Tailor your newsletter to your readers
June 16, 2008
A major mistake people make with their newsletters is misjudging their readers. You wouldn’t send a newsletter full of information about your employees to your customers. And you wouldn’t send a newsletter about business issues to your employees. Or would you?
Knowing what articles to put in your newsletter is crucial to its success. Don’t send the same newsletter to your employees and customers. Here are some general content guidelines - and this applies to in-house newsletters and those targeted for customer, both print and electronic:
* Your employees want information about (1) company issues and news that affects them and (2) other people in their company.
* Your customers want (1) information about new services and products that will make their companies more efficient and (2) information which tells them how to make their businesses more profitable.
Get the mix right - and design it attractively - and you’ll have a successful newsletter.
Planning is essential to a successful newsletter
One of the recurring problems companies have in putting together a newsletter is lack of organization.
Frequently, the task of getting it done is assigned to an already overworked employee with no expertise and even less interest.
Consistently publishing a good newsletter - on time, every time - requires a commitment from your top management and a committee of people with specific assignments.
Use these tips to help you with planning your publication:
* Draft a publishing schedule for the entire year, showing meeting times, copy deadlines and publish dates for each issue.
* Have a one-hour meeting with your committee before each issue to plan all articles and artwork needed and to delegate assignments.
* Make changes to your proof only once, or you won’t get it out on time.
* Find a printer or web person who understands what you’re trying to accomplish with your newsletter and is willing to help you learn how to improve it.
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Jeff Rubin, a former newspaper reporter and editor and instructor at The Learning Annex in San Francisco, is The Newsletter Guy, owner of the Pinole, California-based newsletter publishing firm of the same name (http://www.thenewsletterguy.com). He’s written and designed more than 1,800 company newsletters since starting his business in 1981. He may be reached via e-mail at jeff@thenewsletterguy.com or by phone at (877) 588-1212. Jeff is also a professional speaker http://www.jeffrubinspeaks.com. His programs for companies, organizations, and professional associations concentrate on effective writing and marketing techniques, customer delight, and integrity for owners of small businesses.
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