Taken from Janet Slacks Newsletter

Email newsletters are one of the best ways to stay in touch with customers and prospective customers in your coaching business. Producing a successful newsletter over time means that you are doing a lot of things right. You may want to read through this list of common newsletter mistakes in case there are items that you need to adjust to get even better results.

Mistake #1 – Lack of permission. The law (Can-Spam Act of 2003) says that in order to send ongoing emails to someone, you need that person’s specific permission. This does NOT mean that just because someone gave you their business card, you have permission to send them your newsletter. Never use such “assumed permission” but instead go with a clear, well defined double opt in system. Your goal should never be about the number of people on your newsletter list, but it should be about the level of interest those people have in your information and products. Only a list of genuinely interested people is an asset to your business.

Mistake #2 – No interaction. Marketing now is about relationships and not about broadcasting. If you are not giving your readers ways to interact with you and your business directly, you are not growing your relationships with those readers. In Biz Tips, you often see invitations to email me, suggestions to post comments on my blog and ways to connect with me through social media. You can be sure that I will answer you wherever you choose to connect. If you are not giving your newsletter readers options such as these, you are not growing your potential customer base by deepening your relationships.

Mistake #3 – Not monitoring and testing. Many of those who send email newsletters think that the work is done when they hit the send button. In order to be truly successful, you need to know what is happening on the recipient’s end. Your email delivery program should be able to tell you basic information such as what percentage of your newsletters are delivered, what percentage is opened and how often your links have been clicked. At a minimum, make changes and test your results in order to improve those numbers.

Mistake #4 – Ignoring mobile devices. Recent numbers say that as much as 64% of email use is now done through IPhones, Blackberrys, Androids and tablets of all kinds. It has become increasingly important to know what your messages look like on mobile devices, especially if your newsletters are sent in HTML format. Get a mobile device, check out the look of your design and make any changes necessary for readability and appeal.

If you truly want to make sure your newsletter and mobile marketing is working for you book a free session to discuss how I can help.

Have you checked out the Small Business Marketing Club?