Printed newsletters are a really easy way to contact your
prospective and current customers. They can even increase your
sales while reducing advertising costs. Research shows
newsletters get four times the readership of adverts or
brochures, and customers are seven times more likely to buy from
you than an average member of the public. A good newsletter can
improve name recognition and brand awareness, establish your
authority in your field, and differentiate your business from
the competition.

Make the layout of your newsletter inviting. If it looks too
packed with information it may seem hard work to read. Break up
the copy with plenty of space and keep articles short. Use
intriguing titles or ones that suggest the article provides
quick and easy shortcuts. Also use photographs or cartoons on
the cover to draw people's attention.

Choose your articles carefully so that each one promotes the
correct image of your business. Decide whether the article is to
reflect your expertise, customer care or some other aspect of
your business. If you are not sure which areas are important and
of interest to your customers slip a survey into your
newsletter.

You should start the article writing process by deciding what
specific results you want from the article. It may be to
introduce a new product or service, or to counteract what a
competitor is claiming, or to highlight why a customer might be
interested in a special offer you have.

A good newsletter will have a longer shelf life than adverts and
are more likely to be passed around to
prospective customers.
Get a balance between generic articles that would be of interest
to your wider client base and those specifically about your
products and services. Do not waste effort and space producing
articles that are unrelated to your field. Also check that the
views expressed in articles are unlikely to offend your customer
base.

Try to keep copy simple and as jargon free as possible. Use
short sentences. Involve the reader by asking questions. How
could your business benefit from this advice?

A profile of a customer can show how your product or service is
used, the results that it can produce, why someone would
purchase from you, and what they are planning to do in the
future with your assistance. If they are prestigious clients the
article will give a positive reflection of your business as well
as providing them with some useful and free PR.

Generate new leads by offering a free subscription to your
newsletter on your business's marketing materials. Emphasize the
news content and useful advice, and how it could benefit your
prospective customer. Only a few of those who sign up for the
newsletter will be time wasters. It is possible that as many as
80% could be converted to customers within six months. Without
the constant contact that the newsletter offers they could drift
into the arms of a competitor.

About the author:
Sam Crowley lives in Cincinnati, OH with his wife Angela and
three children. Sam is a best-selling co-author and motivational
speaker. You can see Sam's home business at href="http://www.defendyourdream.com/">
www.DefendYourDream.com.Sam's mission is to create ten
millionaires in the next five years