Covering All The Bases: How to Make Sure Your Newsletter Gets Opened and Read

It's not enough to prepare and distribute a monthly newsletter, one that offers information of genuine value to your market. You also have to make sure your newsletter gets opened and read! Covering letters provide reasons for recipients to open, download and read your newsletter each month.

Covering letters are 'advertisements' for each issue of your newsletter. In today's time-starved environment, you have to provide good, solid reasons for recipients to stop what they're doing and invest time reading your newsletter.

You should devote as much care to preparing your covering letters as you devote to the newsletters themselves.

Covering letters provide a bridge, between the recipient's self-interest and the contents of your newsletters. Covering letters should describe how recipients will benefit from reading the current issue of your newsletter. Otherwise, your newsletter may go unread.

There are two types of covering letters: those distributed by email and those mailed in envelopes along with printed copies of your newsletter. Both types should begin with a 'sales pitch.'

--Email covering letters. Use the subject line of text or HTML covering letters to encourage recipients to read attached copies or direct recipients to your web site where they can download the latest issue.

--Mailed covering letters. Include a 'teaser' on the outside of the envelope containing your newsletter and covering letter. Like the subject line of an email, the teaser should promise the benefits described in the covering letter and delivered in your newsletter.

Successful covering letters contain four essential elements:

1. Engagement ? Engage recipients by showing familiarity with their problems and goals. Make it obvious that you understand their problems and can help solve them. A subject line or envelope teaser like: 'June, 2004 Newsletter' fails to provide recipients with a reason to read on.

'June Newsletter: Cutting Employee Absenteeism' does a better job of promoting newsletter content and encouraging readership.

The headline and first paragraphs of the email or covering letter should continue to engage by describing, in increasing detail, the benefits recipients will gain from reading your newsletter:

- What problems does the current issue address and solve?

- What goals will the current issue help your readers achieve?

2. Proof ? Next, use the covering letter to prove the value of reading your newsletter:

- Case studies ? Summarize case studies mentioned in your newsletter.

- Procedures ? If your newsletter shows how to do a task, list the number of steps or describe one step in detail.

Whenever possible, include testimonials from individuals or clients who have successfully benefited from the ideas described in the current issue.

3. Next step ? Show how to access your newsletter by:

- Opening the email attachment

- Downloading the newsletter from your website. (Make sure recipients can easily locate the specific page.)

- Clicking a link, but also include a URL in case the link doesn't work.

4. Promotion ? Encourage recipients to pass along your newsletter to associates and friends who might benefit from its content. Planting the 'sharing seed' each month can play a big role in increasing the size of your opt-in mailing list.

Before distributing, review your newsletter after completing your covering letter. Ask yourself:

- Headline: Does the headline develop the promise made in the letter?

- Content: Does my newsletter actually deliver the promised benefits?

Edit and rewrite your newsletter until you can answer 'yes' to both questions. And then use your covering letter to persuade recipients to open and read your newsletter.

Roger C. Parker knows the secrets to promoting your business one page at a time. Find out the simple way to keep in constant touch with your customers, while saving you time and money. Visit http://www.OnePageNewsletters.com for your three free reports.

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Google News Updated : Mon, 13 Oct 2008 11:51:33 GMT Forecast: Summery Sunshine Sticks Around - Washington Post Chicagoist Forecast: Summery Sunshine Sticks Around Washington Post - 2 hours ago Columbus Day will feel a lot more like Labor Day as temperatures climb to around 80 degrees. This unseasonably warm weather will continue for the next several days. Enjoy a warm, sunny Columbus Day Times Herald-Record Beautiful start to the work week The Star-Ledger - NJ.com The Capital Times - Journal and Courier - Richmond Times Dispatch - The Virginian-Pilot all 241 news articles Publ.Date : Mon, 13 Oct 2008 09:03:26 GMT 1.5 million G1 Android phones pre-ordered - TG Daily Product Reviews 1.5 million G1 Android phones pre-ordered TG Daily - 6 hours ago By Wolfgang Gruener Chicago (IL) - T-Mobile’s upcoming G1 may not be the best-looking iPhone rival, it may not have the most complete feature set and T-Mobile may have undersold the device at the recent launch event. Get ready for next-gen mobile InfoWorld HTC G1 Android Phone Racks up 1.5 Million Pre-orders eFluxMedia Brighthand - InformationWeek - ReadWriteWeb - ZDNet all 153 news articles Publ.Date : Mon, 13 Oct 2008 05:21:21 GMT Fantastic finishes: 5 NFL games down to the wire - Washington Post Washington Post Fantastic finishes: 5 NFL games down to the wire Washington Post - 3 hours ago Dallas Cowboys' Mat McBriar (1) has his punt blocked by Arizona Cardinals' Sean Morey as Monty Beisel (52) looks on during overtime of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008 in Glendale, Ariz. Blocked punt downs Dallas San Francisco Chronicle Backups Burst Through Line and Lift Cardinals in Overtime New York Times Sports Network - FOXSports.com - Houston Chronicle - Philadelphia Inquirer all 749 news articles Publ.Date : Mon, 13 Oct 2008 08:15:50 GMT Manatee dies before reaching rehab site - Boston Globe WHDH-TV Manatee dies before reaching rehab site Boston Globe - 4 hours ago By Emily Canal After a 27-hour trip to Florida, Dennis the manatee, rescued from the frigid waters of Cape Cod, died in Orlando yesterday as SeaWorld employees carted the mammal to a rehabilitation center. Video: Rescued Manatee Dies After Mass. Rescue AssociatedPress Manatee rescued off Cape Cod dies en route to Florida Sea World New York Daily News WFLA - eFluxMedia - Cape Cod Times - South Coast Today all 565 news articles Publ.Date : Mon, 13 Oct 2008 07:21:21 GMT Dodgers stand up to Phillies in Game 3 win - FOXSports.com Washington Post Dodgers stand up to Phillies in Game 3 win FOXSports.com - 4 hours ago by Ken Rosenthal Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since Aug. 2005. He appears weekly on the FSN Baseball Report and MLB on FOX. LA revitalized at Moyer's expense MLB.com Kuroda's pitch serves its purpose for Dodgers USA Today New York Times - Los Angeles Times - Boston Globe - Philadelphia Daily News all 2,467 news articles Publ.Date : Mon, 13 Oct 2008 07:00:36 GMT UK government takes stake in three banks - CNN International Canada.com UK government takes stake in three banks CNN International - 32 minutes ago LONDON, England (CNN) -- The British government on Monday said it would make a multi-billion investment in three of the country's major banks to help them through the "first financial crisis of the global age. In quotes: Bank bail-out reaction BBC News TEXT-Lloyds TSB terms for acquisition of HBOS Reuters guardian.co.uk - Wall Street Journal - Bloomberg - AFP all 1,923 news articles Publ.Date : Mon, 13 Oct 2008 11:18:47 GMT European, Asian markets bounce back - The Associated Press Vancouver Sun European, Asian markets bounce back The Associated Press - 1 hour ago LONDON (AP) - European markets opened strongly Monday following Asia's lead in response to the widespread government efforts over the weekend to shore up the world's troubled financial system. The financial crisis A light at the end of the tunnel? Economist World stock markets welcome European bank rescue AFP MSN Money - New York Times - New Straits Times - Voice of America all 769 news articles Publ.Date : Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:23:04 GMT RSStoBlog Add RSS Feeds To My Web Pages

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