Newsletters continue to be a great way to attract new clients and keep current ones happy.

And today – with social media, mobile computing and professional sites like LinkedIn – it is easier than ever to reach prospects this way.

Readers feel an emotional attachment to their favorite email newsletters, according to Nielsen Norman’s Email Newsletter Usability report:

“Newsletters feel personal because they arrive in users’ inboxes, and users have an ongoing relationship with them. The positive aspect of this emotional relationship is that newsletters can create much more of a bond between users and a company than a website can.”

7 Tips for Newsletters That Work

Here are some tips, courtesy of Business2Community Association News Brief, for keeping that newsletter bond strong and profitable.

1. Be informative. Consider a good newsletter like a good friend. Fill it with valuable, interesting and informative content. Make it entertaining. Include tips, how-tos, industry news, upcoming events, dates to remember, holidays, infographics, webinars and interesting factoids. Don’t forget photos. And videos.
2. Lose the sales hype. The goal is to become a trusted friend – not a pushy salesperson.
3. Keep it brief. The average person spends 51 seconds reading a newsletter. Keep your copy reader-friendly with content blocks, blurbs, snapshots, takeaways and bullet points. But don’t give away all your secrets. Leave readers eager to learn more about what you can do for them. Link to your website, blog and social media network.
4. Be reliable and consistent. Don’t be the sort of friend that fails to show up when expected. If you say your newsletter will arrive weekly, make sure it does. “Sixty-nine percent of users said that they look forward to receiving at least one newsletter, and most users said a newsletter had become part of their routine,” writes Nielsen Norman Group. “Very few other promotional efforts can claim this degree of customer buy-in.”
5. Have a compelling opening. First impressions are important for any type of relationship. How you introduce yourself is key.
6. Invite customers to reply to your email newsletter. Respond to all inquiries or comments. This lets readers know a friend is listening on the other end. You may also get valuable information or feedback.
7. Allow for an easy opt-out. Let your readers unsubscribe if they choose to. Don’t take it personally.

To these suggestions I would add one more: make sure your email newsletter complies with the ethics rules on lawyer advertising, marketing and solicitation. Call a Bar ethics counsel with any questions.

Jay Reeves a/k/a The Risk Man is an attorney licensed in North Carolina and South Carolina. Formerly he was Legal Editor at Lawyers Weekly and Risk Manager at Lawyers Mutual. He is former editor of the East Chapel Hill High School PTA newsletter. Contact jay@lawyersmutualnc.com, phone 919-619-2441.

Source: Business2Community Association News Brief http://www.business2community.com/email-marketing/7-golden-steps-to-creating-an-effective-email-newsletter-0526854