I am a big fan of newsletters. I love to subscribe to newsletters that offer a lot of value and good information. When it comes to network marketing, building your business by doing a newsletter is a great way to go. It’s one of the many things I do and it works very well for me. What I want to do in the paragraphs below is show you how to sponsor more reps and customers by publishing your own newsletter.
What is a newsletter? It can be an emailed or mailed document that provides information about a certain topic. I do a newsletter for network marketers, one for small business owners, and one for military leaders. Most newsletters are between 1-8 pages long. I aim for four pages long with my newsletters. The length of the newsletter isn’t anywhere near as important as the content. Even a one-page newsletter is fine if you have great content.
Why should you try to build your network marketing business with a newsletter?
- People like free information about topics that interest them
- A newsletter can provide multiple streams of income
- Your newsletter can do all the selling, sifting and sorting for you
- Your newsletter establishes you as an authority in your niche
- You can build a list, which is your biggest business asset
- Your newsletter will get people to like, know and trust you
- Your newsletter will find you news reps and customers
If you want to build your MLM Business with newsletters this is what you should do.
Step # 1: Pick a Theme for Your Newsletter
Your first step is to pick a theme for your newsletter. Whatever theme you pick, make sure it is for people in your TARGET MARKET. If your company offers weight loss products, for example, you could do a newsletter about weight loss. If your company sells beauty products, you could do a newsletter about beauty tips. Just make sure you pick a theme that you enjoy writing about and is geared toward your target market. Ideally, you do not want a network marketing oriented newsletter. You can do that, but it will be much harder than doing a newsletter about the theme of your products.
Step # 2: Determine a Frequency
Your next step is to determine a frequency for your newsletter. Once a month is perfect and twice a month is fine. If you’re doing an email newsletter, twice a month is ideal. For direct mail, once a month is good.
Step # 3: Determine a Format
You have two choices. You can do an email newsletter or mailed newsletter. I do not recommend the email newsletter because most people don’t read all their emails. You might have 100 subscribers but only 20 people get or read the email. Yes, email newsletters are free, but that does not make them better. I prefer mailed newsletters. Most people like to get the mail each day. Most people who get your newsletter in the mail will read it! That is more than half the battle. They will also KEEP your newsletter for a while and probably refer to it more than once.
Step # 4: Write Your Newsletters
Once you have a theme, a frequency and format, it’s time to create your newsletters. If you don’t like writing you can outsource this for a small amount. Find a good copywriter, create a master template and you will be good to go. Make sure your newsletter is NOT one big sales message. Make sure at least 80% of the content is educational and use the other 20% for your marketing messages. Try to use some catchy graphics and make it easy to read and navigate. Avoid the clutter. When I do my monthly newsletters I offer a thought for the month, quote of the month, book of the month, product of the month, personal life update and talk a little bit about my business.
Step # 5: Create a Small Website for Your Newsletter
What you want to do is create a place online where people can sign up for your newsletter. This is a small one page website known as a capture page. It should give a brief overview of what your newsletter talks about, who your target market is, and it should also have a few back issues posted so people can see what it is all about. You also need a spot where people can type in their name and email or mailing address to sign up for your newsletter.
Step # 6: PROMOTE Your Newsletter
This is the most important step in the process. Once you have everything set-up, your entire purpose or goal is to market, advertise and promote your newsletter. Your goal is to get as many new subscribers as you can. Create a marketing plan, set a marketing budget and get busy finding subscribers. Make it a point to add new subscribers every month. Keep building up your subscriber list!
Step # 7: Send Out Your Newsletter Every Month & Be Patient
Rome wasn’t built in a day. You must be patient and disciplined and send out your newsletter consistently for several YEARS. It takes time to get people to know you, like you and trust you. Most people need to see your marketing messages 7-20 times before they will buy. If you just try doing a newsletter for two or three months, you will NOT get very good results. Make a long-term commitment and just know that it pays off.
Final Thoughts
I am a big fan of newsletters. I look at newsletters as a competition free zone to build your MLM Business. If you follow the steps mentioned in this post you will be well on your way. Not only will you build up your MLM Business, but you can also have multiple streams of income.
For instance, you can rent out your list, create your own products, sell coaching, promote affiliate products and so much more. If you do it right, your newsletter will be your business and your MLM Company will be one income stream in your business.
What are your thoughts about building a MLM Business with your own newsletter? Leave a comment below to let me know what you think.
Chuck Holmes
20+ Year Network Marketing Professional
Top Earner & Top Recruiter
Email: mrchuckholmes@gmail.com
P.S. Learn how to grow a successful network marketing business. Secret tips, training, and practical ideas. Free training delivered by email.
I have a love/hate relationship with newsletters. I’ve done email newsletters through Constant Contact and like you said, very few people open them. I agree that the newsletters I’ve received in the mail stuck around for a long time and I did look at them. Not a lot of people are mailing their newsletter anymore. Maybe going digital with newsletters is a mistake. There is an additional cost to printing and mailing a newsletter but I think people appreciate the effort more than receiving a mass email.
Without a doubt, mailing a newsletter via USPS was one of the top two business decisions I have ever made. It’s a great way to build trust, stay in touch with leads and customers, and make the cash register ring.
I use Mailchimp for my newsletter, and it seems I get a good percentage of opens. First, we must offer educational material in the newsletter. Too many people make it look like a shopper full of advertisements. I also believe you need to make it reader friendly. The font needs to be easy to read, and the less clutter, the better.
I know through mailchimp, there is the option of also sharing the newsletter on Facebook and Twitter. I think this has helped, in that I have gained subscribers who just happened to read it on one of these social sites.
I suggest you test different formats until you attain a good open rate. Do always keep in mind that getting 100% is difficult, but a 60% open rate is good.
It is good that you pointed out that a frequency for newsletters should be determined. I think that some people haven’t thought about this and they are either reaching out way too often (which becomes a nuisance very quickly) or they don’t reach out enough (which opens the doors for you to be forgotten). I like twice monthly because it’s just enough to stay fresh in their minds without overwhelming them.
Once or twice a month is good as I see it.
Newsletters give you impressive power of sharing information about you, your company, your products etc. One thing I would like to add here is that you can even share your newsletters on social media where you can attract more people who will then share this information with others. In this manner your newsletter can get more leads and eventually more success.
Deciding to publish a newsletter for each of my businesses was one of the best business decisions I ever made. I get a lot of referrals and repeat customers from my newsletters. The key is to publish good content and be consistent. You can’t just publish one issue and expect big results.