Content is king: How to make your publications rule

Many times, we hear companies say they’d like to start a newsletter — but they’re worried they won’t have enough to include. As a matter of fact, in most cases the opposite is true: usually a little legwork generates so much information that there's plenty for this issue — and the next.

Some successful publishers share their favorite sources:

• Editorial networks. “We have a facilitator network that includes representatives of most of our plants,” says Dianne Steele, managing director corporate communications at U.S. Can Corp. in Oak Brook, Ill. “They identify different newsworthy events at their plants and e-mail the information to me for use across the company.” “We communicate with the human resources employees from our entities worldwide, and they give us news from their divisions,” adds Judy Muschetto, administrative services manager in corporate marketing for Andrew Corp. in Orland Park, Ill.
• Memos and reports. “Employee reports can make excellent stories,” says Diane Taylor, benefit services director for S&C Electric Co. in Chicago. “For example, one of our employees wrote about his Y2K project, and we ran a summary of it in the company magazine.”
• Customers. “We feature client success stories from time to time,” says Renee Bruning, director of program office for the Hartford Computer Group in Inverness, Ill. “It helps everyone stay in touch with how we're perceived in the marketplace.”
• Competitors. “I look at the competition’s website and include information about what they’re doing in our newsletter,” Bruning says.
• Employees. “Employees are the best resource,” says Kally Fraser, public relations director for Serta, Inc. in Itasca, Ill. “I talk to employees, send them e-mail or call them on the phone to get their ideas.”
• Managers. “Our company executives meet every two weeks and report what’s going on in their departments,” Taylor says. “Newsletters can explain the context in which personnel and other changes are made.”
• Guest contributors. “One of our chefs always contributes to our newsletter by developing a recipe for every issue,” says Eve Southwood, marketing manager – Batter and Breader Division of Newly Weds Foods Inc. in Chicago. Other companies feature interviews with in-house experts on a variety of subjects.
• Reader feedback. “I insert a self-mailer that asks for story ideas in each of our employee newsletters,” says Christiane Tiskus, public relations coordinator at White Hen Pantry Inc. in Itasca, Ill.
• Databases. “We generate cooking-trend stories from a menu database we subscribe to,” Southwood says.
• World Wide Web. “I always use the Internet to get ideas,” Bruning says. “It’s a great starting point.”
• New products. “We go to our research and development department to find out what new product or line of products they’re producing,” Southwood says.
• Industry associations. “Trade associations always provide good information,” says John Marks, director of corporate communications for Medline Industries in Mundelein, Ill. “Some of them have research arms and archives of articles that can be really helpful.”
• Trade publications. “Some magazines and newsletters for business communicators are excellent information tools,” Tiskus says.
• Previous articles. Follow up after major initiatives, such as a new marketing campaign or the installation of a new computer system, to evaluate the project's success.

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

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