Having worked in the publishing industry for more than 10 years, I can tell you that the door to my inbox seems to be permanently propped open. I’m constantly flooded with emails offering to help our company get to the “top of the search rankings”—no thank you!
But the emails that really catch my attention are the monthly newsletters from our industry partners and potential clients. Because the way I see it, the term “monthly newsletter” is kind of an oxymoron. And that’s what’s led to my latest discovery, which I feel compelled to share:
News is meant to be broken.
Realistically, after a month has passed that “news” is less urgent and less exciting, when it should be beneficial and captivating. And since I’m not one to hand you a problem with no solution, I thought I’d share a few tips for making sure your newsletter really benefits your readers.
- Make your newsletters timely.
Now, I’m not talking once a day, or even necessarily once a week. But those once-a-month newsletters just aren’t providing the value that they could. Because if you’ve got a few pieces of information that you just know your readers could use, why not keep everyone a little more up to date?
Having said that…
- Keep it brief.
News rarely has to be more than a full paragraph, or even a few sentences. If it’s as timely as it should be, there’s no need to give long explanations or overwhelm your reader with too many details. Keep it simple and to the point, and your readers will be forever grateful. One or two pages, at most.
Plus, the whole point of a newsletter is to start a conversation…
- Start a conversation with a conversation.
Let’s be honest: you want people to want to know more, right? Get them asking for more specifics, and for more what, when, and how of each story. Get them asking by using a conversational, approachable tone to talk with your readers instead of at them.
Which leads me to my next point…
What are your thoughts on monthly newsletters? Love ’em, hate ’em, or do you think they need a new approach, too? Let me know in the comments section below!
#eeicom #newsletter #conversation #news #partners #clients #communicating
Gregory McDonough is CEO of EEI Communications.
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