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NEWSLETTERS 101
JUL 2000

An appropriately designed and well-timed direct mailing can introduce your business to potential customers and bring it to the forefront of your current customers' minds. For many companies, a newsletter is the perfect direct-mail choice.
Newsletters allow your company the opportunity to give customers ongoing information. Well-written articles help them see you as an expert. Regular features let customers get to know your staff, services and products better. Newsletters remind customers of times of year or occasions when your company's services might be useful, and help them plan ahead.
If your company is considering publishing a newsletter, Dux D'Lux offers the following tips to make it an effective direct-mail marketing tool.



FREQUENCY.
Choose a reasonable frequency that fits into your staff's schedule. A monthly newsletter could be a full-time job for one of your employees, whereas publishing quarterly would be a little more manageable for someone with other duties. You can publish your newsletter as often as you like, but for the most marketing punch, we recommend a regular schedule.

SIZE.
The amount of information is an obvious concern when determining the size of your newsletter. Many companies choose a standard letter size which can be folded for mailing. We sometimes suggest choosing a nontraditional newsletter size (like our newsletter) because uniquely sized direct-mail increases the number of people who read it.

DESIGN.
The design of your newsletter should reflect your company's image and business type. An investment newsletter, for example, will look very different from a retail gift shop's newsletter. Your design must appeal to your target audience, but also be easy to read.

CONTENT.
Choose information that is useful to your customers. A newsletter that contains advertising with little substance will be quickly discarded. Recipients will be more likely to read your newsletter if it contains information that is beneficial to them. We often recommend that companies establish regular sections in their newsletters. This makes it much easier to plan future issues, and it builds customer familiarity each time you publish.

Take a look at some of the newsletters designed by Dux D'Lux. Although each has a different look and represents a different type of company, all of them have become effective tools in marketing their respective services and making customers aware of company offerings. If your business or organization is looking for a fresh way to reach potential customers, consider establishing a newsletter of your own.