• home
  • sample
  • contact
  • features
  • success stories
  • join
  • faq
  • pricing
  • brokers
  • blog
  • all products
    • facebook service
    • real estate (us)
    • real estate (canada)
    • real estate (toronto)
    • mortgage (US)
    • insurance (US)
    • financial planner (US)
    • accountant (US)
    • general business and consumer
  • log in
Ready to Go Newsletters

Elements of a successful newsletter: 4 – Offers

production

December 12, 2006

635882_paper_plane_2
This is the fourth in a series of posts about the elements of a successful newsletter.

4. Offers

If your newsletter is going to work for you — in other words, if it’s going to increase your income — you’ve got to find a way to encourage people to buy something from you.

It’s all very well putting in lots of great content that will get people reading if, once they have read your article, they continue to ignore your business.

It’s only by putting some kind of offer into your newsletter that you will be able to get a return on investment for your efforts.

The key to a good offer is this: present to your reader a reason why they should purchase from you today.

Let’s go through that sentence in more detail.

Present to your reader…

It’s important to make it clear to your reader you are making them an offer. Here are some ways to do it:

  • Include a coupon which they must take to your business in order to get something. For example, Bring this coupon in to receive a 10% discount
  • Write an article in your newsletter that presents your offer. For example, How you can get a 10% discount this month… then explain the offer
  • Include a paragraph or two that forms an offer at the end of an article about a related subject. For example, If you’d like to achieve the results Bob did, visit us this month – and receive a 10% discount on our service.

(Note – offers don’t have to be price-related, of course, I’m just using price as an example.)

…a reason…

This is one of the most powerful concepts in marketing. If you give a good reason why you are presenting an offer, people are much more likely to comply. Dr Robert Cialdini, in his book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, tells the results of a study that was done on people lining up to use a photocopier. In the study, someone tries to push into the front of the line and would say one of 3 things.

Excuse me. I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine?
Excuse me. I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I’m in a rush
Excuse me. I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I have to make some copies?

In the first example, 60 percent of people let her go ahead.
In the second example, 94 percent of people let her go ahead.
In the third example, 93 percent of people let her go ahead.

There are 2 things we can pick up from this: 1) that if you give a reason, you are more likely to get what you want and 2) most strikingly — it doesn’t really matter what that reason is! After all, the third sentence didn’t give any sort of real reason at all.

The different was that she gave a reason. So how can you use this knowledge in your newsletter? Simply by putting a reason into your offer, like this:

  • I’m giving a 10% discount on this service because it’s a new service I’m offering and I want as many people to try it as possible
  • I’m offering you this service today because I think it’s a really important component of…
  • I’d like you to take up this offer because I think it’s the cheapest deal in town right now
  • I’m making this offer because now is the best time of the year to try…

…why they should purchase from you…

This is an extension of the "reason why", and it explains why they should purchase from you rather than any other option available. This is where you clearly differentiate why you and your offer are better than the alternatives, like this:

  • It’s the lowest priced on the market right now
  • We offer a lifetime guarantee
  • This is the only product to contain 100% hardwood
  • This is the only product to have been tested by 500 people in 20 countries
  • We also give you 2 free hours of consulting if you take us up on this offer

…today

A deadline is important to get people to take action. Otherwise, there’s a danger they will put your newsletter away and forget about you and your product or service. After all, people are very busy — and some are quite lazy — so it takes this little extra push to get them to take action.

So here’s how to put some urgency into your offer:

  • This offer is only open during the month of January
  • I can only make this offer this week because I have another huge project starting on November 13
  • I can’t afford to make this offer for ever, so you need to come in with your coupon before February 28

So there you have an essential element of your newsletter: the offer.

And don’t think you have leave it at just one offer. You can include more, if you can, especially if you can tie it to your newsletter’s content.

(Photo on this post by asifthebes)

How to use newsletters to win more listings

Get free daily emails and free guides.

Your information is safe - see our privacy policy

Recent Posts

  • 4 Tips for Consistently Producing Great Social Media Content for Your Small Business March 25, 2022
  • What Is Linktree? January 17, 2022
  • The Top 3 Social Media Challenges Entrepreneurs Face in 2022 December 10, 2021
  • Get More Exposure By Using Instagram Tagging October 15, 2021
  • Top 5 Business Podcasts Meant to Motivate and Inspire September 28, 2021
  • The Subtle Art of the Subject Line September 28, 2021
  • 4 Common Social Media Marketing Mistakes to Avoid August 12, 2021
  • Facebook Analytics Shut Down On June 30 – Here’s Why That Is (And Isn’t) A Big Deal July 28, 2021
  • Protecting Your Online Brand Reputation June 10, 2021
  • 9 Tips for Successful Real Estate Newsletters June 2, 2021
  • Apps to Build a Great Company Culture with a Remote Team May 26, 2021
  • Great Tips To Increase Your Organic Facebook Reach May 19, 2021
  • How Do I Design a Newsletter for Free With No Experience? May 4, 2021
  • Do You Know the Science Behind Direct Mail Marketing? April 27, 2021
  • 10 Real Estate Drip Email Templates That Convert April 26, 2021
  • 5 Tips To Use LinkedIn Video to Get Great Organic Reach April 14, 2021
  • 7 Ways How to Grow Your Email List with Opt-in Links April 1, 2021
  • 8 Best Practice Tips for Designing Feedback Surveys March 28, 2021
  • The Do’s and Don’ts of Webinar Etiquette March 23, 2021
  • How to whitelist an email address with Gmail, Outlook.com or Yahoo! Mail March 18, 2021
  • The Best Real Estate Website Builders March 15, 2021
  • Don’t Miss These Top 9 Posts February 24, 2021
  • How to Improve Your Facebook and Instagram Marketing Results February 18, 2021
  • How to Gain Subscribers for Your Real Estate Email Newsletter February 10, 2021
  • Email Marketing Statistics 101 February 8, 2021
  • Don’t Forget These Top 9 Articles January 26, 2021
  • 5 Social Media Trends to Keep Your Eyes On January 26, 2021
  • How to Create a Real Estate Newsletter January 19, 2021
  • Are your open rates this high? January 8, 2021
  • 4 Ways to Get Closer to 80% Open Rate December 30, 2020
  • Top Marketing Trends for 2021 December 24, 2020
  • How To Get Great Reviews On Social Media December 14, 2020
  • 5 Easy Real Estate Marketing Ideas That Don’t Break the Bank December 7, 2020
  • Bringing Empathy into Your 2021 Marketing Efforts November 24, 2020
  • 5 Easy Ways to Turn Social Media Followers Into Customers November 24, 2020
  • Principles of Good Website Design November 6, 2020
  • Words that Sell Cheatsheet October 28, 2020
  • 3 Clever Ways to Use Facebook Groups for Retaining Clients October 28, 2020
  • Using Tech to Find the Best Real Estate Leads October 22, 2020
  • Do you know what Google is saying about you? October 8, 2020
  • What is content marketing and why do I need to do it? September 29, 2020
  • 5 Reasons You Should Care about Social Media Marketing September 22, 2020
  • A Home Buyers’ Checklist for Your New Clients September 12, 2020
  • How to Educate New Home Buyers September 3, 2020
  • Direct Mail Marketing Campaigns: What are they and do they work? August 25, 2020
  • 9 Ways To Get and Use Testimonials August 20, 2020
  • Best Practices in Finding New Real Estate Leads August 17, 2020
  • Blogging 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Getting Set Up & Rolling August 13, 2020
  • 7 Ways to Find More Home Buyers August 1, 2020
  • 5 Biggest Marketing Mistakes You Can Make July 29, 2020

Archives

  • March 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • December 2017
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • April 2013
  • July 2012
  • February 2012
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • January 2011
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • July 2008
  • May 2008
  • April 2008
  • February 2008
  • January 2008
  • December 2007
  • October 2007
  • September 2007
  • August 2007
  • July 2007
  • June 2007
  • May 2007
  • April 2007
  • March 2007
  • February 2007
  • January 2007
  • December 2006
  • November 2006

Copyright © 2014 · Ready to Go Newsletters

  • home
  • sample
  • join
  • features
  • case studies
  • faq
  • pricing
  • about
  • contact
  • blog
  • terms of service
  • refund policy
  • privacy policy
  • log in
  • real estate articles
  • how to choose a real estate newsletter