Businesses who try newsletters often get heartbreaking results. Simply pushing your business in front of your clients repeatedly will not make them fall in love with you, but a newsletter designed to build a personal relationship will.

Have you ever had a friend who would only talk to you if you called first? Eventually it gets old, and you look for someone who will pay a little more attention to you.

Your clients are the same way. If you only pay attention to your clients when they approach and buy from you, they will jump ship when a competitor begins to appreciate and pay more attention to them.

Frequent communication with your clients is one of the three fastest ways to grow your business, keep clients loyal, stop commodity-pricing dead in its tracks and produce all the referrals you can handle. A response-driven newsletter is the best way to do it.

Businesses who try newsletters often get heartbreaking results. Simply pushing your business in front of your clients repeatedly will not make them fall in love with you, but a newsletter designed to build a personal relationship will.

How can you create a great client newsletter?

You could choose from over two dozen key elements. My "must know and include" list is the rest of this article.

#1) Deliver your newsletter frequently. Every month you ignore your clients, the value of the relationship drops by 10%. In other words, a client who has not heard from you in 12 months is barely a better referral or repeat business source than a random name plucked from the phone book. For results you can take to the bank, send your newsletter at least once a month.

#2) How should you deliver your newsletter? E-mail newsletters are acceptable, but print newsletters will really stand out. While people do not like junk mail, they will welcome an entertaining personal and newsletter written by someone they are getting to know. Use a real, live stamp and address the envelope specifically to your client. Nothing screams "throw me away" more than bulk mail indicia on an envelope block-addressed to "recipient."

#3) Make it personal. "I feel like I'm a number to them, like they donít really care," is a common complaint about doing business with big companies. Yet many small businesses go out of their way to copy the same empty corporate-speak. Powerful newsletters are personal. Your clients should feel like they are sitting across from you, sipping a cup of coffee, as you let them in on the skinny. They discover more than just the next big widget you'll be carrying, they learn a little about you, the person, as well.

#4) Introduce your newsletter each month. A short, personal introduction should kick off each newsletter. The same person should write it each month and sign it like a letter. Include a picture to make it more personal, and tell your readers what they are going to get out of this issue of your newsletter.

#5) Recognize happy clients. People are starved for recognition. Take a picture of you or your staff with a "client of the month." Tell how you helped them, and let the client, in their own words, explain how thrilled they are with your product or service.

#6) Highlight your referral program. Remind your readers that you appreciate and reward referrals. (You do have a referral rewards program, right?) Tell them how to refer business to you, and what they will get in return.

#7) Give special recognition to people who referred last month. Make a big deal of thanking the people who referred to you over the last month. Mention the gifts they got, and get other readers thinking about how they would like to a) get a gift and b) be featured and appreciated in your newsletter.

#8) Introduce new employees. Has someone new joined your staff? Take a snapshot, introduce them to your clients, and tell them how this addition will make them even happier clients of your business.

#9) Make offers. The core purpose of your newsletter, like all marketing pieces, is to produce a response that leads to a sale. Present at least one offer in every newsletter. Your offers can relate to the time of year ("a spring spyware- cleaning special"), a new product or service just released ("preferred client prelaunch special"), or even a personal event ("my son graduated from college this month, and, to celebrate, you can take an extra 10% off our 'back-to-school special' computer systems).

The final tip is most important of all.

#10) Waiting for perfection is a certain way to fail. It is more important to get your newsletter in the mail than it is to perfect it. You build a business by interacting with the prospects and clients in your market. Get it done consistently for three months. Each month will get easier and better, and you will be amazed at the results.

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