Stock Newsletter Templates and Free Newsletter Templates are the worst thing you can use to base your company newsletter on.
There is a reason they are being given away. They are not very good. Usually those templates are put together as samples for graphic designers. Those newsletter templates were not meant to be used. Nobody puts their best quality work in a free template.
It’s like the old saying goes – you get what you pay for.
So if you are happy using a free newsletter template that was thrown together to use in a portfolio, then so be it.
If you don’t value your customers enough to make an investment in sending them a well designed, well written, customer newsletter, then they probably aren’t worth having as customers in the first place.
It shows your attitude is a bit lax towards the most important asset in your business – your relationships with your customers. Your customer relationship is ultimately the most important asset because it determines your chances of gaining repeat business from existing customers, cross selling additional products and services and determines your referral rate.
Smart business owners will invest their money to get a high return at a relatively low risk. Your newsletter sent to existing customers is one of those places. I know of business getting up to 4:1 return on their newsletter budget.
If you are doing a newsletter then it certainly makes sense that you don’t use a free newsletter template. You’ll lose an obvious opportunity to differentiate yourself from the competition.
It is money well spent to take the time to develop a good quality newsletter template. Whatever you do, don’t use a free newsletter template it will could your business.