How to write newsletters

Everyone wants to be a writer, but the task of producing a company newsletter is something no one wants to undertake.

Is your company producing a quarterly, or monthly newsletter? Is it available on your web site? Do you feel writing a newsletter is a waste of time? Do you have anyone in the company that knows how to write a newsletter?

Don’t panic if you answered yes to one or more of these questions. How to write a newsletter is not a big deal, if you are a writer, or is it? Many of our PR Clients prefer we do their newsletters. Some PR clients have an in-house staff assigned to do their own, but still ask us to review and design the newsletter to make it appealing to their customers.

Newsletter writing

So what are the tips to writing a newsletter? You can go to a number of web sites like “How to write a Newsletter Toolkit“. But that means buying software then trying to learn what to do. Or go to another site called “101 Newsletter Answers“. But that can be a lot to review and learn. There is always Google if you do a search for writing newsletters.

Or you can read my tips and learn the fast and easy way. If that is too much, we do offer this service to clients. An example of a client’s newsletter is shown. Here are a few tips:

1- Keep the newsletter interesting with information, facts that YOUR customers, or potential customers would find interesting and have value.

2- Design. Have a clean, yet creative look that is not overpowering the information. Similar to a frame that makes a picture more attractive rather than a frame that is too bold and colorful taking away from the picture.

3- Give tips in the newsletter. Offer your customers tips to help them improve their business. It is always best to relate that to something you offer.

4- Give real examples. Tell a story, short, not long, of a situation how your company helped a customer improve their company with your service/product.

5- Assemble a series of these types of topics, and place them in a file for future newsletters. This makes writing the next one easier than trying to find something to write about.

6- Offer customers a reason to contact you. Maybe have a “special” for that quarter, or list your closeout products, etc. Be sure to have your contact information listed.

These are just a few simple tips to get you going. Remember, when you begin writing a newsletter for your company, it is important to keep it going. You will find customers, and potential customers looking for it when you do it right.

The words you choose can help or hurt your press release

How important is PR in your company?

To create a press release, an article or even a web site, requires writing. This in turn means knowing the right words to use.

If a company is concerned about getting favorable publicity, then you better make sure the words you have your pr agency, or in-house pr staff write, are carefully selected. Why? Because it is the words, the phrases and the order these are placed that can make a big difference in getting noticed and published.

Public Relations companies tend to be wordsmith’s. But they too can fall into the "template" of writing and not choose the words that are best suited for each company. If an in-house staff is doing a public relations service for your company, they can also get caught in choosing words that fill space and not benefit the company.  Sometimes you need to look outside of your industry to get a clearer picture so that your approach is different.

But just being different isn’t the solution. It is again, the choice of words you use. Words must be relevant, just as they should when building your web site and optimizing it. The structure is also important.

This is even true with articles and your web site. Your web site becomes the salesperson and only those words are what potential customers will read. These words will describe to them who you are.

Now you can better understand that words placed correctly, and key phrases used properly can increase your chances in getting publicity. Remember to look at your web site to make sure it has the words you need.

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