If you get half as many newsletters as we do, you are probably drowning in them. We have to admit we ignore most of them but there are some that ping into our in boxes to great excitement and get read every single time. So how can you write a successful newsletter which people actually read?

• Think very carefully about your design. Clean and simple, with considered branding is the way to go. Talk to a designer who can create an easy to use template.

• Don’t make it 15 pages long so people have to scroll through it. Use clear, self explanatory headlines which help and guide the reader, not confuse them.

• Keep it short and punchy. If you have more than 10 items chances are most people won’t read them. If you have long pieces and are sending an e-newsletter use a teaser on the newsletter then link people to the longer article on your site. This is also an excellent way to increase hits to your website.

• Remember your newsletter isn’t for you; it’s for your customers. Make it useful and relevant to them. Think about things customers repeatedly ask you and answer them in the newsletter. Ask your readers what they want to know about your industry or the way you work.

• Variety is the spice of life and it definitely applies to newsletters. Don’t have seven stories, all the same length, on the 14 different types of widget you sell. Give your readers a mixture of length, topic and tone.

• Newsletters are not adverts. Stop trying to use them to sell. They should be part of your overall marketing mix and not your only sales tool. If they are then no-one is going to read them.

• Make sure you send the newsletter out consistently – maybe once a month on the same day. You are making a commitment to your customer when you send out your first ‘monthly’ newsletter, if you don’t follow it up you let the customer down and lose credibility.

• Whatever amount of time you think you need to write a newsletter, double it. It will take you time to source material, write it, design it, set it out, proof it, edit it and finally send it. Start preparing well in advance, as soon as you have sent one newsletter you should be thinking about the next.

• You aren’t trying to bore the readers to death. You want them to look forward to receiving your newsletter. Use attention grabbing opening lines and lots of active language.

• The use of photos and images can be very helpful in breaking up large chunks of text – just be careful that they are relevant and interesting. If it is an e-newsletter, keep the file size down.

• Give your readers an incentive to read – maybe an exclusive discount for newsletter subscribers, special competitions or a preview of the next newsletter.

And if all of those tips have given you a headache then drop us a line and we’ll tell you how we can get rid of your newsletter hassles…

 

© Nicola Cooper-Abbs. No content to be reproduced without written approval of the author.

Nicola Cooper-Abbs is a Copywriter and Editor, and Director of All Words Ltd.

More about this Consultant.

Join the conversation