A good business newsletter has many of the same criteria as a consumer newsletter.
1) A Good Business Newsletter is Published Like a Periodical
Your business newsletter needs to be printed and in the mail on the same day, every month. So that it is perceived as an informative publication and not a solicitation for work.
Just like anybody’s favourite magazine a business newsletter needs to be treated like a regular publication for it to be perceived as one.
2) Content is king for a business newsletter.
You need good, well written content that is relevant to the reader. Ultimately, the goal of any business newsletter is readership. You need the active participation of your audience for your business newsletter to be read. If you don’t get that you might as well not do anything.
What a good business newsletter needs is content that your audience finds relevant. It is not all about your business. It is all about the reader.
You can put in any content they will find relevant to their job and their life.
Nobody finds your business as interesting and all consuming as you do. You need to give your readers some space, some room to breathe, especially as your business newsletter is a ‘stay in touch’ tool and not an out and out piece of marketing.
3) A design that suits your visual identity and is easy to read.
When you look at your business newsletter it should be easy-to-read and should suit your business. It doesn’t need to look super classy, unless your business is super classy. It can be simple, in fact it can even be in black and white, given that your market is open to receiving that. It should reflect your brand and identity.
The key with the design is consistency, pick a style and if you do need to modify or alter it, don’t completely change it each month, you want there to be some familiarity to it each time they read it.
You are allowed to and need to send additional marketing outside of your newsletter. Offers, promotions whatever other marketing you do, you can mention in your newsletter but they are not the focus.
But there needs to be some breathing room in your business newsletter. Your business newsletter is all about creating 12 ‘sales-free’ contacts a year so that it builds a relationship with your customers so that your other marketing materials are read.