Distributing a printed newsletter regularly can give your business huge additional traction.
A professionally designed and printed newsletter is a powerful tool to both nurture your existing customers and attract new ones.
But you need to be strategic in the way you use it. Here are a few ideas to help you get the best ROI
#1 Sell more to your active customers
Regular premium contact that provides high quality relevant information to your existing customer base is a great way to improve your bottom line. A printed newsletter is one of the most effective ways to keep your products and brand top of mind, and build a relationship with the people who are already buying from you.
A printed newsletter shows you care in a tangible way. As well as increasing customer retention, with the right content you can improve the number of purchases per customer, and increase average dollar sale. That means a serious uplift in lifetime customer value.
Research shows most customers who stop buying from any business do so because they forget about the business or think they don’t care. Mailing a monthly newsletter is a great way to stay connected and prove you’re not complacent.
The rule of thumb is to include no more than 30% direct promotional content. The idea is to use your editorial content to stimulate ideas and prove your expertise so that you’re the go to person when a reason to buy arises. Stimulate direct action with specific offers.
#2 Use other businesses as distribution partners
Think about businesses who sell to the same target audience as you. If you’re producing a newsletter with great content, that’s genuinely addressing the pains and needs of those people, your newsletter could be valuable to them too.
If you’re publishing quality content, they may be willing to have your newsletter on display in their waiting room or lobby. An example of this could be a buyers’ advocate offering their newsletter to financial planners whose clients are likely to be buying investment properties.
It’s important to remember your call to action for this group – these newsletters will be read by people who don’t know you, so give them a reason to go to your website or call you.
#3 Make your prospects an offer
If you’re using an email auto-responder sequence to nurture your prospects, consider including a printed newsletter into your sequence. Variety in the nurture phase is hugely valuable – you’re much more likely to get attention and engagement if you stand out from the usual email blizzard.
Make them an irresistible offer and you may well convert them into a customer. You can do this either within the newsletter itself, or ideally on a separate insert, which can be tailored to their exact needs. This works really well if you have a database that covers several niches. Craft several different offer inserts that hone in on the particular needs of each niche.
#4 Reactivate inactive customers
Lapsed customers are an oft ignored potential goldmine in the database of most businesses. Since we know most people don’t make an active decision to stop buying from you, reactivating contact with a professional, interesting printed newsletter – possibly with an insert containing an enticing offer – could be a great way to get them back on board.
Why not start with people who haven’t bought from you for 12 months and see what happens? A reactivated customer is much easier to sell to than a cold prospect.
#5 Distribute at trade shows, expos and seminars
Events provide a brilliant opportunity to distribute your printed newsletter, and grow your database. A well designed and interesting newsletter promotes your business as a thought leader and source of expertise. It can also be a great addition to the information in your brochure or catalogue.
