I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again—it’s critical that your newsletter be friendly, fun, informative, and entertaining. If it’s not, you customers aren’t going to read it every month. If you are in the habit of filling your newsletter with information about your company, you are going to turn it into one long sales pitch. Your readers will catch on in a hurry. Not only will they not look forward to it, they’ll probably start getting in the habit of filing it in the trash the moment it arrives.

By making it fun and informative, your customers will start looking forward to it. “But, Jim, isn’t the point of the newsletter to market my company?” Sure it is. That’s why I recommend using a freestanding insert in your newsletter that contains your “sales” information. Keep your really sales-y stuff out of your newsletter, but include it on a separate sheet.

One of my customers, Play-a-Round Golf, does this very effectively in their newsletter, Family Times. The owner, Steve Graves, subscribes to No Hassle Newsletters and uses my “ready to go” template with a custom masthead that we created for him. Steve follows the format—the body of his newsletter is all about what’s fun, interesting, and entertaining to his customers. When it arrives in the mail, and they see it’s Family Times from Play-a-Round, they’re very, very likely to read it. Why? Because they know they’ll be entertained. When they’re entertained, they will also be looking forward to receiving the next one. Okay, great, you’re thinking. So how does Steve make any money?

Steve does the smart thing. He includes a freestanding insert. His newsletter is 11 by 17 inches, folded in half, and then folded in half again to its mailing size of 5.5 by 8.5 inches. Of course, all of the correct information is placed on the mailing panel and opposite panel, so his customers recognize and start reading his newsletter the moment it arrives in their mailboxes. The insert Steve uses is an 8.5 by 11 inch sheet that is inserted into the center before the newsletter is folded to its final size. It’s secure inside when it’s mailed, it can be removed from the newsletter, and it doesn’t really add anything extra to his postage. It rides along for free.

He uses the insert to promote the specials that happen to be going on at his club that particular month—coupons, special offers relative to timely holidays and other seasonal events, how to bring a guest, special team celebrations—everything he wants to promote for that month. His newsletter space is the entertainment, and his freestanding insert works as the sales and marketing vehicle.

Steve’s customers know they’re going to be entertained, so they open his newsletter. When they do, out falls his sales information! His readers have taken the time to open his newsletter, so they’ll probably take the time to at least glance over his freestanding insert. They’ll see his specials and what it is he’s offering. If he’d simply mailed the insert as a separate piece, readership would not be as high, and his postage costs would double. Guaranteed.

If you’re ready for more profitable repeat and referral business, I invite you to check out my wildly popular “Done-for-You” newsletter marketing system, No Hassle Newsletters at www.NoHassleNewsletters.com. If you find that you don’t have the time or the staff available, you can also learn about my Platinum Plus Concierge program at www.nohasslenewsletters.com/#platinumplus.

Tomorrow in Part 5 I’ll share with you the 5 Secrets to Successful Newsletter Marketing