How To Create An Effective Newsletter

[Nelson Tan]

The typical form of newsletter is a one-way communication where you
provide information to customers, such as product updates and
announcements. Creating a successful newsletter can be extremely
rewarding. Subscribers and customers respond with glowing feedback,
online sales jump and your customer relationships and brand loyalty
deepens. Here are some useful tips that might help in creating a
successful newsletter.

Define Success

Ask yourself "What is the purpose of your newsletter?" A newsletter is
a substantial investment of company resources in terms of time and
energy, and you need to define in as tangible terms as possible the
purpose of your Newsletter.

Voice and Personality

Establish a voice or editorial personality—whether newsy, serious,
gossipy or funny—that is synergistic with the image you want to
portray and connects with your audience. Remember that e-mail
newsletters aren't e-mail promotions designed to stimulate immediate
action. Sales and promotional copy don't suit e-newsletters. Nor does
the traditional tone of broadcast corporate communications. Think of
your newsletter as a one-on-one conversation. Just imagine sitting in
a coffee shop talking informally with a customer. That's the starting
point for your approach—a more personable and appropriate "human"
voice will come naturally. Drop the jargon, drop the sales pitch, be
as honest as you can, and talk like a human being. You can have as
much or as little personality as is appropriate. Consider adding a
brief editorial, a comment or two, an editor's note, a couple of lines
of commentary, a touch of opinion; adding a little human element here
and there. Sign editorials, give authors a byline, or list some names
down in the administrative section of each issue to which your readers
can relate to.

"From" Line

Whether it's a person's name, name of the newsletter or company name,
determine what will resonate best with your readers and stay with it.

"Subject" Line

"Vol. 1, Issue #8" or "Company News" are not enticing subject lines.
They are certainly consistent and simple, but they don't tell your
readers anything that will motivate them to open your e-mail. Your
subject line is your calling card—entice your readers with the most
interesting or intriguing information in your Newsletter. Use
attractive headlines as a means to summarize a section of content.

Style/Format

Establish a format and layout of your Newsletter that is clean and
simple, with elements of the Newsletter (table of contents, "Tips",
subscription information, etc. located in the same spot each issue).

Content and Relevancy

Figure out what your readers want and give it to them. Seek continuous
improvement by obtaining reader feedback and monitoring click-through
rates to determine what types of articles are most popular. Another
dilemma that we all confront is too much information and too little
time. The newsletter's job is to keep readers on top of trends and the
latest developments in the industry. Aim for articles and feature
stories to meet one of the following criteria by including either:
major industry occurrences, forward thinking industry ideas, education
on issues or new techniques, or business opportunities.

Whether your customers work out of a corporate or home office, or
employees need answers to questions and tips for improving business
activities, e-newsletters provide you with an opportunity to point out
work inefficiencies, and share relevant best practice. When you create
a newsletter, try changing your focus from selling products and
services to solving your customers' problems. Think about what they
need and give options they don't know exist.

The greatest thing about the electronic medium is that you can quickly
add new hyperlinks and include updates on old material should new
information surface without incurring another round of cost for a new
issue (that happens in the real world).

Don't Wait Till the Last Minute

Begin compiling newsletter information in advance. Ask fellow
marketers to contribute articles. One great source of information is
none other than your inbox where you can quickly search for worthy
nuggets from the past week and relay the same essence in your own
words.

Quality Sources

Where can you get quality content for your newsletter?

1. Article directories like ezinearticles.com or findarticles.com.
Also get articles from yahoogroups. The downside to this is that you
need to include the author's signature or resource box.

2. Forums. One of the most dynamic and updated places on the Internet
is where people write off the cuff and in real-time. Thread after
thread, reply after reply of the latest information comes off the
minds of forum participants. Combine interesting topics and reword
them into an original article.

3. Again, your own inbox right under your nose. Whatever other
marketers are writing or selling about, use them to your own advantage
and recreate them as your own.

4. Your own insights are really your best resources. When you have
passion, you will never stop talking about what you know. Be
consistent at no. 4 and soon enough you will find a way to mold
yourself into an expert. Continue to expand your knowledge database
and add value to it.

Graphics

Use graphics that print well on your printer. Using a good mix of
photographs and art work makes for interesting copy. Too many graphics
can leave the newsletter looking cluttered.

Frequency

Determine how frequently your readers want to hear from you/receive
your newsletter—and what you can commit to. As a rule, a weekly
newsletter is ideal. However, don't launch a weekly newsletter if you
are not absolutely certain that you can distribute a quality
Newsletter every week. A fortnightly newsletter is a good option too.

Length

A newsletter should be a quick read. Readers expect to finish reading
it in 4 to 5 minutes. Short articles increase the probability that
your reader will find something of interest to them.

Timing

Test and pick a day and time that works best...and stick to it.
Readers should almost be able to set their watches by the receipt time
of your Newsletter.

Penetration

You have the option of formatting your e-mail by including colorized
text and a variety of fonts, but not all e-mail software supports HTML
mail. Consider writing your newsletter in plain text or offer two
mailing lists—one for plain text mailings and the other for HTML e-
mail.

Make it Viral

Provide information readers can act on or that stimulates reaction—
forwarding it to friends and peers, stimulating purchases or requests
for additional information. Make it easy for readers to forward
articles and information to peers and friends. Provide a "Tell a
Friend" link that enables readers to forward the Newsletter with a
personalized note.

Search

Make it easy to find articles of interest and back issues. Provide a
table of contents and links to articles within the newsletter and to
resources and past articles on your site.

Printability

If you want to give readers an option to print, consider providing
"printer-friendly formats" on your website. Make sure your newsletter
is physically readable. Avoid anything less than 12 point fonts for
the article text. Fancy fonts may look good but can be hard to read
when printed. Heading and text fonts should be consistent throughout
the newsletter.

If you lack experience in print media, seek out assistance if you know
someone in the field. If not, don't worry—the abovementioned basic
principles apply. Plan to research your material thoroughly and avoid
factual or editing errors, as they will make you seem less credible.

Personalize

At the very least, address the reader by name. The most successful
newsletters have a human being associated with them...and a
personality. If possible, your Newsletter should be "written by a
person" at your company...not the company.

Language

Not everyone has the range and depth of vocabulary as teachers and
linguists do. Use words that are easy to understand, and if you do use
technical terms, provide a definition that people can relate to. There
is nothing more frustrating then a definition that makes less sense
than the word itself. Just write in layman terms and keep it short,
simple and straightforward.

Spelling and Grammar Check

Sending out copy with numerous errors creates a negative image to your
readers. Aside from using a spell checker, have an outsider edit your
final copy for readability, grammar and content.

Test and Track

Test the Newsletter on few e-mail addresses to check for errors and
other issues before sending to the entire distribution list. Keep
track of results and reactions to your newsletter to come to an
understanding for further tweaks and corrections.

Lastly, to summarize the key fundamental features of an e-newsletter,
make sure you include:

* Table of Contents
* Hyperlinks for customers who want more information for a featured
topic
* Exciting secrets or tips related to your product or service
* Contact information

E-newsletters can take up a good amount of time if not managed
correctly. The use of a list server (a piece of software that runs on
your Internet provider's computer or on your own web server) is a good
option. It will automatically manage a list of e-mail addresses. Once
you send your newsletter to the list server, it distributes the letter
to the stored addresses. For more information on list servers, contact
your Internet service provider. If you opt to use another method, make
sure you have a plan for handling incoming and outgoing mail when your
customer base increases.

In conclusion, your newsletter can serve as an extension of your
business that will reach out to your customers. It will allow you to
maintain regular contact with them and serve as an effective and
rewarding addition to your marketing arsenal. These tips should help
you put it all together and help you create an exceptional newsletter.


Nelson Tan is the webmaster behind Internet Mastery Center. Download
$347 worth of FREE Internet Marketing gifts at http://www.internetmasterycenter.com