Larry Chase, a well-respected web expert made the following observation. “Now that anyone can publish content for public consumption, there is entirely too much out there for people to reasonably absorb. We now live in a world of content chaos. Think about how your content can bring order to this chaos. There is great value in that.”

This is what a good newsletter is all about.

Your newsletter should not add to the chaos, but instead provide clarity in your field of expertise or business sector. It will provide order for your reader. Receiving your newsletter will save them time, save them searching and save them picking out the wheat from the chafe. It will give them all the best bits, and an overview. You will be of tremendous value to them, the cornerstone of a successful business relationship and key to customer loyalty.

One of the readers of our newsletter Winston Marsh from Melbourne interviewed me about enewsletters as a value-add for his mailing list of business owners.
The interview only goes for a few minutes but it might answer some of the questions you have about enewsletters.

Grab a pen and a piece of paper. Draw the following: Two large circles side by side, connected with a straight line. Now, draw another circle around the entire thing.

These four elements – two circles, a straight line, and an all-encompassing circle – should be top of mind whenever you sit down to write your newsletter. Here’s what I mean:

The right hand circle represents your target audience. These are the people with whom you wish to communicate. Presumably, since the purpose of publishing your newsletter is to attract more clients and more business, the target audience is people who "look like" your ideal client.

Notice that I said ideal client – not vague demographic group or mishmashed compilation of anyone who could theoretically hire you. This is the person who, if the phone were to ring at this very moment and you could decide, would be on the other end of the line. Write for his/her benefit.

The left hand circle represents the things you know that are valuable to your target audience. Your knowledge from their perspective. Nobody wants more e-mail, and the only way your target audience is going to read your newsletter month after month, is if they view what you’ve got to say as essential; something that helps them do their jobs better or live their lives easier.

If you’re a recruiter, it might be insights into finding and hiring great people. If you’re a plumber, it might be tips and perspective on maintaining the plumbing in a home. You get the idea: Information in your area of expertise that your target audience needs.

The line between the two circles represents the content of your E-Newsletter. Each time you publish, a little piece of what you know travels from your circle, down the line, to the target audience. Not too much at a time… just enough to help them today and keep them coming back for more.

The all-encompassing circle represents your voice and personal perspective. This is the piece that is usually missing. And while it’s certainly essential to provide valuable information to the right audience, if that’s all you do, you’ll have trouble ever positioning yourself as an expert with a discernable style.

Certainly, as a professional in your field you need to know the basics. But that’s not what gets you hired, and it’s definitely not what makes people go out of their way to track you down. It’s your authentic voice and "let the chips fall where they may, this is what I think" point of view, wrapped around the useful, on target information, that will have them lining up outside your door