Forget about making New Year’s resolutions to be richer, thinner and healthier. Start 2013 with a resolution to grow your customer base and your organization’s success. An e-Newsletter can be a great way to build a strong connection with your customers—one that makes them think of your business first when they are in need of the types of products and services you provide. The trick is delivering meaningful, easy to read content that customers want to read. Here are 20 ideas you can incorporate today to turn your e-Newsletter into a rainmaker.

1. Increasing frequency and reducing the size of the email text often increases the user interaction.

2. Plan each e-Newsletter topic with this thought… “How can you partner with someone willing to pay for exposure to my readers?”

3. Create one master list and then break users off into segments that if they unsubscribe that you do not loose them forever.

4. Create a networking group that includes 6-8 business partners that are looking to share e-Lists and or space in each others e-Lists and meet quarterly to coordinate on topics, ideas and potential sponsors.

5. Write the subject line last and spend some serious time on it.  Ask yourself, “Would that subject line beg you to open the email?”

6. Sign up for a ton of e-Newsletters to steal designs, styles and ideas.

7. Break your e-List into demographic segments to better enhance the user experience and create a more targeted send list for potential sponsors.

8. Create a promotional calendar and match that to you e-News schedule to create consistency and synergy.

9. Create a short video to showcase what your e-Newsletters can offer to a potential sponsor.  Keep it very focused on why partnering benefits them.

10. Increase the number of times you touch your clients by scheduling business quotes or marketing tips in January and sending monthly.

11. Create PDF sample files of your e-Newsletters rather than forwarding a sample.  This ensures that the graphics look right.

12. Test and re-test on all your e-Newsletters on mobile devices.

13. Hire an outside resource to run a usability test on your e-Newsletters. Ask them to identify 10 things they would do to drive open rates, clicks and or conversions.

14. Develop a list of 20 partners that may pay to gain exposure to that e-List.  Then create a plan to email them often with opportunities.

15. Use bullet-point lists with small limited pictures to make your e-Newsletter more read-able and to increase user interaction.

16. Worry more about the content than the design.  Content almost always trumps design.

17. Try a daily send for one week to really push an issues or promotion.

18. Examine your e-News send vs. open results based on day and time of day.  Do a little background research to drive interaction and conversions.

19. Place links to video in your e-News.  But, do not make the video an embedded feature, instead use a graphical link to YouTube or Vimeo.

20. Schedule your e-Newsletters based on topic sets like legal, new products, marketing ideas, etc.  Then find partners looking to target that audience too.

21. BONUS – Your e-List is like Gold.  Protect against sponsors that are not a good fit for your readers no matter the price.  Or, charge through the nose knowing that readers will unsubscribe and you will need to replace them.