Enewsletters improve communication channels with clients, share good news stories, share expertise through tips and also assists in building a database of potential clients.

Not only is it a great way to share your stories, it can also be a powerful marketing tool providing useful information to the reader while indirectly promoting your services.

Make it regular

The first step is to ask yourself – are you committed to sending it out regularly? There is no point in sending out an enewsletter whenever you get around to it. It has to be at least once a month, but preferably once a fortnight. We send out this newsletter 10 a.m. every second Tuesday.

I am a member of the Women’s Network Australia, and they send their newsletter out every Monday evening. I know that it is coming out on that day and time, and so look forward to reading each Monday evening.

Make it relevant
The content obviously needs to be appealing to your readership. Have a think about what type of information they may find interesting. Under no circumstances use the opportunity to sell to your readers.

It is about creating a sense of community and sharing your expertise with them. Keep your articles around maximum 200 words and keep your sentences and paragraphs short. If the article is longer, place it on your website or blog and hyperlink to it from the newsletter. This is a great way of getting your readers to see other material you have written. Use plain language and always check for spelling and typos before distribution.

Make it easy to read
The layout needs to be easy to read. Many people just scan enewsletters to find the stories that interest them. Stats shows that 51 seconds is all we usually spend scanning an enewsletter and most people won’t read past the first three items on your list.

Limit your colours and watch for bad contrast. Simple is often best, with one banner heading. Avoid flashy, distracting graphics, and use low resolution relevant images. Use lots of white space to draw the eye to the text.

Importantly, include a table of contents at the top of the enewsletter so readers can decide what to read. Create hyperlinks on the entries in the table of contents to the articles for quick navigation, but don’t let this take away from your main items.

Never spam
Always ask people to opt in to receive the newsletter. So make it easy to subscribe and unsubscribe. Frustrated subscribers are not likely to return. There must be a simple Unsubscribe link. The email must clearly state the sending organisation and why it was sent.

Add contact details

You want readers of the newsletter to contact you! Make sure you add all of your contact details including phone, email, blog, Facebook, etc. Remember to hyperlink them to make it even easier to contact you.

So you arn’t you using an enewsletter to build your client database?

Sydney Public Relations Agency, CP Communications provides specialist media, traditional and online PR strategies that get amazing results. Contact us today. For more PR tips see www.PublicRelationsSydney.com.au.