Email Newsletters are a Cost-Effective Marketing Solution for Entrepreneurs

By startupprincess | Published February 28, 2007

kelly.pngKeeping in touch with your clients is key and there are many ways you can do it on a boot-strapping budget, but one of the very best, is to provide your clients with valuable information and tips via an email newsletter. I’ve received these and appreciated the good ones, junked the dull ones. I am in the process of figuring out the best way to start one, and this is what I’ve learned so far in my research:

1. You Must Have Compelling Info and Content to Share. Think, “Do unto others as they would have you do unto them.” What do they want to hear from you? What do they want to know? Why do they buy from you? What solutions can you offer to their problems?

2. Keep it Simple and Easy to Scan. Effective newsletters have bolded headings, bullets, key points, photos, and white space!

3. Consider Design. While this isn’t required, it certainly boosts my interest level. Most newsletters have a template and then they drop in their info into that format. One Heart Bulgaria has a nice format and so does Shannon Cherry’s Be Heard Solutions.

4. Stay on Schedule. If you are going to send out weekly, monthly, quarterly…stick with it. You never know how much people read it until you miss an issue. I read Ali Brown’s (Ezine Queen) site recently and she said that there was a reader who said even though she knew Ali wasn’t writing personally to her, it felt like it, she loved those newsletters because they were upbeat and positive, and they helped her during her battle with cancer receive some nice news.

5. Links are key. If you want the newsletter to bring you sales, then be sure to include various links in the website that point readers back to YOUR site, articles, info, video, products, services, opportunities, calendars, etc.

6. Be Friendly. I get Grok Dot Com’s Newletter each month and while it’s designed and intended for Marketing Professionals, it still has titles that are fun and interesting…I get the sense that they enjoy what they do there. I like to see the faces of the people who write the articles, even if you are the only one who writes them…put your photo there! Put photos of your clients in there…or even WITH you, it shows you’ve got friends, you didn’t just pull their photo off istock photo or something.

7. Find an email program that can help you send your newsletter out professionally. I need to do this for Start Up Princess. Currently my Entourage program only allows me to send emails in groups of 50, so I send emails out in bunches, in separate groups. One solution I’m considering is 1 Shopping Cart for this service.

8. Always edit and spell-check. I received one this week with over 5 spelling errors. If this isn’t your strong suit, make sure you pass it on to someone else before sending it out.

Enjoy Building Your Business in a Cost-effective way!

images.jpgToday’s Magic Wand: What can YOU share in an e-newsletter that should be shared? What do YOUR readers and clients want to hear from YOU? You’re on your way to a great newsletter!

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4 Responses to “Email Newsletters are a Cost-Effective Marketing Solution for Entrepreneurs”

  1. Michael Valiant on February 28th, 2007 10:51 am

    Re: # 7

    Not just a company that can send out email professionally, but one that can automate the process of growing your list & sending out your email professionally! :)

    Thanks for the 1ShoppingCart mention in this great post!

    Michael Valiant
    http://blog.1ShoppingCart.com

  2. startupprincess on February 28th, 2007 11:37 am

    Thanks for visiting Michael! ;) Great company!

  3. Lee-Anne Ragan on April 4th, 2007 2:54 pm

    I love love love http://www.myemma.com – we send out our newsletters using this company and I can’t say enough about them (and no I don’t work for them).

    The customer service is top notch (you can actually get a live person on the phone if need be), payment options are flexible (you pay a monthly fee based on how many emails you send), it’s incredibly easy to use & feedback from our clients has been great. I only wish I’d discovered them years ago.

  4. Ponn Sabra on April 4th, 2007 4:15 pm

    Hi Kelly!
    I just love Thirdsphere. Not, only is it my webhost, but you can use it strictly for their Automation Station: which I believe is the single-best and most affordable autoresponder prg that’s comparable to the one you’re looking at right now…but, *much* cheaper ;-)

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  Startup Princess is an international network committed to empowering Women Entrepreneurs by offering resources for women in business to support, mentor, collaborate, learn from, and inspire one another. In 2006, after struggling to raise funding for an initial startup business venture, Kelly King Anderson recognized an important market niche existed for reliable resources educating women desiring to start and grow successful businesses, thus Startup Princess was developed.

Successful women entrepreneurs understand that for every business venture, they are in charge of creating, organizing, developing, managing, and assuming all the risks associated with their enterprise. That can seem quite intimidating but as other women business owners will tell you, it’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it! Success is within your grasp and Startup Princess is here to help.

First, join as a member of Startup Princess and start building a solid foundation. Membership entitles you to a listing in the Startup Princess Online Directory where we list women owned businesses. You’ll also access exclusive content like articles, videos, and audio straight from your email inbox. Coupled with feature interviews, discounts on events, networking connections, and press opportunities, your Startup Princess membership will give any woman entrepreneur a great start for her business!

Then, take advantage of Touchpoint, our annual business conference for women entrepreneurs. Practical planning meets sky-high inspiration at this high-impact event for women business owners to network and develop their approach to business with wisdom and creative direction from other women entrepreneurs across the country.

Need a little help taking your business to the next step? Wish you had a fairy godmother like Cinderella offering you a helping hand? Now you can! Startup Princess is the home of Fairy Godmother Consulting, volunteer mentors sharing tips and insights to bless the lives of other women entrepreneurs.

Startup Princess can offer many benefits to women in business from future women business owners to successful women entrepreneurs. Please call or fill out our contact form with questions, concerns, or general interest and let us help you by giving you full access to everything Startup Princess has to offer!