Newsletters are a valuable tool to open up business communication with internal staff, as well as current and potential clients. A newsletter needs to capture the attention of the reader, and hold that attention. So how do you create a newsletter that delivers results? As a leading printing company, we are here to help!
Take a look at these printed newsletter tips:
The Name Game
Many think that naming your newsletter after your company is the logical choice, but will this draw the attention of the reader or will they mistake your newsletter for a company brochure?
Why not focus on what industry you are a part of in regards to your newsletter title? For example: Jetline is a branding and printing company, so a title that focuses on these elements would be ideal, IE: “Branding and Printing Trends.”
This kind of name immediately establishes the company as an industry authority and promises informative content – not blatant sales pitches!
Be Objective
Of course, a newsletter is a great tool to promote your company services and products, but as mentioned previously, it shouldn’t be like a brochure. A newsletter should be a soft sell, providing entertaining, informative, and useful information. A newsletter that comes across as a hard sell will quickly be tossed by readers.
Make sure that your content is written objectively, similar to articles you find in magazines and newspapers. Your articles must be factual, written from a third party as opposed to churning out content that immediately promotes your business offerings.
Headline Fail:
Our revolutionary computer software is the most advanced in the world?
Headline Win:
(Company name) now offers the most advanced computer software in the world.
Another important thing to note is that when you do insert an opinion in your article, turn those opinions into quotes, attributing them to the relevant people within your business, much like a professional newspaper journalist would do.
Communicate Effectively
The main goal of newsletters is to communicate with a specific audience, be it your internal staff or current and potential clients. The bottom line is to make sure that your reader engages with your content, and they don’t feel alienated or spoken down to from your company. This means that industry jargon may be unnecessary for your content. Try to keep your content casual, conversational, and non-technical.
If you are going to use an acronym in your articles, never assume that the reader will know what they stand for. Always list them out in first reference.
Proof Read Everything
Would you send out a CV to possible employers if it was full of typos? No? This is because your CV directly represents who you are, and your level of professionalism. With that in mind, you need to remember that your newsletter directly represents your business.
Put out polished content, free of errors!
Judging a Newsletter by its Cover
As much as we would like to live by the ideal “don’t judge a book by its cover,” this does not ring true in the world of marketing. If the front page of your newsletter doesn’t engage the reader, displaying the fact that it is full of useful articles, people will simply glance at it and toss it away. Use front-page article headlines to draw in the reader.
Just like magazines, the front page of your newsletter should always feature the issue’s top articles. It is also important to note that the articles that are most important to your company are not necessarily the most important to the reader.
For example, if you have a “Letter from the CEO,” headline on the front page, this will not draw the reader in unless the CEO has something important to announce. Of course, it is great to have these kinds of articles within the newsletter, just make sure to place them strategically in your layout.
Keep it Visual and Attractive
Use at least one image on each page i.e.: Photos, graphics, charts, infographics, pull quotes and artwork. Visuals are vital for a variety of reasons. Studies have proven that people are more likely to read content if it is made up of visuals. This is because graphics, as well as headlines, are what the reader sees first.
Articles made up of graphics are important as they provide visual breaks from solid text and blocks. If a page contains nothing but rows and rows of text, the reader may be overwhelmed and stop consuming the information. Print designers will tell you that these articles need strategically based graphics so as to break up the text, making the pages less imposing and more inviting.
Leading Branding and Printing Company South Africa
If you are looking to create a successful branding and print campaign, the key lies in strategy, and working alongside a professional printing company that understands the entire process, from start to finish.
Jetline offers design, printing service, brand management, and digital marketing solutions to ensure that your brand gains maximum reach.
Contact us today for all your printing, design, brand management and online solutions!
