Starting a newsletter is a great way to advertise your affiliate products and increase sales. Create an opt-in box on your site and offer them something in exchange for their email address. Once you get their email address, you can start emailing them your newsletter and then your newsletter should go out to them once either a week or once a month.

Here’s what it does for you and them:

• It becomes easy to address regular questions
• Gives them constant updates on any new development, changes in the site policy, new tools to use, etc…
• Gives updates on new contests and products that can lure affiliates.
• Staying connected and communicating with them will always keep them close. You keep your name in front of them so that they will remember to promote you.

Some Quick Effective Tips on How to Write Excellent Affiliate Newsletters

• Don’t just have boring monthly Newsletters. You can make them effective by using subject lines that have keywords. Let your subject line send out a clear message that the newsletter is meant for affiliates and not consumers. If you are interesting enough, be sure that almost every affiliate will be interested to know the contents.

Use a subject line that states the highest commission paid the previous week.

Another newsletter opener is, Hey Gary we’re grateful you promote our products at yourwebsite.com. This will define who you are and how important Gary is to the organization. Appreciating and acknowledging affiliates will always get them to open emails.

• Arrange your topics at the beginning of the newsletter to give them a hint of what is inside. A bullet list that briefly states what the contents are will help them understand what you are offering and need. If you hide your content farther down, they may not have time to go through the entire newsletter.
You can also hyperlink to appropriate areas of the newsletter to make it easier for them to find what they are looking for. Affiliates will always look for what suits them and it is your duty to make this as simple as possible.

• Keep our affiliates close by offering coupons, notice of sales, codes, discounts they can offer, contests, etc…

• Before you launch anything new, give affiliates the product for free so that they can write a review and promote it with authority.

• Unlike consumers, affiliates need weekly newsletters. Make it happen because they would prefer you be in touch. If you are only sending it once a month, you need to change starting right now. One month is a long time between newsletters, and some of them may even forget about you.

• Use plain old text for emails. Why? Because emails with text load faster on PC’s and phones and the emails are less likely to be flagged as spam. Chances that a recipient will read this kind of mail are also higher. On the other hand, you can use HTML if you are in a high-tech industry. You can also use HTML to display any new banners. However, if you still don’t know what is best for you be smart and test to see what works best.

• Interact with your affiliates by asking them what they need to succeed. Gone are the days when a 20 minutes survey will work. Today, you need to have a forum for your affiliates to join. Ask them what they need, how they need it and what they think. Their insight can take you a long way and increase your sales but only if you keep in touch with them.

• If you have never given affiliates a chance to use flash sales, now is the time to let them get started with them. Flash sales are sales with significant discounts that normally don’t last long and come with little warning. Every affiliate has preferences. Many affiliates love to plan their promotions, but you will never miss an affiliate who likes flash sales.

• Do you have a Call-to-Action? A Call-to-Action at the end of your newsletter can channel affiliates to your site for links and banners or allow them to request more information. Giving a specific call to action to them can help you understand what they need and let you help them accordingly.

• Test your newsletter before you hit send. You can test it by making sure the newsletter has no errors, is accurate and has no spelling mistakes.

• It’s always important to have contact information in every newsletter you send.

• If you know nothing about what you should have in your affiliate newsletter, Google and YouTube are your friends. You can get great ideas and tutorials to help you get your newsletter setup correctly.

• Stay on top of things and know what your competitor does.

You can current yourself through their newsletters and keep an eye on their latest progress.