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It is mind boggling how important celebrities are in our society. I discovered this last week after putting up a funny little New Year’s Resolution list I hand wrote as part of a blog mentioning Brad Pitt.
I had so much response to that small mention that my newsletter readers wrote in to tell me stories of other celebrities that they’d met. Another reader and friend told me about how her husband was mobbed at a concert because he was mistaken for Brad Pitt. (no, my friend isn’t Angelina Jolie…)
The mere mention of the name of a celebrity in a tiny portion of my newsletter got me thinking about newsletters in general. Do businesses really need one? What makes a good one and what’s it really about?
Here are some reasons why you absolutely, positively need a newsletter for your small business.
It Keeps You Top Of Mind
I’ve seen over and over again, how after my newsletter goes out, people who owed me an answer or who I hadn’t heard from in a long time remember me and write me back–replying directly to the newsletter. I’ve gotten jobs, free tickets to events and clients from just the fact that I’m in my target clients’ inbox every week, without fail!
It Engages People On A Human Level
A client swore up and down that he REFUSED to do a newsletter for his business because he felt that if people wanted information, they knew where to go get it. He said that he felt it an insult to intrude on people’s space with his thoughts with a newsletter.
I then sent him the following true email that I got from someone I’d never met but who was on my newsletter database:

Chala, this article about driving over the border CRACKED ME UP, had me in STITCHES.  Having grown up in St. Catharines (where I crossed the border without my parents when I was 17), I found your vulnerability and wild imagination to be completely adorable and relatable.  Thank you for sharing.
I appreciate the wonderful variety of topics in your newsletters – the funny, the educational, the thought-provoking – all of it engaging and entertaining.
FWIW, I have to be honest, I subscribe to VERY FEW newsletters.  Much of the time when I subscribe to one, I wind up unsubscribing in a matter of weeks because the content is just mundane or unappealing or an obnoxious incessant sales pitch.  By contrast, I’ve been on your mailing list for a couple of years now and your emails (even the subject line) always catch my eye!  You truly do a great job.  When I see your name in my inbox I almost feel like I “know” you after all this time – that’s an incredibly powerful social media connection.
Keep up the great work!

I didn’t send this to my client to brag but to demonstrate to him that newsletters can be valuable and do have followers. He conceded to try his hand at one but he’s still struggling with the concept. What do you think?
It Showcases Your Expertise
When you’re blogging, making videos or speaking about the same topic every week of every month of every year, people tend to get the idea that you may know more about this one topic than perhaps they do. This is why it’s so important to pick the right expertise to niche in and pick the right ideal target audience to continue to write about. Illustrating your ideal client’s pain points via real life stories and showcasing your expertise by talking about how you helped them is the best way I know of convincing other potential ideal clients to seek your help.
Exposes Your True Self
What I love best is that newsletters allow you to be yourself and show the world who you are as a person. You can demonstrate your own personality by the titles you pick. For example, I’ve noticed that the more outrageous and personal my article titles, the higher my open rates. But I don’t pick these titles to be sensationalistic. I do it because I’m a little bit crazy, a lot of fun and like to laugh. I don’t want to be bored when I’m sent a million newsletters so I put myself in my readers’ shoes and try to deliver an out of the box title every week.
If you’re still not sending your potential ideal clients compelling, entertaining and informative newsletters, you are missing out on a tremendously valuable marketing tool. Lack of time and ideas is no excuse. You can get articles written for $5 on fiverr.com now so there really is no better time to start. Lack of email marketing software is also not an excuse, it costs $10/ month. Failing that, you should just go ahead and send an email to your fans today. People want to know the genuine you and they want your help. Make sure to give it to them on a regular basis.
Need more chicken soup for your biz? Follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook, watch me on YouTube or connect with me on LinkedIn –and let’s talk

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