Web and App Development
There aren’t many absolutes in being a web writer. You’re the boss, and you can write your own rules when it comes to your business. You set your work hours, your pricing, your office dress code …
Consider making it one of your rules that you absolutely must send a newsletter to clients and prospects on a regular basis.
Yes, it can be that important.
You probably became a web writer, at least in part, because you wanted the freedom of the writer’s life. That freedom to work for clients of your choice, to work when and where you want to, and on the projects you decide are a good fit for your skills and interest.
But the reality is this freedom comes with a price. The price is you also have to run your business. And that means you must do some marketing.
This is where your newsletter comes into play.
A newsletter is quite possibly the easiest marketing you’ll ever do. You’re simply keeping in touch with existing and past clients AND with people who have expressed interest in your services, even if they haven’t actually paid you money yet.
I can give you seven good reasons why you should send newsletters to your clients and prospects:
For example, if you specialize in social media, you might share tips, strategies, updates on changes, and the newest best practices for using social media as a marketing channel. Of course, you’ll want to casually remind your reader you’re there to help if they need it. But remember, this should not be a sales pitch. It should be a genuine effort to be of service by providing value.
Regular new content for your newsletter means regular new content for your website. Two for the price of one. Win-win!
When you get in the practice of sending newsletters to your clients and prospects, you’re showing them they’re important to you. It strengthens your relationship. It keeps them coming to you for the service you provide rather than straying off to another web writer.
As a mom, can I expect my teenager to make his bed every morning, if I don’t model that behavior by making mine? Can I expect him to show me care and respect, if I don’t let him see me show care for and respect to my parents?
Along with client testimonials and success stories, some of the strongest proof that you can deliver the goods is when you demonstrate by doing it in your own business.
The simplest newsletter consists of a single piece of valuable content — a blog post, for example — delivered in an email.
If you’re publishing several blog posts a month, you could send a newsletter for each when you publish it (once a week, for example), then send a recap of all the new content in a monthly newsletter.
For this strategy, your monthly recap newsletter could have snippets of each blog post with links to your website for your reader to “Read more …” or a brief summary/description of the blog content with links back to your site.
As to what kind of content to create for your newsletter, here are a few ideas to get you started:
Develop a system for capturing content ideas as they come to you, so you’re never at a loss for something to write about. I have Evernote installed on every device I own — my phone, tablet, laptop — and I use it to make notes of my content ideas wherever I may be when I think of them. Borrow this idea from me and try it for yourself!
I believe when you’re learning something new, you should learn from an established expert. If you need more guidance on how to write your newsletter,
Newsletters aren’t new. They aren’t bright, shiny, or full of fun, new technology.
But they work. Still today … they work.
Yes, it’s a commitment to produce content on a regular basis and send it out there. But you’re a web writer. You’ve got this!
And after all, don’t you owe it to your writer’s life to invest the time and effort into building and maintaining an engaged audience?
I hope you’ll agree that the answer is a big ol’ HECK YES! Tell me and the rest of your fellow web writers you’ll commit to sending out a newsletter by simply typing YES in the comments below. Bonus points if you also tell us if you’ll send your newsletter out weekly or monthly.
Ready, set, GO!
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