FIT TO PRINT

With pest control service frequencies decreasing to quarterly (or even less often), keeping in touch with your customers on a regular basis is a challenge. Customers and prospects may throw away promotional mailings, hang up on telemarketers and resist other forms of advertising. But you can be reasonably sure that they’ll actually read your newsletter.

Why do so few pest control companies publish a newsletter? The answer is simple: time and cost. The perception of a newsletter in the pest control industry is that the time and money it takes to produce it doesn’t equal the benefits received. Later in this article, we’ll present some time-saving methods of producing your newsletter. But first, let’s look at the benefits of your own newsletter.

BUILD CUSTOMER RELATIONS. Why should you publish a newsletter? Newsletters are a great way to reach your target audience with news and information, whether it’s pest control- or company-related — or just a friendly way to keep in touch. A well-written and well-designed newsletter can serve as a sales, marketing and public relations tool all in one piece, building credibility and customer loyalty at the same time. In addition to mailing, many pest control companies use their newsletters as handouts at networking and community events.

A newsletter enables you to keep your name in front of customers and prospects on a regular basis, making your business and service look impressive and credible. You can subtly promote your services, acquaint readers with your employees and provide helpful hints about pest prevention in a simple newsletter. And, it becomes a free, educational, added value for your customers.

A secondary benefit of producing a newsletter comes from your continual refinement of your company objectives as you share your vision and mission with your customers. A newsletter allows you to build better customer relationships, win customer credibility, communicate regularly and become an information source for your customers and prospects.

PLANNING YOUR NEWSLETTER. In the planning stage, you must know exactly what you want your newsletter to accomplish. So before you go to press, ask yourself what you hope to accomplish, then plan accordingly.

Who is your audience? Remember that in addition to your customers and prospects, other contacts in your community will benefit from receiving your newsletter. It’s a great way to network. Be sure your mailing list is current and that the names and addresses are correct.

What goes into your newsletter? Most pest control companies have little trouble coming up with content for the first issue or two. But the third or fourth issue becomes more difficult to fill. Keep a file of ideas for information. Clip interesting articles and tidbits from other publications to serve as the basis for short articles. Remember, however, that you can’t copy articles from other sources.

Here are some ideas for newsletter content: benefits of your service, new services offered, industry research summaries, testimonials from satisfied customers, company news, new employee profiles, questions and answers about pest control, motivational quotes and a standard column by the company president or technical director.

Elaine Floyd, author of Marketing with Newsletters, says, "People begin reading newsletters from the back, so be sure to put your best articles there. They use the back to judge if the whole publication is worth reading."

How often should you publish? A quarterly newsletter is ideal for companies that provide quarterly service because you can time the mailings to go out between services. Plus, a quarterly newsletter is more convenient to produce than a monthly newsletter.

How many pages should it be? What format? What colors should you use? An 8½- by 11-inch sheet printed on two sides is one of the most economical and convenient formats to use. However, an oversized postcard can also be designed into a unique newsletter. Remember, the shorter the newsletter is and the better it looks, the more likely it will be read.

How can you tell if your newsletter is successful? Obviously, increased calls and inquiries just after you mail it will indicate that it’s being read. If you see your newsletter on bulletin boards or on refrigerators in your residential customers’ homes, you know they feel it’s valuable enough to keep.

SAVE TIME AND MONEY. Expense is only part of the challenge of producing a newsletter in-house. In addition to adequate financial resources, uninterrupted time is just in preparing the publication. The person in charge will probably push a partly completed newsletter aside to meet pressing responsibilities.

Unless your company has a marketing department, you’ll probably assign the newsletter to someone in your office. Whether you do the newsletter in-house or outsource it depends on the skills and other responsibilities of the person in charge of it. If the newsletter is not their primary responsibility, it will probably not be a top priority and runs the risk of not becoming a reality. On the other hand, it may become a priority and jeopardize their original responsibilities.

If your company doesn’t have time to conceptualize, write, edit, proofread, design, coordinate production, print and mail, consider subcontracting part or all of your newsletter to a professionals. In the end, you could save money, time and have a publication you are proud to mail. By outsourcing, you maintain control over the newsletter, but are not consumed with the details of its production.

However you do it, a regularly mailed newsletter, over time, will produce results of credibility, name awareness, respect and customer loyalty.

The author is owner of Compelling Communications, Manchester, Mo., and can be reached via e-mail at jvanklaveren@pctonline.com.

NEWSLETTER TIPS:

• Keep articles brief (about 100 to 150 words) and focused.

• Proofread the newsletter carefully for spelling, grammar, etc.

• Include your phone number in an easy-to-find location.

• Use the same format each issue.

• Include clip art or good quality photos that complement the articles.

• Create a simple, unique name for your newsletter.

• Use an easy-to-read font, such as Times Roman, for the body of your
newsletter.

• Include a different benefit of your pest control service in each issue.

• In each issue, publish a list of all the services you provide.

• If you have more than 200 contacts on your mailing list, consider
using bulk mail to save money on postage.

• Use color in your newsletter if you can afford to. You can either print
the newsletter in two or four colors. Or, print it in black on a good
quality colored stock. For ease of reading, avoid fluorescent papers,
such as astrobrights!

• Include your logo prominently on the front of your newsletter.

• Set deadlines for each production step of your newsletter.

• Use attention-getting headlines for each story.

• Include a variety of articles to interest a wider range of readers.