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Marketing with E-letters:
Will Your Customers Read Them?
 If you are like most solopreneurs, you value the trust your customers have placed in you. And you are always looking for ways to build and strengthen customer relationships.
An e-letter just might be the answer. But whether your reader sees it as self-serving spam or good, useful information depends on the way you create and distribute it.
Do E-letters Really Get Read?
Well-written e-letters have become as acceptable as USPS-mailed letters. A recent issue of eMarketer reported that 52% of consumers actually prefer to receive newsletters via email. An EmailLabs survey showed that 31% of users add the newsletters they request to their safe-sender lists so they aren't routed to junk e-mail folders.
Useful Content is Key
Like most people, I am annoyed by the "letters" that flood my inbox with promotions, ads, and links to more ads. But I actually look forward to e-letters (Early to Rise is one that comes to mind) that are well researched, concisely written, and full of fresh, useful information. That is the difference between an e-letter that gets read-and saved-and one that goes directly into the trash.
5 Ways to Ensure your E-letter Makes It to Your Readers' Safe-Sender Lists
Make it permission-based. Ask new customers if they would like to receive your newsletter and provide a link to sign up with a simple click. Or send a single issue and ask them to respond if they would like to continue to receive it. If you get no response, do not send the next issue.
Make it useful. Industry news, how-to articles, referrals to helpful publications-basically anything that helps your readers do their jobs better-will be received well.
Be considerate of your customer's time and security. Avoid sending your e-letter as an attachment. Many people fear computer viruses when they open an attachment. And too many graphics will make your letter slow to load.
Be concise and to the point. No one wants to wade through a long, rambling newsletter to pick up a couple of useful tips. Write in short paragraphs and use lots of sub-heads to break up the text.
Provide rich content. Tailor your e-letter to encourage customer response and elicit useful marketing data, but do not use it as an in-your-face promotion tool. Be sure it has value-added information for your readers.
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