Writing Effective Newsletters

Home
>
Ezine Publishing
>
Writing Effective Newsletters

Writing Effective Newsletters

It's obvious but true that your newsletter can only be effective if people bother to read it. Nowadays we are all drowning in an excess of information that comes at us in all directions and in all forms so this really is the biggest obstacle you have to overcome. To persuade your audience to read what you have to say, you should follow some basic rules:

1. Know your readership
My point here is that a newsletter for internal use will not serve for external readers. The two readerships are totally different. So if you want to target both internal readers and, say, customers and clients, you need two separate newsletters. Internal clients will want to keep up to speed with company developments, know about internal opportunities and hear about company successes and the exploits of individuals. Customers and clients will want to know how your products or services can benefit them. They will also want information that shows your track record and helps position you in the sector-in other words information that builds your trustworthiness and credibility and shows the direction you are going in.

2. Attract the readership
Pay attention to the appearance of the newsletter. Give it an eye-catching and memorable title. It shouldn't be too busy or too long. Keep it clean so that the eye isn't distracted. Don't make the prose too dense. Break up the text with headings and bullet points. Where it is appropriate, use charts, graphs and diagrams as these convey information more efficiently that words.

3. Write well
Write simply but accurately. Avoid jargon but if you need to use technical terms or acronyms, ask if your readers will be able to understand them. If they can't, then explain them. Avoid clichés because these are usually a sign that you haven't clarified what the message is. Make sure each paragraph has one sentence that summarizes the content. The example here is my first sentence: write simply but accurately.

4. Be direct
Many people fall into a rigid, formal style when they write. This isn't attractive. Address the readership directly and avoid the passive voice. Use contracted forms as you would in speech and liven up the style with rhetorical questions. Use good, strong and simple verbs (use instead of utilize, find out instead of ascertain). Don't be vague: instead of sales showed a substantial increase, say, sales rose by 15%. Cut adverbs: actually, in fact, on the whole-most adverbs are merely padding.

5. Be informative
Give your readers concrete information that that will be useful to them. Such information could be details of forthcoming events, useful websites, how-to tips.

By following these rules, you should be able to build a faithful readership-an audience that eagerly awaits the next edition of your newsletter.

Brenda Townsend Hall is a writer and trainer in the fields of communications and cross-cultural awareness. She is an associate member of the ITAP International Alliance (http://www.itapintl.com).

In The News:

Top Stories - Google News
Updated : Mon, 22 Mar 2010 06:53:37 GMT+00:00

'Israeli escalation aims to kill talks' - Jerusalem Post

The Hindu

'Israeli escalation aims to kill talks'
Jerusalem Post
The Palestinian Authority on Sunday stepped up its condemnations of Israel and accused the government of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu of working to â€œdestroyâ€ US efforts to relaunch Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. ...
Netanyahu and Obama Will Talk on TuesdayNew York Times
Jewish politicians are taking Jerusalem's name in vainHa'aretz
Netanyahu says 'no concession' on Jewish settlementsBBC News
Boston Globe -Ynetnews -Voice of America
all 1,927 news articles »

Publ.Date : Mon, 22 Mar 2010 02:36:24 GMT+00:00

California governor's race to set spending record - Reuters

Reuters

California governor's race to set spending record
Reuters
California Republican Gubernatorial candidate and former eBay chief executive Meg Whitman is applauded at the conclusion of her speech before the opening of her campaign's Orange County headquarters in Costa Mesa, California February 22, 2010. ...
Whitman's millions paying offInland Empire News
Calif. candidate pushes tough immigration standSan Jose Mercury News
GOP grabs illegal immigration as election issueSan Francisco Chronicle
New York Times -Los Angeles Times -Long Beach Press-Telegram
all 108 news articles »

Publ.Date : Mon, 22 Mar 2010 05:03:30 GMT+00:00

Sarkozy Meets With Leaders of His Party After Defeat in Regional Elections - New York Times

Reuters

Sarkozy Meets With Leaders of His Party After Defeat in Regional Elections
New York Times
PARIS â€” President Nicolas Sarkozy met with party leaders on Sunday night to discuss how to respond to a severe defeat in regional elections, in which his majority party was defeated in 21 of 22 mainland regions, retaining a majority ...
French left beats Sarkozy's party in regional voteWashington Post
Sarkozy's party defeated in France's regional electionsLos Angeles Times
Left Sweep French Regional ElectionsVoice of America
BBC News -Aljazeera.net -Financial Times
all 1,021 news articles »

Publ.Date : Mon, 22 Mar 2010 00:01:45 GMT+00:00

Frank: 'Mass hysteria' on the Hill - Seattle Post Intelligencer

SheWired

Frank: 'Mass hysteria' on the Hill
Seattle Post Intelligencer
Tea Party protesters disrupted Speaker Nancy Pelosi's press stakeout at a House Office Building, yelling "you're a disgrace to your office" and one protester yelled a gay epithet at Rep. Barney Frank again on Sunday, adding yet another layer of chaos ...
Protesters shout at Pelosi, Frank about health careUSA Today
Capitol police move protestors away from front of House Capitol entranceBoston Globe
The Morning After: Tea Party's Spitting, Racial Epithets, Gay Slurs LingerChattahBox
Daily Beast -On Top Magazine -SheWired
all 92 news articles »

Publ.Date : Mon, 22 Mar 2010 05:04:10 GMT+00:00

Bombs Kill 13 Afghans; Elderly Man Dies in Raid - New York Times

Kuwait Times

Bombs Kill 13 Afghans; Elderly Man Dies in Raid
New York Times
KABUL, Afghanistan â€” Bombings killed at least 13 civilians who had gathered to celebrate spring picnics in southern and eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, provincial authorities reported, and a joint NATO-Afghan force shot an elderly man ...
10 Afghans killed in suicide attackCNN
Afghan bomb attacks kill at least 12 civiliansReuters
Afghan bomb attacks kill at least 12 civiliansDaily Times
BBC News -Aljazeera.net -Xinhua
all 266 news articles »

Publ.Date : Sun, 21 Mar 2010 23:06:12 GMT+00:00

Iraq's Premier Endorses a Recount of the Vote - New York Times

Sydney Morning Herald

Iraq's Premier Endorses a Recount of the Vote
New York Times
BAGHDAD â€” Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki endorsed the mounting calls for a recount of Iraq's parliamentary election, as the latest results on Sunday showed his main competitor with a slight lead. ...
Maliki seeks recount in Iraq electionsLos Angeles Times
Allawi leads Iraq vote, Maliki asks for recountReuters
Iraqi PM demands recount of election ballots 'to avoid return of violence'The Guardian
Wall Street Journal -Voice of America -Xinhua
all 407 news articles »

Publ.Date : Sun, 21 Mar 2010 23:41:48 GMT+00:00

Flood fears recede in well-prepared Midwest cities - USA Today

Reuters

Flood fears recede in well-prepared Midwest cities
USA Today
By Scott Olson, Getty Images By Oren Dorell, USA TODAY As the Midwestern cities of Fargo, ND., and Moorhead, Minn., dodged major damage from floodwaters that crested Sunday, communities elsewhere girded for waters to rise. In Fargo, where thousands of ...
Fargo Spared as Red River Rises Less Than FearedNew York Times
In North Dakota, waterlogged life goes onLos Angeles Times
Fargo dikes hold as Red River nears crestReuters
In-Forum -TimesNewsline.com -The Epoch Times
all 4,637 news articles »

Publ.Date : Mon, 22 Mar 2010 05:41:32 GMT+00:00

RSS Feed Reader
Increase Website Traffic

Writing Effective Newsletters

Ezine Publishing