Newsletters have been an important marketing tool for businesses and organizations for decades. However, now with the digital abilities available to marketers the newsletter has taken on a new life with greater possibilities. For freelancers and newsletter writers this is still a tried and true source of work and income if you know how to make the standby newsletter apply in the digital age. Here are some tips on how to approach the old newsletter with some modern know how.
Focus on Subject Lines
Today business newsletters are emails and for that reason the subject line of that email newsletter is crucial. Ask anyone, yourself included, if they have an overstuffed inbox and the answer is almost always going to be yes. Most people scan the subject line of their emails and then decide whether or not to open it or delete, or let it sit there for months if you are an inbox cleaning procrastinator like me.
Make sure subject lines are attention grabbing and not too long. Avoid stating the obvious such as, “Our October Newsletter.”
Pay Attention to Length
The length of newsletters should be linked to their frequency. For instance daily newsletters need to be kept very short and sweet, whereas a weekly or monthly newsletter could be longer. A long, cumbersome email every day or so gets old real quick. Be sure you understand the frequency of the newsletters so that you can craft content that will keep recipients reading.
Easy to Read
Easy to read email newsletters will have short paragraphs and easy to scan headers. If you are writing a longer monthly piece then it is advisable to add a hyperlink table of contents to the top of the letter so that recipients can quickly jump to the information that most interests them.
Maintain Tone and Attitude of the Company
Individuals sign up for email newsletters from a company because they trust that company. You do not usually give out your email address to someone you do not trust. Recipients are expecting the same tone and attitude in each newsletter that they have experienced with that company. For this reason it is very important that you, as the writer of the newsletter, maintain that tone and attitude with every sentence you write. If you are not personally very familiar with the company then take time to research them thoroughly, read past newsletters and spend time on their website so that you can make the newsletter a true, organic extension of the company itself.
Sarah R is a full time freelance writer, full time single mother of four and full time homeschooler.
