No matter what name you give it, a consistently good and consistently sent e-newsletter can be a phenomenal communications, P.R. and sales tool.

It may be time to start thinking about what an e-zine or e-newsletter could do for your company or for your clients’ businesses.

When clients ask me whether it’s time for them to add e-zines to their marketing mix, here are some of the tips I tell them to keep in mind:

• Know your potential customers so you can give them news they actually care about. Writing directly to your audience – their wants, their needs, their interests – is essential. Remember: Timely, relevant, interesting all matter.
• Use the 80/20 rule. E-newsletters are meant to inform and advice, not to push and sell. Go with about 80% information and 20% about your services, a new product, a current special – as long as you are being of service and making yourself a valuable resource for the reader, promotion to the right extent is fine…and expected!
• Keep your design clean and visually friendly. Large blocks of black copy are a definite turnoff. In the online medium, simple is always the best way to go. Keep it clean and easy on the eyes.
• Use catchy headlines and detailed captions. Appealing headlines entice your readers to keep on reading and prevent them from over-scanning and missing out altogether.

Thinking about sending out a regular e-newsletter? Need a trusted partner to write it and manage your newsletter campaign? Feel free to contact me to discuss these or other copywriting-related ideas in more depth.

For more on ezines and enewsletters, read Part 2 of this blog post here.