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How To Jump Start Your Sales
You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated - send to: diana@ohiohelp.net How To Jump Start Your Sales ...
Lessons Learned from the Downfall of Dot-Coms
Business headlines today are filled with stories of high-profile dot-coms that crashed and burned, despite all the venture capital funding, hype and publicity received. This turn of events show that success online is not directly proportional to the...
PRONTO North America Marketing Director Verzi Thrilled to Have Smedley and Cutler at Users Conference
Wednesday, May 4th, Thomas R. Cutler, CEO of TR Cutler, Inc., author of the Manufacturers Public Relations and Media Guide, Associate Editor of Industrial Connection, and Contributing Editor to InMFG magazine will be addressing the first annual...
Protect Your Business With Non-Disclosure Agreements
Every business should protect proprietary information when dealing with independent contractors, vendors and other businesses. The best way to do this is to use a non-disclosure agreement, often referred to as an “NDA.” What is an NDA? An NDA is...
Public Relations "Insurance?"
What do you do about a very real loss of key audience understanding and acceptance that puts the survival of your business in question?
Buying insurance is a time-honored and proven strategy for covering exposure to possible business losses...
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Before Publishing a Newsletter, Ask These Questions
In the current world of marketing — especially online marketing — there’s a lot of talk about the magic of newsletters. If you listen to the gurus, it sounds like every business should be sending a newsletter, whether printed or electronic, to its customers and prospects on a regular basis. But how can you be sure whether a newsletter is really a good investment or the right decision for your business? Start by asking yourself the following four questions.
1. Do I want to build long-term relationships with my customers? If the structure of your business is simply to serve customers one time and never see them again, an ongoing client newsletter would probably be a waste of time. But if your intent is to develop long-term relationships with the clients you serve, a newsletter can be a perfect vehicle for doing that. Because clients and prospects hear from you regularly through your newsletter, you earn their trust and credibility. They become more familiar with you and your services, and they’re usually impressed by your efforts to keep in contact with them. Soon they’ll feel like you’re more than a service provider; you’re a personal acquaintance — so they’ll call on you when they need your services.
2. Do I have information or expertise that could be valuable to my customers and prospects? Without information that is valuable to readers, a newsletter is useless. But if you’re an expert in your field (and hopefully you are), you probably have lots of information, ideas, resources or advice that could help your clients work better, work smarter, or save money. In fact, if you don’t know anything your clients don’t know, it’s doubtful that they will keep hiring you. The key is to figure out what knowledge or resources you have that could be valuable to your clients, and determine how to deliver that information to them in a way that will be helpful and enlightening — without sharing all your secrets. One way to figure out what kinds of information you could share in a newsletter is to make a list of questions clients frequently ask you. If you have informative answers to those questions, you have information that could be valuable.
3. Do I have the time or resources to produce a newsletter on an ongoing basis? A newsletter is only effective as a marketing tool if it is produced consistently — at
least on a quarterly basis, and preferably on a monthly or bi-monthly basis. If you aren’t willing to commit time or resources to making your newsletter an ongoing priority, it’s probably not worth an attempt. The amount of time needed to produce a newsletter can vary based on the method of delivery (electronic or mail), the length of the newsletter, the frequency of publication, and the amount of work you intend to do in-house. Keep in mind that publishing a newsletter can include several steps, such as:
- News gathering and trend-watching.
- Research and interviews.
- Writing and editing.
- Layout and design.
- Printing and/or distribution.
You may outsource some or all of these tasks to an outside provider (such as The WriteShop), or you may choose to produce the newsletter in-house. The method you choose will determine the amount of time and/or money you’ll be investing in your newsletter — but keep in mind that well-produced newsletters usually pay for themselves in long-term relationships that develop into increased sales.
4. Do I know what specific results I want to achieve with a newsletter? As with any marketing program, it’s important to set goals for your newsletter before investing any time or money into it. Think about what you would want to accomplish with a newsletter: Do you simply want to build a larger contact database? Do you want it to help generate more leads? Do you want it to increase sales? If you have specific goals in mind before you launch a newsletter, you’ll be better able to shape your newsletter to the needed results, and better able to measure your success.
Becoming the publisher of your own newsletter can be a significant undertaking. Before you take the plunge, be sure you know what you’re getting into — and what you want to get out of it.
Copyright 2004 Nancy Jackson
Nancy Jackson of The WriteShop helps companies better market their products and services with powerful written communications including newsletters, articles, Web content, brochures and custom publications. Visit www.writeshoponline.com for more information or to subscribe to her monthly "Marketing Tips" newsletter.
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PR.com: Directory of Businesses Jobs Press Releases Products ... |
Comprehensive Directory of Businesses, Jobs, Products, Services, Press Releases, News, & Articles in all Industries. Promote your business. FREE. |
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PR Newswire - news distribution, targeting and monitoring |
News and press release distribution services for small business marketing, corporate public relations and investor relations, government and organizational ... |
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PR Week Magazine |
News and features about the public relations industry, with links to US, UK, Asian, and German editions. |
www.prweek.com |
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Public relations - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
Public relations (PR) is the art of managing communication between an organization and its ... PR historians say the first PR firm, the Publicity Bureau, ... |
en.wikipedia.org |
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Puerto Rico - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
Hyperlinked encyclopedia article covers the country's history, government and politics, geography, economy, demographics, language and culture. |
en.wikipedia.org |
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The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) |
Largest professional organization of public relations specialists representing business, consulting firms, government, associations, schools, ... |
www.prsa.org |
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CIA - The World Factbook -- Puerto Rico |
Profile of Puerto Rico by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). |
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Center for Media and Democracy - Publishers of PR Watch |
A nonprofit, public interest organization dedicated to investigative reporting on the public relations industry. |
www.prwatch.org |
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Puerto Rico Vacations | Puerto Rico Tourism Company | Puerto Rico ... |
Puerto Rico Tourism Company Official site includes nightlife, area sports, culture, and travel information. |
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PR: See what people are saying right now on Technorati |
See all blog posts tagged with pr on Technorati. ... This page shows everything that has been tagged with pr. To contribute to this page include this code ... |
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Edelman |
Full service global public relations firm. Includes company profile, management team, practice areas, industries served, case histories, client listings, ... |
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LEWIS PR - global public relations |
LEWIS PR is a global public relations consultancy working with leading and emerging brands and delivering predictable results tied tightly to client goals. |
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IANA | .pr - Puerto Rico |
University of Puerto Rico Gauss Laboratory Facundo Bueso Building Office 265 ... Puerto Rico Email: tech@uprr.pr Voice: +787 765 3263 Fax: +787 754 0757 ... |
www.iana.org |
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Online Public Relations Home Page |
Free online resource for public relations professionals. |
www.online-pr.com |
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Chartered Institute of Public Relations, CIPR, the professional ... |
The CIPR is the professional body for the UK public relations industry, providing PR training and events, PR news and research, and a PR jobs board. |
www.ipr.org.uk |
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PR News Online — Trusted Source for Public Relations News, PR ... |
The latest news on public relations delivered FREE right to your inbox. ... Psycho-Geometrics Help You Know What 'Shape' Your PR Team's Personality Is In ... |
www.prnewsonline.com |
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O'Dwyer's Public Relations News - odwyerpr.com |
Features breaking news about the public relations industry, a database of PR firms, listing of PR service firms, client search tool and job postings. |
www.odwyerpr.com |
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PR News Online — Trusted Source for Public Relations News, PR ... |
E-letter. The latest news on public relations delivered FREE right to your inbox. ... Share ideas with your peers in PR News' just-launched Forum ... |
www.prandmarketing.com |
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Linux PR: |
Comprehensive Press Release and Public Relations resource for the Linux community. |
www.linuxpr.com |
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Escape to Puerto Rico - Your Internet Guide to Puerto Rico |
Internet guide to everything Puerto Rico. Offers lots of photos, accommodations and travel information from around the Island. |
escape.topuertorico.com |
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