Small Business E-Newsletters: Tips and Tricks

Most small business owners know that the basic tech tools - like an email address and website - are vital to maintaining a professional appearance. But what about an e-newsletter? Is it something you need to do to promote your business?

If you can answer "Yes" to one or more of these questions, you may need an e-newsletter:

•Do you regularly release new products or new services?
•Do you offer rotating sales, discounts or deals?
•Do you sponsor special events or special promotions?
•Is part of your business related to providing information about your industry?

If an e-newsletter is right for your company, try these tricks and tips for turning it into an effective marketing tool:

Provide quality information. These days, Internet customers are savvy. They know your e-newsletter is a marketing tool, and they don't want to be duped into wasting time. To ensure that they read it - and continue subscribing to it - make sure you provide quality information. If it includes informational articles, write clever pieces that will really spark the interest of your clients.

Include more than one piece of news. An e-newsletter is just that - a newsletter. That means you need more than one article, or you need to feature more than one product. However, don't drown your customers with too much information. Three or four pieces of news are all you need.

Time it right. Send out your e-newsletter every day, and your customers will start automatically deleting it without even reading it (or worse, they'll unsubscribe). Don't send it more often than once a week. You could even send it just once a month, or just whenever you have a special promotion or new product to feature.

Give them options. Subscribing to your e-newsletter should be optional, and an unsubscribe option should always be available. Don't force your e-newsletter on customers and you'll ensure that everyone who receives your e-newsletter actually wants to read it.

Ask for feedback. If your customers unsubscribe, ask them for feedback. Why did they unsubscribe to your e-newsletter? Was the information useless to them? Did they receive the e-newsletter too often? How could you have improved it? Customer feedback is extremely valuable if you hope to produce a great e-newsletter.

An e-newsletter can be a great way of getting your company name and products delivered to the email inbox of your loyal customers. It serves as a reminder about any new items you have available, as well as discounts, specials and deals. Moreover, the e-newsletter allows you to provide free information to your customers about industry related news, giving you the opportunity to share your knowledge and expertise with clients.