Newsletters are one of the most important communication tools whether you run a business or a nonprofit organization. Most businesses use newsletters to help boost their sales. One of the purposes of writing and marketing a newsletter is to get subscribers and then turn them into buyers.
When it comes to writing a business newsletter, you must keep two key factors in mind that will govern the outcome of your newsletter, the content along with your newsletter design template.
A good newsletter mostly contains a featured article, news updates, regular columns, employee profiles, advertisement and feedback sections.
is the most important part of your newsletter. It should be informative and interesting and should urge the readers to read more and take an action like making an online purchase or following a product promotion etc. A limited time offer can be included to get this section moving.
Your news section can highlight an upcoming event or general news about your industry that will also be appealing to its readers.
Carefully include articles that emphasize on accomplishments and success stories in this section. Keep them short and precise. Remember, less is more. Each article should complement the other to achieve the collective goal i.e. turn subscribers into buyers.
Include an employee profile and highlight their achievements. Like Joe, who is your marketing manager since the last 10 years and has been a part of many successful marketing campaigns within your organization. People like to read about success stories no matter where they happen. You do not need to start from scratch. Most businesses have enough information like, memos, press releases and meeting minutes; use them in your newsletter.
Regular features keep your audience focused and fill up the space in your newsletter. Rewards can bring rewards. Prize winning competitions among readers can pull more readers in and subscribe to your newsletter.
Get feedback and implement it, include feedback sections in your newsletters at the end so that you know what is working and what is not and if the readership is going strong. Interactive newsletters make a huge difference. Keep your newsletter frequency in check based on the feedback you get from your subscribers and be analytical about it.
If you do everything right, you can yield the following results:
Your newsletter format and design will also plays a very important role in making and leaving impression. Publishers on the internet mostly use three main basic newsletter formats:
All of these formats have their advantages and disadvantages.
If your newsletter topic requires a more professional approach then this is the best option, especially if you need to include graphics and pictures. On the other hand, HTML coded content does not necessarily appear the same on every computer due to compatibility issues. You will need to test it using different browsers and email systems, which can be time consuming.
That is why the plain text newsletter format is very popular in the field of internet marketing where content is more important than flashy looks and graphics. Writing newsletters using this format is much more popular for their simplicity and information.
PDF newsletter format and design is a lot less commonly used. It is perfect for graphical content and a flashy colorful trendy look. However, since it requires formatting every time for a newer issue and then conversion to a PDF, sounds a bit too time consuming for our fast-paced lives.
More and more businesses are using newsletters but not all of them succeed. It is because most of them tend to overlook the marketing aspect of their newsletters and miss out, or misinterpret the contents of a good business newsletter as discussed.
Find more information on how to write a newsletter at our complete How to Write guide.
Amy Dyslex is Senior Editor at with Online Writing Guide for Dummies where we provide free tips and advice on development of writing skills