“SoS” For Your Newsletter

By Guest Blogger, Marianne D’Alessandro

Help is here!  You should not struggle to build a newsletter. Your newsletter is all about YOU sharing YOUR knowledge and information with your audience. So here’s a little help – all starting with the letter “S”.

• STORY

Share your story – so what does that mean? Who are you, what do you do, why is it important to you? If that’s difficult, then think about a situation that has meaning to the reader. Write down one or two sentences about your service or your product that would mean something to your audience. Now expand on the who, what, where, why of that main point. Still stuck, then create a list of what you love about your service or product. Keep an ongoing list of questions that your clients/customers ask you. Now you’re ready to write a story.

• SUCCESS

What successes can you share with your audience in the form of testimonials or case studies. Nothing speaks of your business better than the real life experiences of your customers and clients. 

A few month’s ago, I had a few calls with entrepreneurs who were stuck on what content to use in their newsletter.  I love these calls as it’s so much fun to share creative thoughts!  Linda Crawford, owner of Uplift Bras, said this:  

Thank you Marianne! You gave me so many great ideas!  I had a client in today and she said exactly what you did about how easy it was to be fitted! I never saw it from that point of view. I’m actually excited about doing newsletters. And those are not words I ever thought I would say!

www.upliftcustombras.com

Awesome – a real SUCCESS for me and a big WIN for Linda! 

• SIMPLE

I recently asked a handful of good colleagues to tell me what makes them stop to read a newsletter. They all agreed that the simpler and shorter it is, the more interested they are in taking the time to read it. No one was into long lengthy articles and stories. 

Keep it to 1-2 paragraphs – a short snippet of information. You can write 1-2 short paragraphs with your eyes closed!  The “Read More” link is perfect if you have a longer article or blog. Write a shorter version for your newsletter and then link to the longer version which can be on your website or other social media site. It’s a dual purpose – you give them a little info, then you guide them to more of you & your business.  Truly, Simple!

• And, finally, SOCIAL

So you’ve put out amazing content in your newsletter – it’s time to repurpose on social media. Do not waste that great information! Here are a few tips:

1. share the link to the newsletter on your social media channels with an invitation to read
2. create short 2-3 sentence posts from the articles and link to the newsletter or article on your website
3. create some images and enter a short bit of text from the articles

And then Share Share Share.   

(PS: Don’t be afraid to go back to older newsletters and re-purpose that content for social media.) Your newsletter should not be daunting – don’t overcomplicate things. You know your STUFF (had to throw in another “S” word). Tell your audience what you know and they’ll easily relate to you and your products.