Opting-In

Permission-based marketing, using opt-in practices, is the law in the U.S. Even so, these practices are the best for your bottom-line and here are some of the reasons:

Why you will want to build you own email lists

It is more cost-effective. At first, it may seem daunting to begin your list from scratch. Later on, however, if you have readers not interested in your offerings, they will take away from your budget and place a drag on much needed resources for customers who are interested in your message, product, or services.

Make sure they want it

We already have too many spammers. They are causing issues with an otherwise much needed email service. Make sure you don't annoy people and insure you make a potential reader a long-term customer. Find people who choose to receive your email.

Better results

So your bottom line is tied to your performance, or it should be. Make sure your list is totally from people who want your email, and then your tracking and reporting results will out-perform any other method of gathering email lists.

You will know your customers

If you've gathered your own email list, you will know who your readers are and will be able to better tailor your email to your audience. Furthermore, you will know how to segment your subscribers and further target your message.

So what type of newsletter do you want to send anyway? Or maybe more than one type in a sequence.

Here's a quick breakdown of the basic types of newsletters you could send and how you might use them to maintain and build a relationship with your subscribers.

Most common: "email newsletters" (or what I also refer to as informational or news-style email newsletters). I call them news-style emails for it seems that all types of newsletters, whether a postcard email or informational email, are called "email newsletters").

So, yes, quality content is key with this type newsletter — content, content....
what to say, how to say it, and when do you have time to develop quality content.  But there isn't much else better for maintaining a good business relationship with your clients. You may or may not be at a point where you have compiled good content, but most organizations understand the value informational newsletters.

Whether you are a one-person shop, or small to medium size shop, planning your newsletter is key; it will mean the success, ongoing and immediate, of your newsletter deliveries.

So first ask yourself, "What is my message, or messages?" and then prioritize them. At Bluebird Courier we love designing beautiful newsletters, but simply placing pretty images and designs within the newsletter can still lead to an ineffectual campaign.

Content is key, then think of how to visually render this message to capture the attention and imagination of your audience from your newsletter.