We've got the makings of a great picture...But take it from an old scriptwriter, every one of us is only as good as our script. You can build the most beautiful building in the world, I don't care if it's Monticello or the Taj Mahal - but if it doesn't have a solid foundation, down it falls.
KeyNotes - THE Moving Finger Newsletter
About writing and editing for business, and words in general
July 2008
In this issue:
How to produce a customer newsletter - Part 1: Choosing the right format
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.
All change
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:
- 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
- Can be ignored in a cluttered in-box
- Must comply with legal regulations
- Long life span - can be picked up and put down, or filed for reference
- Familiar and accessible format
- High perceived value
- 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 (like Graphic Mail) 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.
The proof's in the reading
Accuracy in the written word is essential to get over the meaning you intend - and to confirm your business as one that pays attention to detail and presents itself in a professional manner.
But we all make mistakes and these can be costly. A Royal Mail survey from not so long ago found that as many as 30% of potential customers refuse to deal with organisations whose written communications contain mistakes. The trick is to make sure these don't filter through into your printed communications, letters or website to the detriment of your business image.
So make sure you always check what you write, read it through carefully (or out loud to get a sense of its flow and rhythm). Better still, have someone else look over the text with a fresh pair of eyes.
If you're going public then a professional proofreader is a good investment - not just to correct errors, but to check for style consistencies between, and across, documents.
Inevitably, the odd error may still creep in despite your best efforts. In which case take heart from this short text. The capacity of the human mind to adapt should mean all is not lost...:
I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno’t mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat Itteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh?
