I often work with people who want to start an e-newsletter but aren’t sure where to begin. I can help! I offer one-on-one sessions and group classes to get you on your way and full service packages to get your publication out and into your client’s inbox in no time.
Here’s a starting point of things you’ll need to gather before creating your e-mail newsletter. My guess is that you already have most of these things in one form or another. Pulling them together and saving them in one place on your computer will make creating your first e-mail much easier!
- Figure out what you want to say and to whom. This may sound simplistic but the process of defining your message and target audience will be very helpful. Having an e-newsletter just for the sake of having something to send out to your email list is not worth your time and effort. If you don’t have a valid message to share, your readers will quickly learn to dismiss your mailings. Here are some great reasons to send an e-newsletter:
-Introduce yourself
-Introduce a new service or product
-Share your expertise
-Publish a calendar
-Advertise a special offer
-Ask for feedback about your products or services
Using a combination of the ideas above is even better! Once you are clear on what it is you are trying to say, the format of your e-newsletter will be easier to figure out.
- Write a short description about yourself and/or your company. This can come from your bio, resume or other promotional information you have created. You can use this as a full section of your first issue to introduce yourself and later, in an abbreviated form, as a closing footer in each publication.
- Find an image (in a .jpeg or .gif format) of you or your group. This can be used to introduce yourself to your readers in your introductory issue or run continuously depending on your needs. Ideally, find a single image that you can crop into a square and also into a rectangle or find two separate images as there are times when one shape will work better than the other.
- Write a short description about your product or service. This lets the reader know what you do or sell. Hopefully, you have a 2 minute, 5 minute and 30 minute version of your presentation that you have done so often that you can do it in your sleep, but take the time to think about how you want to present it in this venue, to this audience. If you segment your list (something that I can help you do), you can create multiple descriptions with different areas emphasized that you can later send to the different, targeted lists.
- An image (in a .jpeg or .gif format) of the product, if you have a product you sell. Have a separate image for each product you sell and possibly groups of products to tie back to the product blurbs above. Keep in mind that having a square and a rectangular version of each will give you more flexibility when laying out your documents.
- Make sure that you have a usable version of your company logo (in a .jpeg or .gif format) in your files. If you created it yourself, this should not be a problem but so many people need to contact their graphic artist or their webmaster to track it down that I include this here. You want to be able to insert this image into your documents to maintain a consistent image across all your materials. And when setting up a Constant Contact account, you will also use this to brand your welcome letter and sign-up landing page.
- A list of contacts you wish to send your email out to. If you have an existing list, export and save it in an .xls or .txt format. If you don’t have a list yet, don’t worry. From now on, whenever you meet someone, ask for a card and ask them if you can add them to your mailing list. Collect emails at every event and class you attend and presentation you make. Once you have opened your Constant Contact account, you will be able to create a sign-up box which you should add to your website, blog page and any place else that you have visitors. I also hold advanced classes on how to build your mailing list, call me at 904.527.1119 to set up a one-on-one consultation to discuss ways to grow your list and your business!
When you are ready for that group class or one-on-one session. Call me at 904.527.1119, or email me at Kristin@high5productions.com to set up a time to meet so we can get your message online and into your client’s inbox!
Good Luck!
