I think an warm invitation rather than a general cold news letter .. I have done it and it does work. You don't have to hide the fact that you are inviting them to return to you in a letter full of special offers, which to my mind looses the whole personal touch and just screams. " we want your money and here are a few deals to get your interest." Rather extend the hand of freindship. Let them know you want THEM to return.
Dear *****.
The busy summer season is over and now there is more time to think about 'you' as autumn closes in.
To us, loosing a client is like loosing a friend and we would welcome seeing you in the salon when you start to think about you again.
Warm regards,
************
Short, sweet, lets them off the hook by giving them summer as an excuse for not coming in and is a personal invitation from YOU to her.
If you know the person well, then a little hand written personal bit at the end is fine too. We are in a very personal business. In many instances we know more about our clients then their families do! Keep it personal if the client has been a regular, and if not, this little note is not too personal on its own.
People are often embarrassed or just uneasy to return to a salon they have stopped frequenting ... this gives them the open door to walk right back in.