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Archive of Past Issues

Ten Strategies for Marketing A Newsletter
Part 1
By Barbara J. Winter, Guest Editor

Without a doubt, Amy Dacyczyn is one of the most successful newsletter publishers around. Her Tightwad Gazette has attracted 70,000+ subscribers, spawned a best-selling book as well as several copycat publications.

Dacycyn's success is, of course, a combination of many things done right. Her idea to share her money-saving tips came at a time when millions of Americans were especially money-conscious. Add to that a catchy title, an editor who was willing to promote her newsletter at every turn and an attractively-produced, budget-priced publication and you have the ingredients for a hit.

Over the past several years, I've watched many newsletters come and go. Most of them were wonderfully produced and well-written. Unfortunately, they failed to attract a large enough audience to keep them going as they folded quickly. In most instances, the publisher could have turned failure into success had they spent more time planning their marketing strategy and committed themselves to keeping their publication going long enough to make a go of it.

Before you begin, ask yourself...

Does my idea really fill a niche or am I reinventing the wheel?

Who and what is my competition?

Do I have an inside track for reaching my audience?

Can my publication be best marketed in conjunction with something else I'm already doing such as conducting seminars, writing books or consulting?

What are my financial goals for this profit center?

Am I willing to make a long-term commitment and keep at it even if early response is less than I plan?

Don't start up a publication until you've thoroughly researched the market and are certain that you have something unique to share with an audience that you have (at least) some idea about reaching. It's not enough to sample a few publications and say, "I could do better than this." You need to know how you could improve on existing publications or how you could do a better job of marketing.

Strategy # 1 - Make Your Newsletter Unique

When Barbara Brabec began publishing her National Home Business Report, the home office movement was in its infancy. As time passed and the movement soared, dozens of other newsletters jumped on the same bandwagon. The market, which appeared to be enormous, couldn't actually support so many newsletters covering the same territory. Brabec managed to survive the onslaught because she continued to provide comprehensive information and because she had worked long and hard to establish herself as an expert in the field.

Keep in mind that your newsletter-if it is to ultimately succeed-may need to pioneer new territory, rather than jump in where a satisfactory publication already exists. If that's the case, part of your marketing challenge will be to educate your potential audience about why they need this information...when they've managed to get along without it for so long. Often, that will require that you point out what may seem obvious to you. For instance, I have learned from my study of entrepreneurs that self-motivation is absolutely essential. Most people may understand that, but fail to realize that it requires effort and a constant and conscious commitment to finding people and ideas that are inspiring. Motivation isn't something that just happens spontaneously for most of us. Because I believe in the importance of that, its just one of the things that sets Winning Ways apart. I know, however, that I have to make a point of mentioning it whenever I talk or write about newsletter and not simply assume that everyone else thinks about it, too.

What are 5 adjectives that you would use to describe your newsletter? What 3 adjectives really set you apart?

How can you incorporate these words into your promotional efforts?

Strategy # 2 - Identify Your Audience

Who will your readers be? What common interests, problems, etc. do they share? Until you have a clear picture of the people you're writing for, it will be difficult to effectively promote your publication. Mail order guru Tyler Hicks once said, "It's easier to sell 1,000 special wrenches to a list of 50,000 plumbers than it is to sell 1,000 toothbrushes to a list of 50,000 people with real teeth."

Newsletters are almost never aimed at a wide audience (although there're exceptions to this such as Bottom Line Personal). The more unique qualities of your potential readers that you can pinpoint, the easier it will be to gear your marketing plans toward them.

So in 25 words or less, complete the following statement: My Audience is made up of people who......

Strategy # 3 - Create Promotional Materials

You're going to need several tools to help you market your newsletter. The most common tool will be some sort of brochure or promotional letter. If you are inexperienced at writing promotional material, you may need to hire a professional writer and/or designer to do your brochure. Likewise, if you take the road that's become so popular and decide to for a lengthier promotional letter, be prepared to hire a pro. Direct mail marketing is difficult for an amateur to master and will be costly if you do a mailing with a piece that doesn't create sales.

If the majority of your sales will be made directly (i.e. to people with whom you already have contact or will have contact), a simple flyer outlining your newsletter's scope, features and so forth may do just fine.

A good rule of thumb to keep in mind is this: the further away your audience is from you, the more complex your selling piece needs to be. If your audience will be people who already know you as an expert, for instance, your brochure or flyer might be skimpier than if you're sending out a direct mail piece to a rented list of names of people who have never heard of you.

As time goes on and you've compiled more material, your brochure might look something like this:

Your initial efforts should go into creating the best brochure and flyer you can produce. Once you've created that, you can plan additional material. Other promotional materials might include postcards for follow-up mailings and display or classified ads that you'll run in other publications.

Not all newsletters can be marketed directly from an ad, however. You'll need to experiment, of course, but may find that your ad focuses on getting people to send for a sample or additional information, rather than selling subscriptions. Most newsletters need more explanation than can be given in a small ad, although the ad shown below does an excellent job of giving a lot of information in a tiny space.

Strategy # 4 - Plan an On-Going Media Campaign

Many editors tell me that free publicity has been a boon to launching their newsletter and keeping it growing. A one-shot approach won't do; finding ways to attract free publicity needs to be a continuous affair.

Once you've produced an issue, write a press release you can send to media announcing your publication's birth or, even better, sending some newsworthy information that just, incidentally, helps promote your newsletter. A local newsletter editor who publishes a price comparison letter got himself featured by a consumer reporter on a television station, which gave his newsletter a nice plug. The segment featured the editor checking out computer stores and showed how he did his price comparison research. The editor appeared thorough and knowledgeable. This kind of publicity has the powerful advantage of showing, not just telling, what the newsletter is about coupled with a glimpse of the person behind the publication. What editor wouldn't love to be seen by thousands of people as a competent pro?

Do you have information that might makes a good story? Think up an appealing angle and let your local media know about it. Keep in mind that you'll have the best results if you have some good information that you offer to share.

Bootstrappin' Entrepreneur editor Kimberly Stansell says, "To build up my media presence, I created an article about how people can use freebies to start a business and include specific resources, The article includes a credit line with complete contact or ordering information about my newsletter. The article has appeared in about 12 different publications and each time was well received. Stansell also successfully pitched an article idea to USA TODAY, which prominently featured her in the piece.

Keep close tabs on your industry/area of interest and network with others in your field. Eventually, some of your peers will write books or publish directories and may include your newsletter as a resource-which may lead to another source of subscribers.

Remember, too, that not all publicity has equal value. In some instance, no direct business will result. At other times, publicity can be a bit of a nuisance. Kimberly Stansell was mentioned in a syndicated column which led to 3,000 requests for samples of her newsletter-but very few sales. The best advice about free publicity I can offer is that you continue to seek it, but don't expect any single mention to make you an overnight success.

Part II of "Ten Strategies to Market Your Newsletter" will appear next month.

Copyright 1998 Barbara J. Winter. Barbara J. Winter is a Minneapolis-based entrepreneur, writer and teacher. She is the author of Making A Living Without a Job (Bantam) and publisher of Winning Ways: the unabashedly positive newsletter for self-bossers. Barbara may be reached by phone at 612-835-5647 or via e-mail at BABS WIN@aol.com. A sample of Winning Ways is $5. Winning Ways, PO Box 39412, Minneapolis, MN 55439. Note: Both Amy Dacyczyn and Kimberly Stansell have ceased publication of their newsletters.