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Is Your Newsletter Newsworthy?

Why bother with a newsletter? The goal of a newsletter is to keep your business “top-of-mind” of readers and gently remind them of the products or services your company offers.

The value of the newsletter is in the eye of the reader – below are some best practices to make sure your newsletter is newsworthy and of value to your audience.

Extra, extra, read all about it

The appearance

Unlike a paper newsletter, an email newsletter is an exercise in brevity, graphic skill and messaging.

• From and Subject lines – Identify your company and benefit to reading the email.
• Branding – Ensure a consistent look and feel with your company’s other marketing communications.
• Graphics – Balance space, text and images for eye-appeal and ease of reading.
• Keep it short
• Consistency – Timing, structure and layout need to be consistent in all messages.
• Preview pane – Optimize for preview panes and above-the-fold.
• Standard elements – Contact information, email and web links, company description.

The content

Your goals drive the content. Depending on what you want the newsletter to achieve, your content must be of interest to the reader and then lead them to action.

Some examples:

• A non-profit might want to educate its donors about how funds are used by the organization with an invitation to visit the website for more information. The website then has a link for an online donation.
• A retailer might want to invite customers to an in-store presentation by a manufacturer. The email could describe the qualities of the product and include an RSVP link to the event. The event becomes a sales opportunity.
• A landscaper might want to share knowledge on how to care for plants in the winter with an offer to review customers’ current plantings by calling to set up a consultation. The consultation then leads to a sale.

When the email newsletter is brief, consistent, graphically pleasing and has valuable content, it becomes a welcome message by readers and an effective tool for you to stay in touch with your customers.

How can Solutions for Growth help you?

By helping you develop and manage newsletters!

This newsletter (hint, hint) is an example of how a business can stay in touch with its network, provide actionable advice and prove its expertise. If you or another business you know would like to explore email newsletters, please contact us.

“Other people may have the knowledge base necessary for this kind of work, but very few can cohesively apply what they know with such breadth and precision.” Loren Lieberthal, Creative Director, Trivergance Business Resources Sincerely,

Sincerely,

David Fischer