Don’t let your email newsletter get tossed into the virtual trash can before it’s opened, or lead your customers to the wrong place when they’re ready to purchase.

Be sure you aren’t making these three common mistakes.

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If you struggle to come up with ideas for your newsletter articles, you aren’t alone! Many small business owners aren’t sure what to write about. You want topics that will be interesting to your readers and help them get to “know” you so they learn that you can be a trusted source of the information or products they want.

Let me share some creative ideas with you to help you jump-start your brainstorming.

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This is a great way to make new customers feel special. Put together a “welcome kit” to send to each new customer that includes customer service resources, helpful information, and promotional details about other products or services you offer.

The “Printable” Customer Welcome Kit

Here are some ideas of what you might include in a printable customer welcome kit:

* A welcome or thank you note
* A brochure about your products or services
* Care instructions for the products purchased
* Additional resources about the topics your customers are interested in
* Business cards
* Referral cards
* A coupon for a special deal on their next order
* A copy of your most recent (or favorite) eZine, with information on how they can subscribe

Package it all nicely in an envelope or similar. Put together a dozen or more at a time and they’ll be ready to go when you ship out your orders.

The “Digital” Customer Welcome Kit

If your products are digital (ebooks, software, or similar) you can create your own version of a customer welcome kit. Just put the items into PDF format for documents and JPG for coupons, then zip it all up.

* A welcome or thank you note
* A brochure about your products or services
* Customer support information (for example, your FAQ on digital downloads and support contact information)
* Additional resources about the topics your customers are interested in
* A coupon for a special deal on their next order
* A copy of your most recent (or favorite) eZine, with information on how they can subscribe

Bonus Idea: Find other businesses that target your market but with different products/services and offer to swap space in your welcome kit.  You include a special deal offer from them to your new customers and they include your offer in the welcome kit sent to their customers.  This allows you to add more value for your customers while also building beneficial relationships with other businesses and reaching a wider market.

Here’s an example from one of my businesses.  I use a hybrid version of printable/digital because it’s so nice to get something real in the mail but the resources I offer are all digital.  When a new hosting client signs up at Creo Communico LLC, my virtual assistant sends a snail mail card that includes a nice thank you note along with a link to a special area of our website that only clients can access.  In the special client area they’ll find discounts for several businesses, free resources, and more.  Each month I add new resources.  I choose things that are easy for me to setup and give away (PDF reports, ebooks, mp3 downloads, PDF worksheets, etc) so it doesn’t add a lot of time or support issues, but that also have value to my clients.  Since my hosting business targets work at home moms, I include resources like marketing ideas, reports on promotion techniques, etc. that will help them build their businesses.

Challenge: Set aside time this week to create your customer welcome kit and put it into action.

Remember, it’s easier to KEEP a customer you’ve already got, then to FIND a new customer! So keep those customers happy by showing them how much you value their business.