Susan Mikolic Offers “Stepping Stones” to Mental Health
Please visit the link below to see my small business profile about Susan Mikolic on coolcleveland.com:
http://coolcleveland.com/index.php?n=Main.CleBizGuardianAngel
Newsletters That Make You Go “Hmm…”
Business e-newsletters seem to be popping up all over the place. Companies have found e-newsletters an economical and effective way to reach customers, potential customers and industry people. What a great opportunity to present industry news and illustrate what makes your product or service great.
If your company publishes an e-newsletter or is thinking of creating one, you might also consider a subtler approach to content, one that when properly executed, can be extremely satisfying for yourself and your target audience. We’ll call this approach “Newsletters That Make You Go ‘Hmm…’”
With this type of newsletter, the focus is actually not on your company but on ideas, books, articles or human interest stories that engage the reader. There is no sales pitch in this type of newsletter, nor is there a call to action. Instead, the content reveals the thought-provoking side of your team. It’s as if you are having lunch with a client or prospective client and saying, “Hey, look at this article I read! Tell me what you think.”
Giraffe, Inc., a talented Cleveland creative design firm, does an excellent job of producing “Newsletters That Make You Go ‘Hmm.’” The company weaves intelligent and fun stories about everything from overused marketing catch phrases to unconventional businesses or business practices. As you read through these stories, you may see a sentence or two about Giraffe’s work with a specific company, but the focus stays on the intended subject and not on Giraffe.
You can see one of Giraffe’s clever newsletters by clicking on this link:
http://idisk.mac.com/giraffesite-Public/Giraffe-NL.pdf
This type of newsletter works on two levels. First, it encourages the reader to think about the subject matter. “Hmm, I’ve never thought about marketing that way,” for example. Second, it subtly entices the reader to want to learn more about Giraffe. “Hmm, this Giraffe seems like an interesting company, and they’re not trying to blatantly sell me anything!”
Giraffe, in turn, uses its newsletters as a way of getting to know its clients and potential clients on a more personal level. “Did you read the article in our last newsletter? What do you think about it?” a Giraffe team member may ask during a business phone call. It helps customers see Giraffe as a group of talented people and not just a company looking for business. Of course, as with any business, Giraffe wants to attract customers! But through it’s newsletters, it seeks to inform first and then lure in new business by gaining trust and communication.
So why aren’t you writing a “Newsletter That Makes You Go ‘Hmm’” right now?
