Keep them coming back for more
Top tips for making sure your newsletters are read – not tossed

A company newsletter is a wonderful means of connecting with your customers and prospects. A newsletter can dramatically improve a firm's bottom line by boosting sales, building long-term relationships and enhancing a company's image.

The trick is to make sure people read it rather than throw it away or banish it to the bottom of the parakeet cage.

Here are top tips for crafting professional newsletters that will get the attention they — and your company — deserve.

1. Know your audience. You need to know who they are as well their interests. Tailor the newsletter to the kinds of topics they like to read. If you’re a health-care organization creating a newsletter for patients, for example, think about the reading level of your patients as well as the topics they are most likely to find appealing.
2. Write your articles objectively. A newsletter shouldn't be written like a sales brochure or an advertisement. Blatant "puff" pieces that make your company look good are unwelcome to newsletter readers who are looking for useful and valuable takeaways that help them save time, money and resources.
3. Make it an easy read. Save industry jargon for conversations with colleagues. You know the ins and outs of your industry, but don't assume your readers do. You'll miss out on a great opportunity to educate prospects and earn their business by using jargon that can exclude them.
4. Start off with a bang. You don't want readers to feel like there’s little value in your newsletter, so put the best stories up front to leave them hungry for more. Companies are often tempted to place a "Message from the President" or "Letter from the Vice President of Sales" on the cover, but these don't necessarily command readers' attention.
5. Edit your copy. Your company wouldn't send letters to customers and prospects that are awash with typos and poor grammar. Newsletters shouldn't contain them, either. Set the copy aside for 24 hours and then proofread it carefully for professional results.
6. Include images. Readers will usually go straight to a story that has at least one high-quality photo or graphic. Tie the image to the subject of the article and include a caption that summarizes what's shown. Don't use photos that are dark, out-of-focus or low-resolution. Using poor images is almost as bad as having no images at all.
7. Write clever headlines. Good headlines are hard to write, but they can mean the difference between readers skipping a story or being glued to it. Dynamic verbs that imply action and draw attention to the copy are more powerful than static verbs such as 'is' and 'are.'

For more information about how The Simons Group can help your organization with print and electronic marketing projects while meeting supplier-diversity requirements, contact Lee Zoldan at lzoldan@thesimonsgroup.com.

The Simons Group 303 E. Wacker Drive, Suite 1109, Chicago, IL  60601     Phone: 312/252-8900   Fax: 312/252-8909