7 Creative Ways to Improve Your Newsletter

It's that time again - your mind is whirring, your fingers are furiously tapping your desk and you've spent the last hour relentlessly searching the internet for inspiration for your latest newsletter. Your concern about the lacklustre content and quite obvious space-filling may just be too obvious to hide from your customers. If you have come to the conclusion that you really must breathe new life into your communications then waste no time, read on:

1. Run a contest - Involve your audience; run a photo caption competition relevant to your product or business. You never know, you may end up with your next marketing strategy or, at the very least, a few giggles.

2. Add links to other sites - building relationships with and sharing links to other businesses offering services or products that benefit your customers not only adds value but helps to drive traffic to your website.

3. Use Visual Cues - photos of new products (especially if they include your customers too) create interest and catch the eye of the "skim-reader". Behind the scenes images can also help to strengthen your connection with your audience and build your brand.

4. Calendar Days - check out www.nationaldaycalendar.com for unusual calendar days that could be relevant to your customers and products or to inject a little humour.

5. Event Invitations - invite your customers to the launch of your new product, service, tutorial session or updates, make sure to add a social media link to the event so guests can RSVP instantly.

6. Meet the team - let your customers know about an employee of the month, a member of the team who deserves recognition or a whole team bio; people are interested in people and especially those behind their favourite products or services.

7. Too much information - consider reducing the frequency of your communications. In this age of instant information most people have inboxes full of product updates, invitations, sale notifications and more. Make your communications meaningful and engaging and your customers will look forward to receiving your message.