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"People
don't read newsletters!"
WRONG! People Don't Read Bad Newsletters
April
24, 2006
Company
newsletters can be effective tools to establish
your company and yourself as an expert and keep
in touch with clients--if you do them well.
Here
are a few initial tips to help you create a successful
newsletter:
1.
Remember that every newsletter must be a physical
manifestation of your company, meaning they
need to look and sound like you. Use your company
colors--no exceptions. Be consistent and stick
strictly to your company identity. Don't get cutsy
by printing orange for Halloween and red and green
for Christmas unless you use them in addition
to your standard company colors.
2.
Keep things informal by writing like you talk.
Avoid stilted, boring corporate speak. Connect
with your reader by being "real." Don't write
in third person. Speak directly to your customers.
Say "you" instead of "customers."
3.
Give your audience real material and information
that they can use. Reinforce what your company
really does, why you do it, how you do it, and
what that all means to them. Get deep and specific.
People are busy and don't have time for fluff.
Don't point out the obvious. Give them new information.
Give them substance. Give them something they
would want to spread around or post throughout
the company.
| 4.
If you aren't a good writer, hire one. Yes,
it's that important.
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5.
Put impact into your titles. Your audience
should be able to read only the headline and still
learn something. Make sure the titles you choose
accurately explain what the article is about.
This isn't the time to be vague. Use succinct
but colorful, descriptive titles.
6.
Commit to high quality printing. Simply
put, if your newsletter looks like junk, you look
like junk. Only do as much as you can do well,
even if that means your newsletter can only be
a single sheet.
7.
Include photos only when they are good quality
and
well-cropped.
No one needs to see a messy desk, Joe from
Accounting's left arm, or your place of business
if it's surrounded by unsightly, overgrown shrubs.
Bad backgrounds can send the wrong message. Keep
in mind that absolutely everything in the photo
represents you.
8.
Yes, it's your newsletter, but it's about "them"--your
target market. Why should they read it? How will
it make them, their life or their business smarter,
better, or easier? If you must use jokes or crossword
puzzles, use them very sparingly. Make it worth
the reader's time to read it.
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