Prospecting: Make Your Newsletter More Personal and Effective

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. - June 5, 2013 - PRLog -- With competition heating up in the financial services and professional services markets, you can give yourself an edge on the competition by using an effective e-newsletter campaign.  

In his new mini-book, 16 Ways to Land More Clients, best-selling author Gene Walden offers a comprehensive list of some of the most economical steps you can take to build your business, prospect list--and e-newsletters are one of the most crucial elements.

Here are the key steps to a better newsletter: (For all 16 Ways, search "16 Ways to Land More Clients," or go to http://investmentwritingservices.com/16-ways-to-land-more-clients/ )

A good e-newsletter can play into play into almost everything you do to retain and obtain new clients. It gives you a tool to stay in touch with your existing clients and prospects and a marketing vehicle to attract new prospects. You can offer it to everyone who visits your website, all of your leads, everyone you take to breakfast or meet through networking meetings, and everyone who attends your classes, your speeches and your special events.  

A good newsletter really can be a competitive advantage…if it’s something people want to read. Unfortunately, most of the time, it’s something even you don’t read—a canned economic or industry report from the home office or a subscription service that you put your picture on and email to your list.

Here’s the problem. Most people don’t want to read complex industry or economic jargon or review the weekly trends charts. That’s why they hired you—so they can spend their time doing other things: gardening, cooking, working, golfing, shopping, going to little league games.

So what do you do instead? You make it personal. You send out your own e-newsletter.

The good news is, publishing your own newsletter is as easy as writing an email. Just pretend you’re writing a note to your mother to let her know what you’ve been up to.

Your email message should have 8 simple elements: 1) cheerful greeting, 2) brief personal note about something going on in your life, 3) a sentence or two of shop talk, 4) an attachment or link with additional information, 5) what’s hot with your clients, 6) a reason to contact you, 7) reminder of any upcoming speeches or events, and 8) a quick, cheerful sign-off you can punctuate with an exclamation mark! Here’s a sample e-letter with all 8 elements (it took about 3 minutes to write):

Happy April!
Spring is finally here. I just cleaned out the garage—good to get that out of the way, but Joan and I still have the flowers to plant. I hope you’ve been enjoying the nice weather.

As you may have noticed, the markets have been a little shaky lately, but we’ve been pleased that our balanced fund has continued to stay strong. I’ve attached our new April Economic and Markets Report, in case you’re interested in reading more about the markets.

We’ve been busy lately helping clients deal with the new regulations regarding retirement savings plans. I’ve attached a page that summarizes the changes. If you have questions, please give us a call or drop us a line.

We’ve had a good response for our Spring Lunch Event at the Harriet Rose Garden on May 1. Horticulturalist Anne Simmons will be giving us a lesson in flower gardening. If you plan to attend, feel free to bring a guest. Please let us know how many will be attending by April 23. Call us if you have questions.

Enjoy your spring!

John P. Doe, President
Doe Asset Management
(contact info)

This is also a good opportunity to attach any articles or columns you or your staff members have written—or to refer to new content on your website.

Larger firms may also choose to do a more formal newsletter with their own commentary on market trends or with helpful articles on timely issues, such as taxes, housing, legal matters, retirement savings, college funds, etc. That type of newsletter can be helpful for clients. But if you want the best possible chance to connect with your audience, you still need to take the extra five or ten minutes each month to write a more personal message—like an email you’d send to your mother.

(Excerpted from 16 Ways to Land More Clients by Gene Walden. Read the full version at http://investmentwritingservices.com/16-ways-to-land-more... )

Author Gene Walden has written more than a dozen best-selling business books and hundreds of published articles on business and finance. He is the founder of InvestmentWritingServices.com., which specializes in helping financial and professional services firms with compelling web copy, newsletters, press releases, books, and ghost writing.