Are you looking to nurture existing leads, strengthen relationships with current customers, increase your online presence and keep your company at the top of your prospects’ minds?

A company newsletter can help you tackle all of these challenges.

The key to running a successful newsletter is to deliver a quality message to the people that want to hear it. You’re now a publisher, and need to consider your content selection, voice, creative and copywriting, in addition to building your list and delivering enticing offers and calls to action.

Email vs. Print Newsletters

We’re in the digital age, and email is the clear delivery method of choice for most newsletters.  Email newsletters are cheaper than print, arrive almost instantaneously, are easily tracked and can quickly drive website traffic.

You can use email newsletters to:

• Persuade prospects to take immediate action
• Announce special offers
• Share ideas
• Keep your name in front of prospects without a heavy-handed sales call
• Gain a wider audience and more links through syndication
• Feed search engines with new material by publishing older issues on your website

But don’t count out traditional print newsletters; they still work. Many buyers get electronic overload and a print newsletter can be refreshing. And, print gives you a greater opportunity to create a unique and lasting impression than email.

Company Newsletter Examples

Newsletters are very common, and you probably subscribe to a few even if you don’t realize it. Here are a few examples:

Barnes and Noble – Their email newsletter has weekly specials (both online and in-store), gives reviews on newly released books and promotes hot sellers. The 10-20% coupons keep customers coming back to shop.

Jeffrey Gitomer, author of The Little Red Book of Selling – Jeffrey’s weekly newsletter supports the content from his sales-related books and public speaking engagements. They’re filled with sales training tools, reader write-ins, guest author articles and motivational quotes.

Control Scan – This B2B data security firm publishes a monthly newsletter for both current and potential clients. The publication includes articles on how to improve ecommerce security as well as the latest news regarding IT security vulnerabilities.

Real estate development firms – many use highly stylized newsletters to keep potential buyers up-to-date on the status of their building completion. They use beautiful photographs, unusual layouts and interesting maps printed on high-quality paper to create a sophisticated image for their communities.

Think About Your Audience, and the Cost and Benefits

Does your company have the time and budget to create a consistent, quality newsletter?

Think about your target audience and the core message that you would like to communicate.  Would a newsletter help you convey your messages more effectively? If so, how would it contribute to sales?

Evaluate the benefits first. If you’re still considering one, stay tuned for an upcoming article that will cover the how-tos. Then you can estimate your costs and make your decision.