It’s not enough to prepare and distribute a monthly newsletter, one that offers information of genuine value to your market. You also have to make sure your newsletter gets opened and read! Covering letters provide reasons for recipients to open, download and read your newsletter each month.

Covering letters are ‘advertisements’ for each issue of your newsletter. In today’s time-starved environment, you have to provide good, solid reasons for recipients to stop what they’re doing and invest time reading your newsletter.

You should devote as much care to preparing your covering letters as you devote to newsletters themselves.

Covering letters provide a bridge, between recipient’s self-interest and contents of your newsletters. Covering letters should describe how recipients will benefit from reading current issue of your newsletter. Otherwise, your newsletter may go unread.

There are two types of covering letters: those distributed by email and those mailed in envelopes along with printed copies of your newsletter. Both types should begin with a ‘sales pitch.’

--Email covering letters. Use subject line of text or HTML covering letters to encourage recipients to read attached copies or direct recipients to your web site where they can download latest issue.

--Mailed covering letters. Include a ‘teaser’ on outside of envelope containing your newsletter and covering letter. Like subject line of an email, teaser should promise benefits described in covering letter and delivered in your newsletter.

Successful covering letters contain four essential elements:

Put benefit right in name - for example Chicken Soup for Soul tells you right up front that much like a cup of chicken soup when you're sick, this book is going to make you feel better. If this leaves you feeling perplexed, take a moment to list five benefits of your book - once you have those benefits listed slowly but surely a book title will begin to emerge.

Think about all different uses you might be able to derive from name of your book. Is it going to be on your web site? Is it a stand alone book or part of a product line? Or is this book one of a series? Determining exact uses of this title will help you define it further.

And finally, go see what competition is doing. Spend an afternoon at bookstore and see what titles have worked well for similar books in your genre.

Other naming tips:

Did you know that some words are easier to remember than others? Sound odd? Not really. Language experts will tell us that we just react differently to certain sounds.