is for ...

Hi Alun

When I started writing the A-Z of Newsletters I realised how much easier it made writing each issue ... until I got to this one! Did you know that in the Concise English Dictionary there are only 24 words listed under X? And none of them relates to email newsletters! (If you disagree and want to prove me wrong, by all means click here!)

So my apologies for cheating slightly in this issue. X is not for xanthic, even though your newsletter could be yellowish; it's not for xerograhpy, as there is no dry copying involved in an email newsletter; neither is it for xiphoid, even though your newsletter could be sword shaped! I hope you find it useful anyway.

Best wishes,

Chantal

chantal@justaddcontent.co.uk

X is for eXperts, eXplanations and eXamples

You've heard it said before that writing a regular newsletter can build your reputation as an expert. Becoming an expert in your chosen field means that when people need help in that area, they will come to you, as the expert.

How can you become an expert through examples and explanations?

• Explain the detail. A regular newsletter, whether its weekly, fortnightly or monthly, allows you to go into a lot of detail about what you do. You'll never fit all the information into one brochure or on your website, but you can give away a bit more detail in every issue of your newsletter. You can focus on one specific element of your service in each issue and help your readers really get to grips with it.

• Illustrate with examples. It can be difficult to explain the benefits someone will get from some products and services. If you have this problem, use your newsletter to give examples of what you've done to help your clients and how. Try including short case studies to show how your product or service works.

Make careful use of explanations and examples in your newsletter and you'll start to build yourself a reputation as an expert in your field.

X is also for eXtra help

If you need some extra help with getting your newsletter off the ground, you might like to come along to one of the many workshops and presentations I'm giving around the country.

Click here to visit my marketing website and see a list of dates and venues. In most of them we cover the planning you need to do to get a newsletter going; how to come up with great ideas of what to write about; and how to grow your mailing list and reach more people.

If you need help with keeping your newsletter going once you've got started, you might be interested in a new service that I'm launching in September. Newsletter Know How will be a membership service, where you can choose the amount of support you need.

Free membership gives you a fortnightly newsletter and lots of resources on our website (click here to see what's already there for you.) Membership will cost from £5-£10 per month and will give you all the free stuff, along with great discounts on things like teleclasses, ebooks and one-to-one sessions that will help you get more from your newsletter.

Full membership gives you a teleclass each month on a really important newsletter topic and a one hour one-to-one session, along with membership discounts on all the other goodies, so you can get some really specific, personal help with your newsletter. How much value would you get from this monthly help, encouragement and support? How much would you pay? Click here to tell me how much and what you do, so that I can work out the best price that suits everyone who is interested.

In the meantime, if you have any questions about newsletters, do get in touch by calling +44 (0) 1635 578 500 or emailing me at chantal@JustAddContent.co.uk.