Improving Your Business with Newsletters: Tips for Success
By definition, a newsletter is a small publication containing news of interest to a specified group. What the dictionary doesn't tell you is that newsletters are one of the most effective mediums for connecting with consumers and promoting your business.
To help you take advantage of the benefits agency newsletters have to offer, we've come up with some tips for getting started, writing a quality newsletter and distributing it via the Internet without design issues and other technical complications!
Getting Started
More and more agents are distributing newsletters to their clients—and for good reason. Newsletters are great tools for promoting the identity and public awareness of your business—both of which have a substantial impact on sales.
You can also use your newsletter to:
- Present readers with newsworthy industry information
- Make regular contact with clients
- Give readers an educational publication to refer back to when needed
- Announce new products and services to readers
Coming Up With Content
Writing content for a newsletter might be your Everest. To avoid feelings of apprehension and frustration, take baby steps:
- Brainstorm themes and topics on a sheet of paper. You can find additional ideas from clients, press releases, industry publications or competitor newsletters.
- Circle a couple of those topics and begin researching these areas—one topic at a time.
- Once you've completed the research process, create an outline for each topic of which points you'd like to touch on.
- Begin writing—one topic at a time.
Creating quality content for your newsletter can be challenging! When it comes time to content, remember to take things one step at a time and you'll do just fine.
Connecting With Your Audience
When it comes to newsletter writing, an informal tone is best—people like to feel as if there's a person behind the text. So, while your topics may be on storm-proofing a house or filing an auto claim, using a personal approach will appeal to readers and develop the trusting relationships you need to satisfy existing clients and reel in new ones.
Other writing tips include:
Using creative titles. Experts conclude that you have three seconds to make an impression. Grab your reader's attention with strong titles.
Avoiding industry jargon. Readers shouldn't have to dig out a dictionary to understand your newsletter! Substitute industry terms when you can. If that's not possible, be sure to provide explanations and definitions.
Making it readable. Large blocks of text will exhaust your readers. Break up chunks of text by using white space, graphics or photos.
Watching the mechanics. You want readers to take you seriously—typos and grammatical errors will reflect poorly on you and your business.
Limiting sales hype. The best newsletters tend to be purely informational in nature. You risk losing readers if you're constantly selling yourself.
Editing carefully. After making your own revisions, have a peer double-check to make sure there are no typos or other errors.
Formatting and Design
Like most busy insurance agents, you may not have the time to format your newsletter, nor the resources of a design department to put it together.
Fortunately, there are companies that provide online solutions for busy businessmen and women. Companies like eNewsletterOnline work with you and a design team to create a template for your newsletter that best suits your professional image. You can then copy and paste your newsletter text into the template via a password-protected site, eliminating layout problems and HTML frustrations. Then, with the click of a button, you can send your newsletter to everyone on your mailing list!
Start Your Newsletter Today!
Newsletters are one of the best ways to connect with prospects, clients and colleagues and raise the visibility of your agency. Take advantage of these tips and other programs designed to make publishing newsletters easy—and get started today!
This information was provided by InsureMe, the leader in online insurance leads for the insurance industry. Since 1993, InsureMe has helped thousands of insurance agents succeed in the insurance business by providing top quality leads that are both detailed and affordable. For more information on InsureMe leads, please visit our agent Web site at agent.insureme.com.
