The client educational newsletter – Part 1

This is where I get to sing the praises of my favorite marketing tool, the client educational newsletter. You can create a newsletter yourself or use a newsletter service like mine. Either way, an attractive newsletter is a great marketing tool.

The educational client newsletter is the ultimate multi-tasker. In one easy step, a well-written newsletter sent to your client list can:

» Educate your clients on the many benefits your services offer
» Remind them to call for their next appointment
» Promote referrals and gift-certificate sales
» Build client loyalty
» Strengthen your professional image
» Let your clients know how important they are to you

“A newsletter is truly unique,” wrote Don Sadler, vice president and editorial director of Media 3 Publications in Atlanta, Georgia, in an online article (www.smallbusinessadvocate.com). “No other marketing vehicle lets you communicate relevant, educational information to carefully targeted audiences and cross-sell products and services using a soft-sell approach that’s not perceived as an advertisement.”

“People read — and value — newsletters,” Sadler continued. “In a survey by Standard & Poor’s that focused on newsletters published by financial services companies, 92 percent of newsletter recipients said they read at least some of the issue … Newsletters help you build brand awareness, strengthen customer loyalty and increase customers’ lifetime value.”

A newsletter works in 10 different ways. You can get a lot more mileage from each issue than by just mailing copies to your existing clients. You have an effective marketing tool at your disposal, so make the most of it:

1. Mail or email your newsletter to potential clients.
2. Encourage your clients to share their issues with others.
3. Generate new business by mailing to selected professionals with a cover letter introducing your services.
4. Use it as a handout at health fairs and public presentations.
5. Leave copies with willing merchants, such as health-food stores and chiropractors.
6. Use as inserts in community newspapers.
7. Mail to nearby residents (You can purchase a mailing list of selected names near you.)
8. Use with a cover letter and mail to new neighbors with a first-visit discount (You can obtain the addresses of new residents for free through the utility companies.)
9. Provide issues to services like Welcome Wagon.
10. Use in place of business cards (this saves you money too).

Wow! That’s quite an effective marketing tool! But what return on your investment should you expect?

Check back with us next week for Part 2 “Newsletters are Cost Effective”.

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