PUT SOME PIZAZZ NTO YOUR COMPANY NEWSLETTER!

Let’s face it! Most newsletters are just plain boring and are destined for the waste paper basket...without being read. Quite often, the newsletter is written by someone who was in the wrong place at the wrong time....and was railroaded into the job.

It’s time to take a fresh look at what a well-written newsletter can do for your organisation.

Research shows that you need to keep in touch with your customers at least once every 90 days in order to keep their business. Joe Gerard, a car salesman, is listed in the Guiness Book of Records as holding the highest record for car sales. Joe was no better at sales than his competitors...he simply kept in touch with his customers. He used to spend about $13 a year on Christmas Cards, Birthday Cards, Easter Cards, etc. His customers purchased a new car every three years and were worth $750,000 during their lifetime. Who do you think they went to see when it was time to buy a new car?

Client newsletters build customer loyalty, while corporate newsletters are a brilliant tool for building staff morale and keeping staff informed about the latest developments within the organisation.

The most important thing to remember is to make the newsletter a reader-based document, not a writer-based one. This means write what your readers want to
read ……......... not what you want to write.

Before you start, consider the following:

• Who is my target audience? What do I know about them?
(Who will be reading the newsletter?)

• What do I want to achieve from this newsletter?
   (e.g. to build customer loyalty; to enhance team morale;
   to inform staff of new developments in the company.)

• What subjects will be of interest to my readers?
  (Office News; Customer Tips; New Products; Employee Achievements.)

• How can I get my readers to supply information for the newsletter? 
  (Reader involvement builds reader interest).

• What language is appropriate?
  (A newsletter for a Squash Club would use more casual
   language than one for financial planning clients).

• What layout is appropriate?
  (Choose a layout that is compatible with your software and develop a   template, so that future newsletters will have the same “look”.)

EMAIL NEWSLETTERS

Providing an email newsletter for clients or staff is both cost and time effective. It also shows that you’re a leading edge organisation.

Here are a few tips to make an impact:

• Develop templates in both HTML and text formats so that your readers can choose a format to meet their needs. Some may choose speed of download (text) while other prefer visual elements such as graphics, colour and variety of fonts (HTML).

• The template should include design elements, title, section headings and any other static information such as subscribe, unsubscribe and contact information. This allows you to simply paste in content into the template.

• Use a fixed width font such as Courier New to ensure your newsletter looks the same to your readers as it does to you. Variable width fonts such as Times New Roman and Ariel can provide nasty surprises in the formatting.

• Separate newsletter sections with white space. This makes it easier to read.

TIPS FOR A BRILLIANT NEWSLETTER:

• Use headlines and sub-heads to direct the reader
• Add a separate box on the front which shows the contents
• Use colour to create immediate impact
• Use photos to make the articles more personal
• Put a caption under each photo
• Use simple, everyday language suited to the audience
• Use a simple two or three column layout to increase readership
• Use the present tense and second person “you” in the copy
• Involve the readers by asking them to contribute stories/articles
• Write more than you need and then Edit! Edit! Test! Test!

FOLLOW UP:
Design a simple survey to send to readers to ask for feedback (positive and negative), as well as suggestions for content and material for articles, interesting photos (conferences, training sessions, etc.), brain teasers and other information.

End of article

This information is covered in the Advertising and Marketing Workshop for Small Business. Click here for details.

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