For years I’ve been telling coaches, therapists and other service-based professionals why it’s in their interest to have a newsletter. Like a broken record, I say over and over that it’s the most essential marketing tool that any private practice can have.
But no more. I will no longer encourage you to have a newsletter. (Am I crazy?)
For HAVING a newsletter means nothing. Nada.
It’s USING a newsletter that’s important. And HOW you use it makes all the difference in the world to a private practice. To derive the most value from this power-packed marketing tool (which a newsletter is), you need to use it strategically, with intention and clarity around what exactly you will do with it and how it fits into your overall marketing plan.
Here are a few key questions to ask yourself to see if you are USING your newsletter, rather than just HAVING one.
1. Do you know who your intended audience is and where they hang out, both online and offline? When you know this, you know where to begin to engage them, and a newsletter is a great tool of engagement.
2. Do you give a print newsletter to folks you meet in person, whether that’s at a networking group, a speech or at the coffee shop? This is one of the most often-overlooked and most-effective uses of a newsletter.
3. Are you continuously looking for ways to increase the number of people who see your newsletter?
4. Do you have a list of other professionals who work with the types of clients you work with, and are you giving them stacks of your print newsletter to keep in their office or engaging them in mutual list-building efforts for your ezine?
5. Do you send your newsletters often enough? That means at least monthly for ezines and every other month for print.
6. Do you include your website and ways to contact you in clear, easy-to-find places on your newsletter?
7. Do you send your newsletters consistently? Like medicine, there must be a consistent “dose” of you in the bloodstream!
8. Do you consider your newsletter a follow-up tool? A newsletter full of useful information is often seen as a gift, and a gift is a great way to start a relationship.
The difference between having and using a newsletter can mean the difference between having and not having a full clientele. Isn’t it time to have a newsletter AND use it well?
