Sending a legal newsletter is a great way to follow up and keep in touch with prospects, clients and referral partners. But before people can read your legal newsletter content, you have to overcome several hurdles such as having your message delivered to the inbox and not the junk folder, having an intriguing subject line that makes people want to read, and filling your law firm newsletter with interesting and informative content. Here are 5 ways to increase the chances that your email will be read.
- Craft an intriguing subject line - Your prospect gets as much, if not more, email as you do. He won’t read every message he receives, so he will judge whether he should read your email by its subject line. Don’t simply put your company name, product or publication title here. Make it interesting – what would get him to open the email?
- Make the text easy-to-read – Skip the legal jargon and long paragraphs. Instead, write in easy-to-understand English. Write like you speak – as if you were having a conversation with your reader – and break up the text into easy-to-manage sections. Include headers, bullet points and bold text. Use short sentences. And don’t be afraid to break grammar rules. It’s OK to have one-sentence paragraphs.
- Keep it simple – Don’t focus on making your email newsletter a masterpiece of beauty. Including some graphics is OK, but keep in mind that many email readers don’t download images unless your reader specifically requests it, so they might not see your pictures. This can create weird layout changes and make your newsletter difficult to read if you aren’t careful.
- 90% Content, 10% Selling – Readers subscribe to your newsletter because they are interested in the subject you write about. If you want to keep their interest over the long term, deliver valuable content in each issue so they will look forward to reading your message. Then, after you have delivered the content, include products and services you want to promote.
- Include a call to action – Don’t assume your reader knows what you want him to do next. If you want him to click a link to your website, tell him that. If you want him to email you questions, click a buy now button or follow you on Twitter, make that clear. Always make sure you specify what you want readers to do next.
The best newsletters focus on a key problem, frustration or concern your prospect is having. What is he worried about? What frequently asked questions do you hear? What does the media talk about? Those are all fantastic ideas for legal newsletter content.
