I hate newsletters. I never sign up for them. Do you?
The reason is simple. They’re almost always about the company’s interests… getting me to read or consume their (thinly veiled) sales literature.
There’s one exception (well, two exceptions now). The only newsletter I actually read is customer centric.
Short and sweet, it tells me how prices are dropping (with no action required from me) and how a few recent developments may solve problems I’ve been having. Perhaps a new product announcement if they’re feeling pushy.
The point is that they are focused on what they can give me, not what they can get from me…. and it works. I scan it every month to see what might apply to me. I never filter it from my inbox because it’s a well spent 2 minutes/month.
So when we were designing our newsletter my first reaction was to rename it. We no longer have a newsletter or journal or chronicle or bulletin… we have a monthly ‘Answer Sheet’.
We don’t send you ads, we send you help, answers for your problems. All for free. No catch. No obligations.
Amazingly this not only changed how we think while we create it, but it is already becoming much more interesting and compelling — even to us!
So, in summary: Give, don’t take. Serve, don’t sell. Demonstrate your worth through generosity and people will engage with you on their own accord.