2008

How to Produce a Customer Newsletter – Part 3: Finding content

Wednesday, November 26th, 2008 | View on own page?

Once you’ve started your newsletter, and the discipline of getting issues out regularly on time has started to tell, you may well hit the first newsletter ‘wall’ – what am I going to put in it?

So here are some useful pointers when you’re stuck for inspiration.

Start by checking what nuggets you may be generating in-house in the daily course of business and make sure colleagues keep a similar look out by reminding them at meetings, through emails or via notice boards. Get into the habit of thinking about how the newsletter could benefit from all the activities your company is engaged in.

For example, if your business has a customer service department, or regular dialogues about specific product or service queries, then these can be the basis of useful ‘How to’ features or a regular FAQs section. Press announcements – your own, plus those you may receive from companies in associated fields – could form an industry digest where you collate information to share with your readers. They are busy people and will appreciate you pulling together what they may have missed elsewhere.

Don’t forget market research. This doesn’t have to be of the formal big budget kind (although if it is, there should be highlights or trends you can use). Even for the small business, informal conversations with clients, or at networking meetings, may well highlight issues on which you can build a feature or two, perhaps in relation to your business sector as a whole (what’s wrong with it, where it needs to go) to which you can write a response, or adapt your service.

Look out, too, for ideas generated by web forum discussions relevant to your business. Professional membership bodies are a good source and throw up all sorts of useful asides or commentaries.

If you’re still stuck, then there are many libraries on the web where you can source free-to-use articles on almost any subject. One of the biggest is ezinearticles.com.

Their conditions of use generally allow free reproduction provided the text remains unedited and the author’s biography and credentials are included (their pay back for writing the article).

Finally, a word of warning. If an article you like is not available free, don’t assume you have a licence to reproduce it just because you credit the author.

You will need permission either from the publication, website or the writer direct, depending on who owns the copyright. What’s more, a fee may be involved.

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Who owns your copy?

Wednesday, November 26th, 2008 | View on own page?

If you commission copywriting or are contracted to write for an organisation, it’s as well to be clear where ownership of the work lies. Otherwise issues could arise over any proposed re-use beyond its original purpose.

If you commission copywriting or are contracted to write for an organisation, it’s as well to be clear where ownership of the work lies. Otherwise issues could arise over any proposed re-use beyond its original purpose. Here we’re talking about copyright ownership – that’s the exclusive rights to produce copies of, or control, what’s been produced – and it has implications for both those who pay for the work and those that deliver it.

Let’s look at the buying position first.

You might think that if you’ve paid for a specific piece of copy then you, or your company, owns it. But that’s not necessarily the case.

If the copy was written in-house by an employee then you should be on safe ground. The copyright should belong to you. However it’s as well to define the employment contract and the job description carefully to cover this area and preclude any claim that the work was not created in the course of that employment (for example, on the company laptop but in an employee’s own time). Unlikely, but you never know…

In instances where a freelance copywriter has been retained then copyright may remain with them. For the client to own the copyright it must be assigned to them in writing, preferably in advance and usually in a contract or agreement governing the work. Otherwise the copywriter could argue that the payment was for a specific period to create a specific project only, which therefore leaves the intellectual property in the content with them.

If copyright is not assigned then the client has a right to use the work, but not necessarily exclusively. This potentially allows the writer to license its use elsewhere, an option which should be made clear in their terms and conditions.

Copyright ownership remains a potentially valuable asset. So whether you commission copy, or write it, it’s good practice – even essential – to be clear about your position.

This article is for general information only and represents my understanding of the issue as it currently applies in the UK.

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How to Produce a Customer Newsletter – Part 2: Creating content

Wednesday, September 24th, 2008 | View on own page?

The first consideration when it comes to newsletter content is always to provide something of value to your readers. To keep this top of mind, view them as paying subscribers who won’t renew unless they get worthwhile information they find useful.

A good starting point is to present and comment on news items relevant to your industry. Your readers are busy people and a helpful digest of what’s going on will save them time and energy in trying to keep up to date. Add your own take on topical developments too.

You can expand this strand by presenting summaries of latest research or industry trends (don’t forget to include links to sources or contacts where additional information can be found), or by reviewing new books or articles.

Involve readers

Involving readers directly is another way of stimulating loyalty. Invite articles in return for a by-line and short profile (publicity for them), or consider profiling your best customers especially if they can demonstrate new ways of using your products and services.

Offer readers participation in a Q&A forum both by asking questions and answering other readers’ problems. Featuring one or two per issue will provide answers that will be of general interest and will give the responder extra kudos as an expert.

Your newsletter is also an excellent means of presenting case studies of the work you’ve completed for customers, or of particular benefits your customers have gained from doing business with you. Showcasing your work from a customer’s perspective will not only be instructive for other readers but will also provide additional insights for others on how they, too, can profit from your products and services.

Here are some other ways to keep your newsletter content alive and kicking:

  • Consider a survey to generate your own exclusive content. Set your readers a question or two per issue (they can email their answers back), or use a software tool like SurveyMonkey which allows a ten question, 100 response survey to be conducted free.
  • Provide background about where and how your products are produced, or how your services are delivered.
  • Form alliances with other related businesses and make reciprocal recommendations regarding their products and services.
  • Include special offers of product and service combinations packaged in a special deal.
  • Run a competition. These are always popular and the prize need not be extravagant – perhaps a half a day of your time, one of your products or a prize sponsored by an alliance partner.

On no account write about new employees unless it materially helps the reader. If their role, or experience, adds to your offer, then fine – but including family and hobby details is just a waste of space, and of your readers’ time.

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How to Produce a Customer Newsletter – Part 1: Choosing the right format

Tuesday, July 15th, 2008 | View on own page?

Producing a newsletter about your business has always been a good use of your marketing budget. It keeps your name in front of customers and prospects over time, reminding them you’re still around and about what you do.

By sharing information and expertise you build your profile as a supplier of value and reliability – and one with whom they’ll want to do business with again and again.

So, when they need something, it’s more likely they’ll call your number and not some one else’s.

Once upon a time, producing a newsletter was all about long lead-ins, artwork, print, paper and mail delivery. But email has changed all that. Now it’s possible for even the smallest business to maintain contact with customers and prospects cost effectively and on a regular basis.

This is not to say there’s no longer a place for a paper-based newsletter and one of the first decisions any business thinking of ramping up its customer communications should take is about which format – print or email – is best suited to its needs.

Here’re some of the key considerations:

Email

  • Reaches targets quickly (firewalls and filters permitting) and ecologically
  • Drives traffic to your website (and not your competitors’)
  • One click referrals through ‘forward to a friend’ facility
  • See who opened what, and who didn’t
  • Cost effective

But:

  • Can be ignored in a cluttered in-box
  • Must comply with legal regulations

Print

  • Long life span – can be picked up and put down, or filed for reference
  • Familiar and accessible format
  • Perceived as added value by recipients
  • Flexible distribution options – post, sales/information packs, reception areas

But:

  • Copy, artwork, print and distribution deadlines need managing
  • Virtually impossible to monitor
  • Relatively expensive

Of course, the business you’re in may well influence your choice. A printer, for instance, would probably feel best represented by a paper newsletter, an IT company by an email one.

If your choice is email, then be sure to use a mass-mailing program designed for the job and avoid the temptation to make do with your standard email program, which can’t handle the obligatory ‘opt in’ and ‘opt out’ choices subscribers must be given. A specialist mass-mailer will also give you excellent stats on delivery, open rates and the links your readers clicked on.

Whichever newsletter route you take, adding its articles to your website (with a facility for new readers to subscribe) will provide a regular flow of fresh content that will be welcomed by search engines and visitors alike.

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