Using Email Newsletters to Your Advantage, Part Four: Choose Your Email Newsletter Content

Posted: May 28, 2010 by Stacey Abler/ Last modified: May 28, 2010

Thanks for visiting the site again. If you are looking for professional writing for your business, please contact me.

We have talked about developing a business email list for your newsletter, developing goals for your email newsletter and how to choose an email management program. But there is definitely one big thing missing…what should you write about in your email newsletter?

Newsletter Content

Your newsletter content will be partially decided by the goals of your email campaign. If your goal is to educate, your newsletter will look and read much differently than a newsletter with a goal to sell more products. Of course, perhaps the best thing about the email newsletter is that you can reach for several goals when developing your newsletter. There is no reason why your email newsletter can’t sell and educate at the same time.

Consider Set Categories

Most newsletters will be sent out on a schedule whether that is weekly, every other week or monthly. Quite frankly, if you are going to send a newsletter out less often than monthly, don’t bother at all. It is not worth the time invested.

By setting categories for each newsletter, it not only provides direction, it also gives subscribers an idea of what to expect. Perhaps you will always include these categories in your newsletter:

*New Product Introduction
*Company’s Charitable Involvements
*Employee Spotlight
*Interesting Links Around the Web
*Specials and Coupons
*Inspirational Quote
*Must Read Blog Post Links

When you send your newsletter out less often, you can send out a longer newsletter with more categories. If your newsletter is sent on a weekly basis, consider a shorter newsletter to both keep the subscriber’s attention while not overwhelming them with an exhaustive newsletter every week. This can also keep you from having the dreaded day of writer’s block when you can’t develop a single idea to write about for the newsletter as well.

Excerpts or Full Content

If you include full content in your newsletter, you will lose the ability to analyze the effectiveness of certain sections of the newsletter as there are not links for the subscribers to click on for more information. By only including the first paragraph, it will make your newsletter appear less overwhelming by creating more white space and enable you to gauge the interest of subscribers by who clicked through to read the rest of the newsletter article. The full article can be hosted on your website or blog. In addition to analyzing campaign effectiveness, you are also introducing your subscribers to other areas of your online presence.

Remain Conversational

Some businesses will have a problem with relating to their subscribers on a personal level while still remaining professional. However, it is incredibly important for your readers to feel like you are talking to them and not at them. Many times, this is where a professional writer can help by adding a conversational tone to your email communications. Remember, people connect with people, not a brand or a company. By remaining personable, the newsletter will have more of an impact on the reader.

Conversational Does Not Equal Sloppy

While email communications should be personable and conversational, it is important to still pay attention to grammar, spelling and style. It is not appropriate to include text and chat acronyms or excessive punctuation in business communications. It is possible to be approachable and professional at the same time. A professional newsletter editor can assist in writing articles for you that will appeal to your audience and accomplish your goals.

Always Brainstorm Newsletter Topics

*When you are surfing on the Web and run across a topic that would be interesting for your subscribers, save the link and jot down the idea.
*Pay attention to emails that you receive from clients and customers. Is there a recurring theme? Do you get asked the same questions over and over again? These can make excellent email newsletter topics.
*Has your competition introduced a new product or service? Use it as a platform to highlight the benefits and features of your competing product.
*Has a customer contacted you with a story about how your product has made an impact on them? Gain permission from the customer and publish the story.

Creating interesting content for your email communications can be the most overwhelming part of developing an email newsletter. The final part of the series will cover tips and tricks to email newsletters that will increase subscriber counts and ensure your subscribers find your content valuable.