Your scrapbooking business really requires you to create a relationship with your customers. When a customer comes into your store you have an opportunity to visit with them face to face.

But when they approach your website, you need to capture their information so you can contact them about all of your scrapbooking specials and start giving them free information to keep them coming back to your website.

If you don't have a newsletter and haven't started building a subscriber base, you should start today.

Here are a few reasons why:

Reason #1: It's FREE advertising. Why pay a ton of money to advertise in a local newspaper when you can do it for free with yourself? Building a solid subscriber base means you have an open audience of like-minded people who either like what you have to offer, or are, at the very least, interested in your message. You just send off an email to your scrapbooking customer base and keep them in contact with what you're doing and also any specials you may have.

Reason #2: It's the perfect market research tool. Have you ever been stumped for fresh, new ideas to offer your customers? When you have a subscriber base, you can ask them for their feedback and/or ideas. What better way to give your target market what they want, than by asking them directly? You could find out what kinds of questions they have about scrapbooking so you can create online classes just for them. It keeps you in touch with what layouts they like, and most of all it keeps the communication open for them so they feel like they can contact you anytime.

Reason #3: It promotes word of mouth advertising. Everybody knows that word of mouth will get you a whole lot farther, faster, than any type of advertising. Please your subscribers, and they'll let their friends and family know. An easy way to get them talking is to run a scrapbooking contest on your site. One day I decided to run a scrapbooking contest on my site and I received 76 subscribers just in one day! A contest is well worth your time, scrapbookers love contests.

Reason #4: It keeps you in touch with your customers. What turns you into a return customer? Quality customer service! Your newsletter is an excellent way for you to stay in touch with your customers and show them your appreciation for their business. Don't just use your newsletter as a way to squeeze more money from them. Use it to express your gratitude
for their business. Even create memories for them, guide them to look forward to your emails by giving them great scrapbooking content, tips, tutorials, and contests. By providing them great information, they will look forward to receiving your tips all the time.

Reason #5: Keep your customers informed. Having a scrapbooking sale? New products arriving? Do you have something really exciting to share about your business? Mention it all to them! Having a newsletter will give you an easy method of informing your customers about all the new things going on with your business. Keep them in touch with all the latest crops that are out there, products that are new. They will be very happy to learn more from you.