The swing towards electronic newsletters has been dramatic, but the good old printed version is hanging in there; being used to educate and nurture relationships with audiences as diverse as charity supporters to retirement communities. One of our clients operates in the retirement homes sector and has a fantastic range of communications tools, including a paper newsletter, which is popular because it’s bursting with real news from residents as well as snappy company updates.
The key to getting your newsletter read (the only measure of success) is to focus on the wordnews. When you launch your newsletter, you will have one chance to hook readers: if they find the first issue hard-going, subsequent issues will go straight in the bin. You’ll soon know that’s happening because there will be no two-communication between you and your audiences. The kind of engagement will depend on the nature of the business, but some typical good responses to a newsletter will include enquiries about the services and/or products you offer, positive feedback directly to you about the publication, and requests for information on supporting your cause or venture.
So your newsletter must be newsworthy, but it also has to be eye-catching, interesting, useful to the reader and entertaining. There are key steps to take before you begin writing and publishing the newsletter and here we provide some signposts. If you already have a newsletter but it’s under-performing, you can still follow these signposts to revamp and re-launch your publication.
Signposts to a Good Read
Know your Reader
Aim your newsletter at people with similar demographics and interests so you make the content relevant to their lives. If your audiences are diverse, you may need to create more than one publication. For example, if you’re targeting an older age group like those in the retirement home client, you will need to think about an easy to read font size – such a minor detail can make the difference between building up a healthy readership and filling up the recycling bin.
Set Goals
Have specific goals for the newsletter; ideally, one main purpose for your publication is preferable. Is it about attracting enquiries from new and existing customers? Is it about informing supporters about your work to build loyalty? Or is it about improving communications in general or to recognise the achievements of a target group? Being clear about the purpose will keep your content on track; you can sense check content by asking if it fulfils the purpose.
Publish Regularly to Build Readership
Determine the lifespan of the newsletter. Is it a long term commitment, or a publication supporting a particular initiative or campaign? Set people’s expectations from the outset – if you start a newsletter and stop after just a few issues, and you’ve not explained to your audience it was short term project, you will give the impression that the company is disorganised and unprofessional in its communications. Newsletters are an excellent tool for building rapport, so determine the frequency of publication – monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly – and communicate this in the newsletter. The frequency will depend on factors such as audience demand, resources for news gathering, writing and project management, as well as budget.
Naming the Newsletter
Think of the newsletter as a unique publication that deserves its own name. Simply calling it “xyz newsletter” wouldn’t inspire you to open up for a good read! Hold a brainstorm with colleagues and bounce ideas around until you come up with a distinctive name that is also relevant to your business.
Vibrant Design
Dropping your logo into a freebie template from the internet will not do your brand much justice. Much better to think through the elements of an effective design brief and to use a professional designer with vision, who will take your branding and create an attractive newsletter template, with design elements throughout, some that can highlight what each section of the newsletter is about. They will think artistically about how to use motifs and colours from the brand to create visual appeal while remaining true to your brand values. Write a brief for your designer to ensure that they know what image and tone of voice you want to convey, mandatory assets to be used (logo, etc), format and number of pages.
Production
Your designer can manage the print side of the job, so give them a rounded printing brief to enable them to provide a comprehensive quote for design, print and bulk delivery (let them know if delivery is to more than one address as this will affect the cost). The designer can also organise for the newsletter to be despatched to your database; you simply need to build this into the brief so they quote accordingly.
Content Creation
Now comes the best part – creating the content. I feel it’s best to find one writer/editor to lead the job so that the tone of voice is similar throughout. Stories are more likely to be read if they are short and written in simple language. Most of us don’t have the time or the inclination to read detailed articles in a newsletter. Produce a story schedule and aim for a good mix – for example, people/human interest and company news, opinions on important external events, market reviews, snapshot of original research. Produce a mock-up of the newsletter pages and work out how many words per story and page allowing for photos to illustrate as many stories as possible.
Pictures Speak Volumes
Pictures draw people into read articles – the more striking or quirky the image, the greater impact the story will make. Avoid packing your newsletter only with library photos – it may be easy, but it’s not authentic and will show. You can ask colleagues for photos and the editor can arrange a shoot to cover several shots at the same time. The quality of digital cameras means you may be able to take great photos in-house.
Entertainment
Think about what will make your audience smile and remember you. What about a regular series of cartoons that becomes a trademark of your newsletter? Or mind bending quizzes with answers on your website or in the next issue if the publication is published. The important thing is to know what your readers find stimulating and give them more of it!
Project Management
At the outset, produce a time plan for the entire project, working backwards from when you need the newsletter in the hands of your audience. It’s very easy for a newsletter project to go off schedule and the time plan will keep you on track. Remember to build in plenty of time for proof reading (allow three stages) and the formal approval process.
These signposts may seem a lot to get to grips with, but once you’ve produced the first issue, you will have a smooth process in place and subsequent issues will come together easily. Happy publishing!
As your newsletter may be part of your PR strategy, see also our Top Ten PR Tips. We also have some guidelines to help you develop your corporate brand identity.
(Photo credit: rahultiwari3190 / 123RF Stock Photo)
Tags: newsletters
