These five easy tips will help you maximize your newsletter's potential. Newsletters are invaluable tools for selling products and boosting traffic to your website, but, like any tool, they must be used properly.

1. Content. Content is king, not only for attracting visitors to your website, but also for getting them to read through your newsletter. Offer strong content and you can't go wrong. Offer middling content, or no useful content at all, and your newsletter is dead before it gets off the ground.
2. Include Links. You'd be surprised how many amateur web designers forget this very simple fact: when creating a newsletter to promote your website, include links to your website scattered liberally throughout!
3. Mix 'n' Match. Blend content articles with sales promotions for a healthy newsletter that encourages readers to browse AND buy. Too many promotions and readers get disgusted and reach for the DELETE button. Too few, and they may not buy anything at all. Strive for a happy blend.
4. Tease. Using 'teases' - the first paragraph of an article, followed by a link to your website to read the rest of the article, is an excellent way of enticing readers to become visitors — the goal of almost every newsletter provider. Just be sure that the link leads to the complete article and not to your homepage — visitors who have to hunt for the article will quickly get disgusted!
5. Be Polite. Include a few words of greeting at the beginning of the newsletter. "Dear Friends" works well. Follow that with a brief paragraph about the newsletter's contents in this issue. And don't forget your closing. Use a closing such as Sincerely or Thanks, and your name if appropriate (your company's name, otherwise). The Internet is a largely rude and abrupt place. Common courtesy stands out.

Using these five tips will dramatically improve the amount of traffic your newsletter brings to your website, and significantly expand the number of people who actually purchase items featured in your newsletter.