How Small Businesses Can Use Newsletters

​Customers and prospects may have a limited perspective of what your company can offer if they only view your advertisements or receive promotional email. Newsletter content builds a broader picture and can include links to information on your website. Also, by highlighting your company, you build your reputation among potential new hires.

A newsletter demonstrates your expertise and builds confidence in your company as a potential supplier. Newsletter content provides valuable information to customers and prospects to help establish your company as an industry leader. Articles that cover important issues in your market sector or share information on industry research work well as content. You also may want to provide details of conferences where your company is making a presentation.

Newsletters can help launch new products. You can integrate content with other elements of the new product launch to include announcements and articles related to the product. You can provide information on special offers to reinforce the effect of your advertising and promotional campaigns and use this information to enhance the value of your newsletter.

When you issue newsletters at regular intervals—weekly, monthly or quarterly—you will be maintaining contact with customers and prospects between purchases and sales calls. If you face a decision-making process that's long and complex, you can use newsletters to communicate with all decision-makers throughout the process. If customers buy your products infrequently, you will maintain contact and build a strong relationship with them before the next sales opportunity.

Newsletters help increase the coverage of your target audience and widen your prospects simply by placing information about the newsletter on your website and asking visitors to subscribe. This lets you capture contact details of new prospects by using a low-cost method of communication, leaving a part of your marketing budget for other promos and ads.

See newsletters as part of your broader communications strategy by providing objective, interesting content your clients can enjoy and put to use. A newsletter allows you to take off your sales hat for a moment and talk to your audience in a different way. And it helps your brand.

Launching an email newsletter is less cumbersome than you might think. Here are the steps:

1. Define your topic and don't be afraid to show off your knowledge.
2. Set goals—Attracting new business? Does the newsletter lead to website traffic? Can you use it to bring in repeat business?
3. Promote the newsletter to new subscribers by drawing in new readers—encourage subscribers and friends to forward it along, sharing it across social channels.
4. If you consistently provide valuable content, word will spread.

Finally, are you looking to expand? Newsletters get your name in front of potential employees. Think of all the people who may have a friend or former colleague looking for a new position.
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According to Exact Target data, 42 percent of subscribers are more likely to buy from a company after subscribing to its newsletter. You can encourage customers to opt in by advertising what your company's newsletter will include. Make sure to emphasize the inherent value of receiving the newsletter from you.