I received this excellent question last week at one of the newsletter Q&As and didn’t get a chance to answer:

I’ve been tracking my stats and I see that I make no sales from my weekly newsletter when I feature certain products…should I totally stop promoting those? (I’ve done them about 5-6 times each, not just once.)

Your newsletter itself is not REALLY a sales tool. Yes, it’s possible to have sales directly from a promotion in your newsletter…certainly happens to me. But the main reasons to use a newsletter are 1) to develop and nurture your relationship with your audience via great content, 2) build your status as an expert, and 3) keep top-of-mind with your list.

However, your newsletter LIST is where the gold is.

To effectively promote something, you need to do stand-alone emails…that is, an individual email or series of emails specifically promoting one thing. Send these promos to your list (you know, the one you’ve been carefully nurturing via your newsletter!) and you’ll see a greater rate of sales.

You STILL want to mention the promotions in your newsletter. The numbers vary, but many marketing experts say people need to see your message 9+ times before they’re ready to buy. So the repetition — newsletter, stand-alone email, newsletter, stand-alone email — is good. Just be sure to keep your newsletter MOSTLY helpful content. I usually suggest a 75:25 ratio.

If you still get no response to your promotional efforts after sending stand-alone emails and newsletters, it’s time to re-evaluate what your audience wants from you!