E-newsletters

So what are some things to keep in mind when designing your e-newsletter?  For me its the 3 P's:  Purpose, Pictures and Promotions.

Purpose

Most e-newsletters are targeted at customers you already know.  Keep this in mind.  A good e-newsletter should be about retaining your existing clients.  What do existing clients want to know?  Any deals, sales or promotions is a good place to start.  Any new stock or products is a must include.  Changes to pricing on existing products and services, is also a good thing to include.  In this day and age, comparison shopping and researching online are performed more than 90% of the time someone is thinking about making a purchase.  An e-newsletter is a good way to beat the comparison shoppers to the punch.

Pictures

People buy from people.  Including photos of your staff and business remind clients why they purchased off you in the first place or gives new clients a comforting feeling about potentially making a purchase off you.  Pictures of products can also serve as a visual reminder for someone who has been putting off buying something they need or want.  Lastly, text filled e-newsletters are far more likely to get moved to the junk/trash folder than ones filled with pictures for the simple reason that people generally are lazy.  They want their information in a glance or they won't bother.

Promotions

The Groupon's and Living Social's of the world are thriving because they understand that everyone likes to get a deal.  Promotions are a great way to attract new clients or get existing clients back through the door.  If you don't normally do promotions or think your business doesn't need to do promotions, you are falling behind the times.  Get creative.  Painters could consider offering one free bathroom painting if you get two or more other rooms done.  Bakeries could offer a free dozen muffins with the purchase of an event cake.  Clothing companies could do your typical 50% off your second item.  The point is, come up with a monthly promotion for every e-newsletter because people love deals.    

Keep in mind the 3 P's when doing your e-newsletter and you will increase your business.