular ezine or e-newsletter to your clients, potential clients or fans?
If not, WHY NOT? If you do, I have a quick tip for you.
First, if you DON’T send regular emails or an e-newsletter to your email list, you’re missing out! Email is one of the best ways to build and fortify relationships of loyalty, trust and genuine interest with your clients and fans. Plus, direct email is more often than not where any sale is made, at least, in the Internet marketing world. By this I mean that your clients or fans are more apt to buy something from you as a result of an email you send to them than they are from some other form of communication, like a blog post, article, tweet or Facebook post.
One of the reasons for this is that email, whether through a formal newsletter or a short textural note, allows you to be more direct, personable and revealing with your client or fan. You can offer more of yourself, your personality and your services through an email than you can a status update, and you can be more casual and forthcoming than you would in, say, a blog post.
Email is the closest thing we have in the Internet marketing world to a personal letter. And everyone loves getting a personal letter from a good friend, right?
If you DO send a regular ezine or e-newsletter, take some time today to review your last 2-3 issues. What was in your e-newsletter? What did you offer your client or fan? Did you give them something of value in exchange for their time and attention? Did you make reading your newsletter worth their while? Or did your e-newsletter read like a long list of advertisements for you and your services?
If you want your email communications to be opened, read, and responded to, follow the Firecracker Ratio Rule for ENewsletters. It goes like this: 89% of your e-newsletter should offer your reader valuable, useful, uplifting and/or entertaining content while only 11% should be self-promotional. This means that only 11% or less of your e-newlsetter should ask your reader to buy something from you! The rest should generously give them great stuff.
Now, if you’re like most of my clients (and especially if you’re a performing musician), you’re rolling your eyes and thinking, “Well, why am I even sending a newsletter if I can’t promote what I’m doing? I have product to sell, a show to promote. How am I supposed to do that if only 11% of my content is promotional?”
Here’s the deal. Establish a reputation for sending a regular newsletter that is chockfull of value, news, helpful information, fun, and good stuff. Be generous and have the interests of your reader at heart. Let your e-newsletter be a means to serve them, to help them with their dreams and goals rather than promote your own. Then, when you do have something to promote or sell, your reader will eat it up! You can send them several short announcements and promotional emails in addition to your newsletter, and they’ll be happy to receive and respond to them.
Why? Because you have established a reputation for offering value, for being an expert who delivers. The people on your email list trust you now, and they also feel connected to you in a way that makes them genuinely interested in who you are and what you have to offer.
But if all you do in your email is ask people to buy from you or come to your show or event, or take action on your behalf, without ever offering them something they may need or want or enjoy, well, you’ll have a reputation for sending self-promotional emails.
And be honest. How much do you look forward to receiving yet another promotional email?
Start thinking about your audience, your clients and potential clients. What would they love to receive in an ezine or e-newsetter? What kind of information do they need or enjoy? What story could you share with them that might make them laugh or cry or feel more connected to you in some way? How can you share more of yourself and all you have to offer?
If you need a little help creating compelling content for your e-newsletter or any email campaign, I am here to serve! Sometimes, just by brainstorming some ideas, you’ll start to see how much potential your e-newsletter has to offer value, fun and connection.