Few small businesses take advantage of an e-newsletter to reach customers. Perhaps it's because they don't know where to begin.

To me, marketing via email is a logical tool for a small business, because it's much cheaper than printing and mailing a newsletter. Plus, if you're a small business using e-news, you'll stand out from your competitors who don't.

In some ways, the process of creating an electronic newsletter and a print newsletter is the same. So, make sure to read the customer newsletter page of this site. There are differences though, so I'll outline those here.

Plan Your E-newsletter

• You still need to ask yourself many of the same questions you would for any other marketing piece. Who is your audience? What would they want to read about? One benefit of an e-newsletter is it's much easier to do several versions, changing your content to appeal to different target audiences.
• Consider how you'll create your electronic newsletter. It's important to decide this up front, as it will affect all other decisions.
  • You can opt for a text only e-news, which is just what it implies. You could write it in any word processing program and copy it into an email. You would have no graphics. This is the easiest way to produce an e-newsletter. It also isn't very exciting and may not keep your customers reading.
  • You can use HTML for a more visually appealing e-newsletter. With HTML you can have graphics, and your e-news would look just like a web page. The problem is, if you're reading this, you may not have any idea how to create anything using HTML. If that's the case, and running a business leaves you no time to learn, check into some of the online companies who produce and send e-news for you.
  • In my previous job, I used a company that specialized in electronic newsletters for my industry. They even provided some content for me. I was able to send 12 e-newsletters a year for about $1,000. That's MUCH cheaper than what I paid for a printed newsletter. Two companies you might check are Vertical Response and Constant Contact.

Design Your E-newsletter

• If you use one of the email management companies listed above, they'll provide templates to help you build your e-newsletter. Again, for someone who doesn't know HTML, this is a logical way to build the HTML you need for a visually appealing newsletter. Everything will be taken care of for you with a template. They'll also provide a text only version, for those people who can't receive HTML.
• Here's something to think about as well, when considering whether to use an email marketing company. AOL email users present a unique set of problems in being able to receive and read your e-news. Even to those who have a general understanding of e-marketing, designing for AOL users can be challenging. This is one more reason to consider using the services of an email service who has experience in designing for the AOL user.

Write Content for Your E-newsletter

• An e-newsletter shouldn't have as much text as a print newsletter. Try to stay around 500 words or less. The idea is for readers to scan quickly and click on links to your web site for more information. Give them a bit of information in the newsletter, enough to grab attention and convince them to click to your web site. More detailed information on the specific topic should be ready and waiting when they click through!
• Make sure your e-newsletter always has a link to your web site visible at the top.
• Your e-news email should clearly show where it is from. If possible, make sure your company name is included in the "From" line. Since the recipients have given you permission to email them, they know and trust your company. When they see your company name, they're less likely to mistake your email for spam and hit delete.
• The content of your "Subject" line is also important. Again, use your company name in the "Subject" line. Avoid words like "New," "Sale," "Free," and symbols like "!" or "$." These words and symbols may cause some Internet service providers to mistake your email for spam and block it.
• As with a print newsletter, balance promotional articles with informational or educational material. You'll find some content ideas on the customer newsletter page of this site.
• Give your e-newsletter readers special offers, available nowhere else, to entice them to read. Your e-newsletter reader is likely to be one of your strongest customers. They've given you permission to email them haven't they? Make sure your e-news is something special they look forward to receiving and reading.

Distribute Your E-newsletter

• Even if you don't have an e-newsletter now, you should be gathering customer emails. Email is one of the easiest, fastest, least expensive ways to reach your customers. So why would you NOT ask for permission to contact them this way? Your goal should be to obtain an email for each customer in your database.

• You can use a program like Outlook to manage your emails, if you don't have an extremely large number of them. If you enlist the help of an email marketing company, they'll manage your emails for you. When you upload your emails, these companies remove duplicates and any bad emails that bounce back to you.
• To comply with the CAN SPAM Act, make sure you include your company's physical address and a method for the recipient to opt out of receiving future emails. Unsubscribe instructions must be at the bottom of your email or e-newsletter. Once you receive an "opt out" request, you must honor it. That's why, to me, using a company like Vertical Response or Constant Contact makes sense. They are reasonably priced and provide easy ways to manage your email list, including the removal of "opt out" emails.

Before creating your own e-newsletter, make sure you're receiving five or six yourself. Visit web sites that interest you, and sign up for their e-news. You'll quickly get a feel for which ones you want to read and which ones go straight to the delete file. Pattern yours after the "keepers," and combined with the tips on this site, you'll be producing a winning e-newsletter.