How to Grow Your Small Busines with a Killer Client Newsletter  

Copyright © 2005 Michael Cage 

Local Small Business Marketing Insider 

http://www.entrepreneurslife.com/  

Have you ever had a friend who would only talk to you if you 

called first? Eventually it gets old, and you look for someone 

who will pay a little more attention to you. 

Your clients are the same way. If you only pay attention to your 

clients when they approach and buy from you, they will jump ship 

when a competitor begins to appreciate and pay more attention to 

them. 

Frequent communication with your clients is one of the three 

fastest ways to grow your business, keep clients loyal, stop 

commodity-pricing dead in its tracks and produce all the 

referrals you can handle. A response-driven newsletter is the 

best way to do it. 

Businesses who try newsletters often get heartbreaking results. 

Simply pushing your business in front of your clients repeatedly 

will not make them fall in love with you, but a newsletter 

designed to build a personal relationship will. 

How can you create a great client newsletter? 

You could choose from over two dozen key elements. My "must know 

and include" list is the rest of this article. 

#1) Deliver your newsletter frequently. Every month you ignore 

your clients, the value of the relationship drops by 10%. In 

other words, a client who has not heard from you in 12 months is 

barely a better referral or repeat business source than a random 

name plucked from the phone book. For results you can take to 

the bank, send your newsletter at least once a month. 

#2) How should you deliver your newsletter? E-mail newsletters 

are acceptable, but print newsletters will really stand out. 

While people do not like junk mail, they will welcome an 

entertaining personal and newsletter written by someone they are 

getting to know. Use a real, live stamp and address the envelope 

specifically to your client. Nothing screams "throw me away" 

more than bulk mail indicia on an envelope block-addressed to 

"recipient." 

#3) Make it personal. "I feel like I'm a number to them, like 

they donít really care," is a common complaint about doing 

business with big companies. Yet many small businesses go out of 

their way to copy the same empty corporate-speak. Powerful 

newsletters are personal. Your clients should feel like they are 

sitting across from you, sipping a cup of coffee, as you let 

them in on the skinny. They discover more than just the next big 

widget you'll be carrying, they learn a little about you, the 

person, as well. 

#4) Introduce your newsletter each month. A short, personal 

introduction should kick off each newsletter. The same person 

should write it each month and sign it like a letter. Include a 

picture to make it more personal, and tell your readers what 

they are going to get out of this issue of your newsletter. 

#5) Recognize happy clients. People are starved for recognition. 

Take a picture of you or your staff with a "client of the 

month." Tell how you helped them, and let the client, in their 

own words, explain how thrilled they are with your product or 

service. 

#6) Highlight your referral program. Remind your readers that 

you appreciate and reward referrals. (You do have a referral 

rewards program, right?) Tell them how to refer business to you, 

and what they will get in return. 

#7) Give special recognition to people who referred last month. 

Make a big deal of thanking the people who referred to you over 

the last month. Mention the gifts they got, and get other 

readers thinking about how they would like to a) get a gift and 

b) be featured and appreciated in your newsletter. 

#8) Introduce new employees. Has someone new joined your staff? 

Take a snapshot, introduce them to your clients, and tell them 

how this addition will make them even happier clients of your 

business. 

#9) Make offers. The core purpose of your newsletter, like all 

marketing pieces, is to produce a response that leads to a sale. 

Present at least one offer in every newsletter. Your offers can 

relate to the time of year ("a spring spyware- cleaning 

special"), a new product or service just released ("preferred 

client prelaunch special"), or even a personal event ("my son 

graduated from college this month, and, to celebrate, you can 

take an extra 10% off our 'back-to-school special' computer 

systems). 

The final tip is most important of all. 

#10) Waiting for perfection is a certain way to fail. It is more 

important to get your newsletter in the mail than it is to 

perfect it. You build a business by interacting with the 

prospects and clients in your market. Get it done consistently 

for three months. Each month will get easier and better, and you 

will be amazed at the results. 

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Michael Cage posts weekly local small business marketing advice 

at:  http://www.EntrepreneursLife.com/