Over the years, too many marketers have used SPAM or send promotions with ridiculous promise of wealth for little or no work. The effect is that email marketing is looked down upon by many consumers, reducing their efficacy.

The upside is that, if you know how to do it correctly, email marketing can still be effective. And, because many marketers have prematurely dropped this technique from their marketing mix, you can gain the advantage over your competitors by using e-newsletters.

This article will explain how to effectively use e-newsletters as part of your email marketing.

E-newsletters, like their printed counterparts, are newsletters containing information relevant to your niche that can be sent to your customers or leads. Where they differ from traditional newsletters is in the delivery process. E-newsletters are usually sent to subscribers via email with the content directly in the email. A lesser used alternative is to put the newsletter online and simply include a link to the newsletter in the email.

Whichever strategy you choose to employ, the newsletter can be read directly from the recipient's computer, or it can be printed out and read on paper.

The topic of your newsletter will depend greatly on your target audience. The standard format is to include one or more articles, some general news or tips and, crucially, some advertising for your products or affiliate products.

The point to remember here is that advertising in your newsletter should never be excessive to the point where it drowns out your content. You want your readers to know what you have to offer, but you also want them to feel that the newsletter is of more use to them than simply teaching them what you want to pitch.

The natural conclusion to this strategy is to take great care to ensure that your content is well written and informative. If you are unsure about your own writing skills, find a capable writer who can either produce the content on your behalf, or rewrite your articles to make them more readable.

Whichever avenue you choose, do not ignore the importance of ensuring your newsletter is accurate and of a high quality.

An e-newsletter can be purely text but, more and more, internet users have come to expect content that looks attractive as well as being useful. Try and include some images or photographs to enhance the design of your newsletter. Again, if graphic design is not one of your strengths, try and find someone to help you with this aspect.

Once you have a newsletter that you can be proud of, give careful consideration to your audience.

DO NOT:

- Send unsolicited email. - Send content that strays too far from your niche. - Ignore unsubscribe requests.

DO:

- Consider the type of language that is most likely to appeal to your readers. - Do ensure that your content is interesting AND useful. - Ask you readers about the kind of information they require.

Sending an e-newsletter is not something you can do half-heartedly. It requires careful preparation, commitment and a willingness to engage your reader. It's hard work, but the long terms benefits in terms of sales and customer retention will make it all worthwhile.

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