The Lava Bot

You’ve worked hard to gain your customers’ business and want to
explore ways to strengthen your relationship with them while
informing them of important news and information. One proven
method of maintaining regular contact with existing and
potential customers is by distributing a company newsletter. But
wait! Before you begin developing your first issue, don’t make
the common mistake of thinking your newsletter is another
opportunity to “sell” more products and services. Newsletters
are NOT ads; what’s more, if you make the mistake of treating
your newsletter like an advertisement you will not only turn off
many of your valued customers, you will risk destroying that
coveted trust that you’ve worked so hard to develop.

Think of your newsletter as an intangible agreement you make
with your customers. They’re living up their end of the
agreement by opening your newsletter and scanning it for
information that is relevant to them; your end of the agreement
is to deliver content that your customers will find engaging,
relevant and pertinent to their needs. If they enjoy the read,
if they learn something new, if they’re left with a positive
feeling, then your newsletter has succeeded in boosting their
perception of your company and they will likely purchase more
products and services from your organization in the future.

The trick to writing effective newsletter content is to stick to
what you know best and share your knowledge and experience with
your customers. Don’t assume that your customers will know what
you consider basic information - it’s amazing how much knowledge
and experience business owners simply take for granted. Think of
your newsletter as an opportunity to share your expertise and
teach what you have learned about your products and your
industry. When assembling the content, ask yourself if the
information you are assembling will be helpful, interesting and
useful to your customers in some way.

INCOMPAS can assist you in writing and producing your own
effective newsletter content, or we can edit your existing
newsletter and offer constructive advice on how to strengthen
your editorial product. To get you started, we’ve developed a
step-by-step guide to assist you in producing a winning
newsletter.

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Step-by-Step Plan for Developing Durable Newsletter Content

1) Be in tune with your audience - Always put yourself in your
readers’ shoes by thinking about what matters to them. What are
their most frequently asked questions when it comes to your
products and services? Ask your customers about what issues
matter most to them. Hold a brainstorm session with your
colleagues and talk to your sales, administrative and technical
staff - the front line for your customers; ask them what they
think is on your customers’ minds.

2) Build a solid foundation - Decide how many pages your
newsletter will be and think carefully about how often you can
realistically produce an issue. Develop a budget, and be
realistic about the time and expense required to assemble,
write, design, edit and distribute each issue of a newsletter.
Assemble the team you will require to help you develop and
maintain a quality newsletter. Ideally, you will have an editor
in place to manage and deliver polished content and a designer
to establish and maintain a distinct, refined look.

3) Establish an editorial calendar - Plan your issues in
advance, develop an editorial calendar and decide on a
production schedule. Give your contributors plenty of lead time
and clearly written writers guidelines, including word count
expectations and photo requirements. Because you will likely
depend on volunteers to contribute to your newsletter, realize
that the only person who will respect imposed deadlines will be
you. Allow plenty of time in your production schedule to allow
for unexpected delays.

4) Develop centralized themes - Start by grouping your
newsletter content around a central theme that will tie all
articles together. Working to a theme will help you focus your
content and will help your readers better relate to your
company, products and services. When structuring your
newsletter, start with one or two short feature articles (such
as a customer testimonial or case study, or an article examining
a current, newsworthy issue) and follow with regular departments
reporting product, company and industry news, and providing
seasonal advice, tips & tricks, frequently asked questions
(faqs), training, trends, etc. Ask a leader in your organization
to write a column each issue, and place this column in a
prominent position in your newsletter, preferably immediately
following your “lead” feature. Once you establish a newsletter
structure, follow it every issue to give your readers a greater
feeling of continuity and brand recognition. Don’t forget to
leave space for a linking Table of Contents or a box explaining
what’s inside.

5) Focus on content first - Don’t let fancy graphics and
colourful images distract you from delivering engaging, relevant
content. Develop the content first and ensure the newsletter’s
design supports and highlights your message. When writing,
remember that newsletter articles should be short and direct;
place all of your most important information in the first
sentence or paragraph if you can. If an article requires a more
in-depth approach, write a short newsletter introduction and
summary highlighting the main points of the story, and provide a
link to a more detailed article in your website. This option
will enable you to populate your newsletter with a variety of
quick-read articles, drive traffic to your site while allowing
anyone interested to read on for more information, and build on
the trusted relationship that you have established by delivering
a relevant, interesting and entertaining newsletter.

6) Use active voice - Don’t get lost in passive land! Keep your
sentence structure short, snappy and active. Passive voice can
be tricky to spot; watch your word order, since a passive
construction presents the object first and the subject last. For
example, “ABC Corporation designed the new widgets to improve
efficiency” is a more effective than “The new widgets were
designed by ABC Corporation in an effort to improve efficiency.”
Also when writing, always ask yourself, ‘who cares?’ and ‘why is
this information important to my audience/customers?’ Place
contact and other support information in sidebars, giving your
readers quick visual reference points.

7) Write an attention-grabbing subject line - When distributing
your newsletter by e-mail, your subject line should tie directly
to a specific headline article in your newsletter, and - most
importantly - it must stand out distinctively amidst the
multitude of subject lines in your recipients’ Inboxes. Your
subject line should also give your readers a clear idea of the
main theme and subject matter of your newsletter.
Provide opt-in options - Manage subscriber expectations right
from the start by explaining to your readers the editorial focus
and purpose of your newsletter, as well as the value your
readers can expect to receive by receiving and reading it.
Provide a link to back issues to give people an idea of the
general nature of your newsletter, and give them options to
unsubscribe from receiving your newsletter electronically or in
print form. Follow the standard rules that dictate distribution
of responsible permissions-based e-mail practices.

9) Read up on your competition - Reading newsletters produced by
your competitors and other industry participants will help you
generate new ideas, and stay abreast of what people in your
industry are talking about. If your competitor covers a topic of
great importance to your industry, it is perfectly acceptable
for you to cover that topic as well; for best results, wait a
few issues and approach the issue from a completely different
perspective.

10) Seek reader feedback - First, talk to your customers about
the articles you’re developing and ask their permission to
publish their comments in your article. Watch to see how people
scan your newsletter. Talk with a new sampling of readers after
each issue, and conduct regular formal readership surveys.
Monitor click-through rates and use web analytics to help you
track reader response to the articles you present, and use this
information to guide you as you develop future issues. Don’t be
afraid to get a little controversial. Establish a strong
editorial voice and an open forum, and get people talking by
inviting your readers into the dialogue.