Every business today seems to have a newsletter, so you may wonder: should I have one for my business? Good newsletters are a great way to market your business because you can provide free and valuable information to your customers, and thus foster good will and prove that you are knowledgeable in your field. However, you must keep in mind that your customers are getting bombarded with newsletters from every other company, too.

I recommend that you have a newsletter for your organization if you have something valuable to say. You can adjust the frequency of the newsletter so that every issue is relevant to your customers or clients. For example, if you feel like you have something newsworthy for your subscribers once a week, then have a weekly newsletter. If you have something of value every other month, then have a bi-monthly newsletter. Resist the temptation to just send something out in order to have your company name pop-up in people’s email inbox – that’s a fast way to lose your subscribers.

So, how do you make a good newsletter? Here are some thoughts:

1. Minimize images: Do not put a lot of images in your newsletter, since many email systems show images as a red “x” in the preview window. Instead, use images only for your company logo or when the image will help explain the article.
2. Write succinctly: Even if someone loves your newsletter, they don’t have a lot of time to read it. Use bold headings so that they can skim directly to the part that is most interesting to them, and don’t get overly wordy.
3. Add reader-friendly content: Remember that you are trying to write things your customers want to know about – newsletters which are purely self-promotional marketing pieces just drive people to hit the “delete” key.
   GOOD: ways they can save time or money, sales and coupons for your business, tips and tricks, or links to interesting posts from your forum or blog.
   BAD: announcing new employees at your company or increased sales at your company.
4. Make your call to action: If you are attempting to market your product or solicit donations, make sure that you make a clear “call to action” – usually at the top and the bottom of the newsletter. You can also create a sense of urgency by adding a deadline.
   EXAMPLE: “Use coupon code ENDOFSUMMER by 8/31/09 to save 10% on your order.”