50 Ways to Use Your Newsletter

by Linda C. Puig

Are you getting all you can out of your newsletter? Not sure how you would use a newsletter? The following 50 strategies have all been used successfully by subscribers of Thriving—A Journal of Well-Being or Evoke—A Journal of Personal Freedom, the personalized newsletters we produce for therapists and coaches. Go ahead, be creative with your marketing! And let us know if you come up with other ways to use your newsletter. To learn more about Claire Communications' personalized newsletters, click here.

1. Stack copies of your newsletter in your office.

2. Give or mail them to current clients.

3. Mail one to potential referral sources (other professionals with offices, such as massage therapists, lawyers, ministers, dentists, etc.) with a letter of introduction.

4. Hand them out to colleagues at work, if you have a job outside of your practice.

5. Keep a stack in your car or briefcase so that you always have one when you need it.

6. Give a stack to your referral sources. Check back in to make sure they have enough and at what rate they are being taken.

7. Mail a newsletter to everyone on your mailing list.

8. Send one to every person who calls to inquire about your services.

9. Put a web-ready PDF of your newsletter on your website. This gives you a more dynamic website that offers your clients readily accessible and regularly changing educational information.

10. Place a newsletter in the mailboxes of staff members at your church or other organization in which you're involved.

11. Pass them out to people at your workshops. Don't forget to pass around a sign-up sheet behind it to capture their contact information for adding to your mailing list.

12. Develop a workshop based on an article in the newsletter, using the newsletter to generate interest in the workshop. We always send out a list of topics a month before you receive your issue of Thriving or Evoke, giving you the opportunity to schedule something during that season.

13. Include a short biography or a write-up of your services on page 4 just below your return address.

14. Write an article on your niche and send it to Claire Communications to use in place of the page 1 or page 4 feature article.

15. Hire Claire Communications to write an article specific to your practice, if you don't have the time for it.

16. Have Claire Communications email your newsletter masters to your designated printer or copy center. Make production arrangements (paper, quantity) by phone. Some companies, such as Kinko's, will even deliver your finished newsletters for free. This can save you several hours of precious time.

17. Give copies of your newsletter to your biggest fans so that they can hand them out for you.

18. Cultivate relationships with local organizations near you (e.g., YMCA), and leave stacks there.

19. Personalize the page 2 "A Letter From" column (Thriving only). A message about your practice or your local area helps to further customize your newsletter.

20. Announce a special class or workshop on page 4 just below your return address so that it's one of the first things the reader sees. The page 2 "A Letter From" column (Thriving) or page 1 bio (Evoke) is another good place for this kind of information.

21. Hand newsletters out at networking meetings rather than business cards.

22. Send issues to former clients. It reminds them that you're still available, as life's issues come up. Possibly one of the most productive uses of your newsletter.

23. Put your photo on page 1 (Thriving only; Evoke already has your photo on page 1), especially if you don't have a logo.

24. Email a web-friendly PDF to friends, family members, clients. If using email to keep in touch with contacts appeals to you, perhaps you'd be interested in our monthly HTML newsletter.

25. List your certifications; page 4 beneath the return address is a good place for this.

26. Purchase back issues of the newsletter, if you'd like to send out a newsletter more frequently, or if you plan a six-month blitz to jump-start your business. All dates can be changes or removed, as needed.

27. Include a bullet list of areas of specialization on either page 4 or at the end of a personalized page 2 column (Thriving) or page 1 bio (Evoke).

28. Use different colored ink and paper each issue to distinguish your current issue from previous ones. Claire Communications can recommend the best weight and colors for a professional look.

29. Take your newsletter to meetings of all kinds.

30. Include local news or announcements about your practice in the page 2 "A Letter From" column (Thriving).

31. Insert into your newsletter a flyer on groups or workshops, or containing an article pertinent to your practice.

32. Add a customized message, perhaps a tagline or a quote you always use, across the bottom of the page 4 mailer area.

33. Be sure to send your newsletter out consistently and regularly, so that people grow to expect and anticipate it.

34. Include your logo on page 1 and page 4. It helps you build your "brand" (that means you!).

35. Put a tagline in the page 1 header area. It can go under your name or be incorporated with your logo. A good tagline is generally 5-7 words that crystalize what you offer, what you're all about.

36. Put your name and the name of your practice on page 1 and page 4.

37. Customize the header to put the name of your practice instead of Thriving or Evoke. For an example of this, click here.

38. If you do not plan to mail out your newsletter, use the entire page 4 mailer area to expand information on yourself and your practice.

39. Have others in your practice alternate authoring the personalized page 2 letter (Thriving).

40. Use the page 2 "A Letter From" column to profile associates in your practice (Thriving).

41. Share a newsletter with a colleague. Use both of your pictures, contact information, etc. This cuts your cost in half.

42. Gather a group of colleagues, who either do or do not work as associates, and get everyone an individual personalized newsletter. By going in as a group, you qualify for a deep discount on subscriptions.

43. Have Claire Communications remove the date on your newsletter masters. This can give you greater flexibility in the timing of when you send your newsletter.

44. Put a short list of services in the page 1 header area, under or near your name and logo. For example: "Individual and Couples Counseling" or "Business and Personal Coaching."

45. Use your newsletter to offer a complimentary half-hour or 20-minute session. The page 4 mailer area is a good place to include this kind of offer.

46. Use the page 2 "A Letter From" column (Thriving) to write a short article or message that speaks directly to issues that you frequently address with your clients.

47. Put your website address on page 4 and invite readers to visit it to get more information on you and your services.

48. Ask for a log of previous stories produced by Claire Communications. (We have six years' worth!) Select one and have us use it in place of the page 1 or page 4 feature article.

49. Archive your newsletters on your website.

50. Begin sending the newsletter out when you are an intern or in training. When you become fully licensed, you'll already have clientele and an established marketing tool.

©2004 Claire Communications.

You may reprint this, but it must be complete and include the copyright and the following information: Linda Puig is the president of Claire Communications, a company specializing in newsletters and articles for therapists and coaches.