One of the biggest struggles business owners face is asking for the sale without sounding overly aggressive in their newsletters. They want the sale on one side of the spectrum, but don’t want to push readers into unsubscribing by constantly using the wrong language and structure.
For a solid newsletter, one that is looked forward to in the inbox, using the right language and structure for your business is important. It is about balancing value and promotion. Value means offering good information customers would love to know. Promotion is letting the customer know about your newest offerings.
As a business owner, you should think about why they signed up. What are they looking for in your newsletter, and what do they want to learn?
A good rule of thumb: if you deliver helpful, inspiring, or entertaining content 80% of the time, you earn the right to promote your products, services, or events the other 20% of the time. If you are always yelling buy! buy! buy! you’ll eventually lose a customer or patron.
You become very generic.
Newsletters aren’t about pounding your subscribers over the head with sales or promotions all the time; they are about building relationships, letting them know what you are up to, what your business is doing, and what you are thinking as a business owner.
When you launch a new offering, release ticket sales for an upcoming event, or announce a strategic campaign, your newsletter subscribers are already primed to buy. They don’t need a hard sell because they already know, like, and trust your business; if they want to buy, they’ll buy.
But YOU, as a busy person with no time to waste, may have questions like: How many newsletters should I send? How long should they be? What do I talk about? These questions are legitimate – and part of knowing how to balance your marketing efforts.
Here are a few newsletter ideas.
Educate: Give your readers actionable insights they can immediately apply to solve a problem or make their lives easier. Share quick tips, industry trends, how-to guides, or answers to your most-asked client questions. This is a big one: answering questions.
When you consistently deliver practical value without asking for anything in return, you tell your reader, “You can trust me to take care of you.”
But, of course, this depends on what type of business you are. Practical value from a clothing store will be different than practical value from a plumbing business.
Inspire: Depending on your business, connect with your audience on a deeper, human level by sharing the heart behind your work. Highlight your community impact and share some behind-the-scenes moments. Share some personal lessons learned along your entrepreneurial journey. These things are inspiring to others. Remind readers why your mission matters, building emotional loyalty that outlasts any single transaction. But keep it short and sweet.
Entertain: Keep your newsletter simple and enjoyable to read by weaving in personality, lighthearted commentary, or creative storytelling. Again, short and sweet. When reading your newsletter feels like a refreshing highlight rather than a chore, your subscribers will naturally look forward to seeing your name in their inbox.
In closing, these things don’t need to be perfect, fancy, or even beautifully curated. Just honest, easy & quick to read, and straight from your heart as the owner.
How many should you send?
Well, it depends on your business, and you probably already have a good idea. If you were your customer, how many times would you want to see your newsletter?
And, how long should they be?
Again, it depends – but I’d say vary them. Some short ones, some longer ones. It depends on what you want to genuinely say.
The one recommendation I can say for certain is…be consistent.
Your thoughts?