Newsletters can provide a ‘hearty helping’ of P.R.
Published 5:00 pm Friday, October 31, 2008
Business professionals are constantly looking for new ways to keep clients, potential clients, and the media informed about who they are and what they do, yet one of the most effective (and least expensive) forms of self-promotion is often overlooked the good ol’ fashioned business newsletter. For whatever reason, this wonderful marketing tool has fallen by the wayside; perhaps it’s because so much of the world has turned to paperless communication, or maybe it’s because many businesses feel that churning out a monthly newsletter is too much work.
By adopting a simple yet effective format that can be used time and time again, however, and following a few basic tenets in between, businesses and organizations can help themselves to a hearty helping of profitable PR.
Let’s begin by asking ourselves what makes a successful newsletter. Successful newsletters always appear on time, are attractive to look at, and are easy to read. The good news is that after setting up a standard format you can use with every issue, the content itself can be easily prepared and quickly completed. Here’s what to do:
Keep it short and sweet
When sending newsletters, consistency is the key (in other words, don’t send a two-page newsletter one month, take a month off, and then send an eight-page newsletter). A single page, double-sided newsletter can be quickly produced and mailed inexpensively, which means you can send it to twice as many people twice as often. Besides, you are more likely to maintain a program of newsletter production if you vow not to bite off more than you can chew.
Be careful with color
One of your goals with your newsletter is to create unity from one issue to another, so that your readers will begin to instantly recognize your newsletter when it arrives. You can achieve this by exercising a little restraint and choosing a color scheme that is simple and eye pleasing. Color works best to your advantage when it’s used in the background (such as a section title) rather than in the foreground (like a big block of text). Using too many colors also increases production costs immensely, so save yourself some time and money by only choosing two or three.
Choose a catchy title
Your newsletter should have a title that appears on the front page of every issue; in the world of technical writing, we call this stylized treatment a “nameplate.” Your nameplate is the icon that represents your business and reflects the content of your newsletter. Since titles in larger font pack more of a punch for obvious reasons, choose a few short words over several long ones. Alternately, you can also choose one or two short keywords in a large font, followed by a small-font subtitle that underlines its meaning. Make sure your nameplate makes a strong visual statement, as once you’ve created it you will be using it on every issue.
Prepare a simple design
Any kind of clutter in your newsletter can detract from your message. Avoid unnecessary boxes, borders, or gratuitous bold and italic font. Make it as easy as possible for a reader to understand your message.
Though many companies have turned to “e-newsletters” as their primary means of communication, the time and care you’ve shown by producing and mailing a paper newsletter will really go the extra mile. Everyone today is information hungry, so give them some food for thought!
Carole Karnofski owns The Wordsmith Technical Writing Services and can be reached at (503) 880-1743, or visit www.wordsmithontheweb.com.
