Your Tips for Generating Newsletter Content

Front Page — Lead Story.

The purpose of a newsletter is to provide information to your past, current and prospective customers.

Newsletters are an excellent resource and can be used to illuminate your company’s goals, achievements, services and products.

Making Headlines.

Headlines are an important feature of your newsletter. Keep them short, sweet and make sure they reflect the content of the article.

Inside Stories.

One benefit of using your newsletter as a marketing tool is the ability to reuse content from your other marketing pieces. Such as your brochures, press releases, reports, handouts, website, etc. Make sure the information is consistent in all your materials.

You can also add a calendar of upcoming events or any special offers, discounts or coupons. How about famous quotes, or trivia questions. What about a fun game; crossword puzzles and Sudoku are popular. You may also want to include surveys, frequently asked questions or any special “thank you’s”. These are a few ways to generate excitement about your business.

Endless Possibilities.

The sky really is the limit when it comes to producing your newsletter. Citing innovations and trends in your field may also add interest and catch the attention of your reader. Thus, enhancing your credibility as the expert!

And let’s not forget about the recurring advice column, book review, letter from you or any contributing writers you solicit or editorials. And remember to highlight or profile new team members or your top customer or vendors.

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Each story should include at least one photo or graphic to add some WOW to your feature. Make sure the picture or graphic supports the message you are trying to convey to your audience.

Back Page — Finishing Touches.

Use your back page to give your readers your contact information. And remember to include your toll-free phone number, e-mail and website address.

You can also put a brief list of the benefits of your services and products; price lists; or a “did you know” section.

The Mailer.

If you plan on using your newsletter as a “mailer”, your final story or information will appear on the back cover. Whatever you choose, make it a short attention grabber...you want to make sure your newsletter is opened!

Get your NEWS on course and OUTSOURCE to Your Newsy Notes, LLC.
Call 1-877-729-3155 or visit www.yournewsynotes.com

Marketing With Your License Plates

The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles has a license plate that you can use to market your business. Check out the photos to see my plate.

Although the name of my company is: Your Newsy Notes, LLC and my website is http://www.yournewsynotes.com/; I purchased the ynnllc.com domain name and set up automatic forwarding of traffic to the http://www.yournewsynotes.com/ website.

Once you click on the DMV link above, go to the "Select a plate type" drop down box and select "Internet Capital".

Have fun marketing with your new license plate!

NAWBO Member Spotlight

I'm in the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) Member Spotlight.

Juneau, Alaska Chamber of Commerce

Ever heard the expression "a picture is worth a thousand words"...well, I recently had the opportunity to visit Juneau, Alaska and all I can say is "you should have been there!" With it's tree-lined, snow-capped mountains, and breath-taking glaciers, a picture just does not do it justice. By the way, while waiting at the airport to return back to Virginia, I noticed this sign from the Chamber. Here are a few photos for your enjoyment along with some Alaska State Facts!
State Capital: Juneau
Area: 570,374 square miles
Population: 621,000
State Flower: Wild Forget-me-not
State Bird: Willow Ptarmigan
State Motto: "North to the Future"
State Tree: Sitka Spruce
State Flag: The North Star points to the future, the Great Bear or Big Dipper, symbolizes strength, and the blue field recalls the deep blue Alaska sky and the wild forget-me-nots.

Newsletter Tip #27

I wanted to share a tip regarding sending and receiving newsletters embedded in email (e-newsletters) that require html formatting.

As business owners, we have no control over the type of email software that our clients and customers may have. But we want to ensure that they receive the information that we send and can read it.

Although sending information embedded in email is a fast and efficient way to communicate, not everyone has html ready email software and even if they do, the message may not appear exactly as we sent it. So how do we ensure that our clients can read what we have sent? One way is to ask our clients if all the recipients have html capable email software (this is not that difficult if the newsletter is meant for internal distribution). However, if the newsletter is going to be distributed to a wide variety of users, then we are back to square one.

A common solution is to send the newsletter in pdf format. Yes...I know what you are thinking. Not everyone has a pdf reader. This is certainly true, but Adobe provides a free pdf reader to be quickly downloaded and utilized. For a quick comparison of html versus pdf formatting, see http://www.lib.waldenu.edu/orientation/htmlvspdf.html.

Personally, when I send embedded information within an email, I also like to attach a pdf version. I certainly recognize that in today's fast paced world, embedding information in an email format takes away an extra layer that your customer won't have to deal with. But just be aware that there are drawbacks to this method.

Let me hear from you. I'm always interested in different points of view. Any information and/or comments that will remove "roadblocks to success" in reaching customers are welcome!

What is SWaM?

I've had the privilege to attend several seminars through the Loudoun County Small Business Development Center (SBDC). These seminars are informative and provide up to date resources that are applicable to managing your business. At the end of each seminar, I am exhilarated and ready to incorporate some of the recommendations into the operations of my business.

On March 29, 2007, the SBDC hosted the "A Celebration of Women in Business" seminar. This seminar showcased several dynamic women business owners who shared their challenges and triumphs. One presenter in particular caught my attention as she spoke of the opportunity to become Small, Women and Minority-owned Business (SWaM) certified by the Virginia Department of Minority Business Enterprise. Although a business does not need to be SWaM certified to compete for government contracts in the State of Virginia, this certification adds another layer of credibility.

As a business owner, I encourage you to participate in these free seminars and utilize the skills and expertise of the presenters. These seminars are also excellent forums to network and build professional relationships. But don't just take my word for it...go see for yourself!

Your Newsy Notes, LLC Joins Chamber

Your Newsy Notes, LLC is a proud member of the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce.