Uncover the Psychology
Behind Making Your Newsletter
Your Reader's Best Friend!
by Michael Green
If you edit your own newsletter then this piece of advice
could be the most important you'll ever receive...
"Aim to turn your newsletter into your reader's very own
new best friend!"
Why you may ask? Let me explain...
FRIENDS SEEK HELP FROM FRIENDS
Let's imagine that your air-conditioning unit has just broken down and you're without a contract to get it fixed. Who do you turn to?
ANSWER: Maybe the Yellow Pages, but just as likely you'll
seek a recommendation from a friend and get the name of a
company who can fix the problem.
In fact the same scenario applies with just about everything
else in life; from finding a new dentist to helping you
source a piece of software or finding marketing solutions
online.
No matter what, our natural inclination is always to turn to
someone we know AND trust for help and a recommendation.
YOUR NEWSLETTER'S PURPOSE IS ALWAYS TO PROMOTE!
Now although I don't know the subject or title of your own
newsletter publication, I do already know that you write it
with the specific purpose in mind - *PROMOTING SOMETHING*.
Maybe it is a product, a service or even a person. Perhaps
your newsletter promotes other people's products, based on
your own recommendations to your readership.
My point is that no matter what your newsletter's stated
purpose is, you are in fact producing it to endorse and sell something!
We've already proved that when requirements arise everyone
turns to a friend to get a recommended supplier to solve the problem. But what we haven't said is that the reason that people do this is entirely because of the psychology of trust.
YOUR FRIEND CHUCK DOESN'T REALLY KNOW THE BEST PLUMBER
Look, when you have a water leak to fix, the brutal reality is that your best friend chuck doesn't necessarily know the best plumber in town...
But you are willing to sacrifice getting the best of the best in return for removing the possible risk of ending up
with the very worst plumber in town. After all, you know with some certainty that the plumber Chuck recommends is
going to be pretty good at least.
He must be, your best friend made the recommendation! That
means he's probably used the plumber before himself. This
isn't just a name plucked out of the air, or from an anonymous Yellow Pages ad, this is from your friend who you
already know and trust. He wouldn't recommend just anyone.
BUT YOUR NEWSLETTER CAN ALSO BE YOUR READER'S BEST FRIEND
When the need actually arises, not everyone has a friend
like Chuck on standby to recommend the best company, product or service to solve the particular problem.
And this is where your newsletter can fill the gap.
If you've done your job, you will have built up confidence
and a rapport with your newsletter subscribers. The trick
is to build trust so that when the need arises, your readers turn to you for the solution to their problems.
Through the pages of your newsletter or Ezine, they will
seek answers and you will be ready to provide them, making healthy profits by selling the products and services required either directly or as an affiliate along the way.
CHECKLIST TO HELP BUILD TRUST WITH YOUR SUBSCRIBERS
1. Never recommend a product or service that you don't have
full confidence in yourself.
2. Ideally test products or services before advising anyone
else to purchase them.
3. Your readership is more perceptive than you think. A
truly heartfelt recommendation will show through in your
newsletter copy.
4. Remember that your reputation is ALWAYS on the line. Don't make half hearted recommendations.
5. Be absolutely honest about the products that you advise
your readers to buy.
6. Don't be afraid to point out some minor negatives with
a product you recommend. Your subscribers will appreciate
your candidness.
7. Avoid constant and blatant over-promotion, it turns people off. Your readers may not have bothered to unsubscribe - but they may have just given up reading your newsletter without bothering to remove themselves from your list?
8. Get closer to your readers by offering doses of free advice. Never let them feel that you are always after their credit card.
Good luck befriending your subscribers,
Michael Green
© How To Corporation. All rights reserved.
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The author Michael Green has developed a TOOLKIT for
Newsletter Editors called "How To Write A Newsletter".
Included are hundreds of Copyright Free Articles, DTP
Templates a How-To eBook and lots more. A must for all
Newsletter Editors!
Check out ===> How To Write A Newsletter
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