Feature article - February 1, 2010

The do's and don'ts of newsletter writing

They can be an ideal way to keep in contact with your client base, remind them about your services and create a buzz around your business. But when they're done badly newsletters can also give a terrible impression of your company, and completely fail to achieve the original purpose.

What do you want to achieve?

What’s the goal behind writing a newsletter for your organisation? Is it to remind them that you exist? Is it a sales tool? A marketing tool? What do you want to achieve? More people visiting your site? A few phone calls about your product? You need to know exactly what you want to achieve, so you can stick to that goal with your newsletter.

Who are you writing it for?

Is it for current customers, potential customers or both? Is it added value for regular customers, or are you trying to attract new customers from a different group? You need to be clear on this before you write a word.

Don't turn it into an advertisement

You need to be sneaky. You’ve got to include relevant updates about your business, but do it in such a way that people don’t notice that you’re doing it, and don’t feel like your newsletter is just another advertisement. The best way to do this is to provide some kind of valuable information for your customer. They need to be able to see beyond your company’s branding and understand what they will get out of reading your newsletter.

For example, providing how-to advice on topics related to your industry makes people feel like they are getting information for free, sets you up as an expert on the topic, and makes them feel good about you and your company. A lawyer could give tips on setting up a will, a plumber could give advice on the best kind of washers to buy, and a real estate agent could talk about how to talk to banks about financing.

Let them know how to contact you

Make sure you provide information such as your name, address and phone numbers, and make sure they know precisely what you can do for them. If you’re expecting some kind of action from the newsletter, make sure you include a strong call to action statement (for more information, call us on 0800…) , so they know what they should do next.

How often will you send it out?

Finally, decide how often to send it out. Unless you are providing some amazing information that you know your customers really want to hear about every day, the ideal time frame for newsletters is probably once a month or even every two months. Don’t crowd your customers; they’ll just bin all your hard work if they’re overexposed to your product.

Keep them hooked

And finally remember that you’ve got to keep them interested. Try to be personable, friendly and interesting. Write about stuff that your customers are likely to be interested in. While you should keep it relevant to your business, make sure you’re giving your customers information that you know they’ll be interested in. Stay on track and you’ll succeed.

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