Writing Effective Newsletters Instantly
Language is a magic tool that, if used powerfully, can persuade, inspire and compel people to act in ways favourable to your business.
Marketing goods and services is an essential element of every business and requires creativity, ingenuity and technical skills.
The written word is just as important, and arguably even more so, than images and fancy designs to promote business interests.
Newsletters are in-house publication targeted to a specific group of readers either internally to staff, management and members or externally to clients, customers or other prospective interested parties.
The function of a newsletter is to help an organisation or business: •Increase awareness •Generate interest of support •Foster specific action There are a number of tips and traps to writing newsletters that make yours stand out from the crowd.
Writing style Newsletter writing should be concise and crisp and informal in tone but not conversational.
Newsletters should provide a blend of information and entertainment.
Length Newsletters should run between 300 and 500 words and contain several items that are only a paragraph or two in length.
Content They may contain news articles, briefs and features about people and programs relevant to the organisation.
Credibility It is critical to preserve credibility with readers by avoiding too much self-congratulatory or overtly promotional material.
Select material that has impact and relevance to your readership in favour of platitudes and clichés.
It is acceptable to use jargon commonly-understood within a specific industry but should be avoided if the publication is targeting the general public.
10 TIPS TO EFFECTIVE NEWSLETTERS 1.
Target audience • Make it relevant to your reader • What is important to them 2.
Develop standard template • Creates familiarity with your readers • Insert updated information each edition 3.
Make it sustainable • Content must be readily available or provided • Create a data base of contributors & back-up material 4.
Basic content • Lead stories, short news items & leader's message • Features, cartoons, an editorial, in-house news, news tidbits etc 5.
Deadlines • Allow for unexpected delays • Provide incentives for contributors to meet deadlines 6.
Style versus substance • How it reads is more important than how it looks • Relevant and well-written copy should be able to stand alone 7.
Writing style • Write compact copy in active voice • Only use jargon if readership will understand terms 8.
Capture attention • Most important news gets prominence • Develop nice mix of information and entertainment 9.
Contributor database • Create acknowledgment box to reward contributors • Offer free advertising space to ensure regular copy flow 10.
Seek feedback • Publish letters to the editor • Create readership survey to determine what's hot/what's not 5 top mistakes in newsletter writing Email etiquette is essential to maintaining goodwill with readers.
1.
Putting every subscriber's address in the "To" field People are sensitive about receiving unsolicited emails or may feel uncomfortable being readily identified in connection with some newsletters.
To do: Put your own address in the "To" field and use the Bcc (blind carbon copy) field for all other addresses.
It looks much cleaner and preserves privacy.
2.
Not providing an "unsubscribe option" Failing, or refusing, to respond to requests to remove people from your mailing list represents poor customer service and may generate hostility towards your business.
To do: Use an email distribution service that automatically places an unsubscribe link at the foot of your email and honour the unsubscribe requests.
3.
Failing to seek permission to add people to your mailing list Sending people unsolicited emails can backfire on your business if they resent the intrusion and lack of forewarning.
To do: Send new contacts a sample or free copy of your newsletter and invite them to subscribe.
Never add anyone to your list without expressed permission.
4.
Failing to check the links in your newsletters Links that are incomplete, incorrect or unusable will only frustrate your readers and you may risk losing their interest in your product or service.
To do: Double check any links you provide in your newsletter to ensure they're correct and active.
5.
Dressing up a sales pitch as a newsletter People are wary of any underhanded tactics and resent being told one thing, ie receiving a newsletter and sold another, ie a product push.
To do: Be upfront about your promotions and include it as an additional bonus to the newsletter rather than the centre piece.
Happy writing!
Marketing goods and services is an essential element of every business and requires creativity, ingenuity and technical skills.
The written word is just as important, and arguably even more so, than images and fancy designs to promote business interests.
Newsletters are in-house publication targeted to a specific group of readers either internally to staff, management and members or externally to clients, customers or other prospective interested parties.
The function of a newsletter is to help an organisation or business: •Increase awareness •Generate interest of support •Foster specific action There are a number of tips and traps to writing newsletters that make yours stand out from the crowd.
Writing style Newsletter writing should be concise and crisp and informal in tone but not conversational.
Newsletters should provide a blend of information and entertainment.
Length Newsletters should run between 300 and 500 words and contain several items that are only a paragraph or two in length.
Content They may contain news articles, briefs and features about people and programs relevant to the organisation.
Credibility It is critical to preserve credibility with readers by avoiding too much self-congratulatory or overtly promotional material.
Select material that has impact and relevance to your readership in favour of platitudes and clichés.
It is acceptable to use jargon commonly-understood within a specific industry but should be avoided if the publication is targeting the general public.
10 TIPS TO EFFECTIVE NEWSLETTERS 1.
Target audience • Make it relevant to your reader • What is important to them 2.
Develop standard template • Creates familiarity with your readers • Insert updated information each edition 3.
Make it sustainable • Content must be readily available or provided • Create a data base of contributors & back-up material 4.
Basic content • Lead stories, short news items & leader's message • Features, cartoons, an editorial, in-house news, news tidbits etc 5.
Deadlines • Allow for unexpected delays • Provide incentives for contributors to meet deadlines 6.
Style versus substance • How it reads is more important than how it looks • Relevant and well-written copy should be able to stand alone 7.
Writing style • Write compact copy in active voice • Only use jargon if readership will understand terms 8.
Capture attention • Most important news gets prominence • Develop nice mix of information and entertainment 9.
Contributor database • Create acknowledgment box to reward contributors • Offer free advertising space to ensure regular copy flow 10.
Seek feedback • Publish letters to the editor • Create readership survey to determine what's hot/what's not 5 top mistakes in newsletter writing Email etiquette is essential to maintaining goodwill with readers.
1.
Putting every subscriber's address in the "To" field People are sensitive about receiving unsolicited emails or may feel uncomfortable being readily identified in connection with some newsletters.
To do: Put your own address in the "To" field and use the Bcc (blind carbon copy) field for all other addresses.
It looks much cleaner and preserves privacy.
2.
Not providing an "unsubscribe option" Failing, or refusing, to respond to requests to remove people from your mailing list represents poor customer service and may generate hostility towards your business.
To do: Use an email distribution service that automatically places an unsubscribe link at the foot of your email and honour the unsubscribe requests.
3.
Failing to seek permission to add people to your mailing list Sending people unsolicited emails can backfire on your business if they resent the intrusion and lack of forewarning.
To do: Send new contacts a sample or free copy of your newsletter and invite them to subscribe.
Never add anyone to your list without expressed permission.
4.
Failing to check the links in your newsletters Links that are incomplete, incorrect or unusable will only frustrate your readers and you may risk losing their interest in your product or service.
To do: Double check any links you provide in your newsletter to ensure they're correct and active.
5.
Dressing up a sales pitch as a newsletter People are wary of any underhanded tactics and resent being told one thing, ie receiving a newsletter and sold another, ie a product push.
To do: Be upfront about your promotions and include it as an additional bonus to the newsletter rather than the centre piece.
Happy writing!
