Extra, Extra, Read All About It! Communicating with Newsletters and eZines.
Most newsletters and eZines are nothing to shout about. It's tough to find company publications that truly impress us. Some that we stumble across offer great design, but unremarkable content. Others provide reasonable content and little or no eye candy. We've seen thousands of company publications, and you probably have to. It's not very often that you find something out there that is truly engaging; a publication that makes you search for a quiet place to read, clear a little time on your Outlook calendar, pack a print-out in your brief case to peruse on the airplane. Let's face it: most of these publications are uninspiring.
Is uninspiring better than nothing at all? Well, some would argue that just putting your brand in front of the customer or potential client is a good thing. There is probably some truth to that, but it's also a wasted opportunity. Why not produce a piece that is an eye-catcher, with a clean crisp design? And why not include stories that actually propel readers past the lead paragraph? It's not easy, that's why.
Most sales and marketing professionals don't have time to produce a newsletter let alone make in remarkable. Yet we've found it to be one of the best communications tools available when well executed. Done right, a newsletter or eZine becomes a lead generator and customer retention tool. It can become your communications "Swiss Army Knife", a repeatable formula that inspires employees and attracts customers.
Don't believe the hype? Well, Kirk Richardson has watched it work for ATI Wah Chang's Outlook publication for 16 years. "Issue after issue, Outlook generates good will for us," says Richardson, adding, "and that's not all. It's generated leads that have blossomed into new business. Outlook keeps our employees in touch with the latest developments in our growing business."
Other organizations, such at the Materials Technology Institute (MTI), use newsletters to keep their far-flung members informed. The 60-plus members that make up MTI are spread around the world. MTI Communications (shown below) keeps them involved, publishing project reports, member company profiles, upcoming events notices, and other information three times per year. Each story is written in engaging style that gets important details across to its readers without putting them to sleep.
As mentioned earlier, layout/look is equally as important. It's hard to dive into an ugly newsletter, eZine, or magazine. The worn-out cliché, "Don't judge a book by its cover", is revealing. People do pick up books, magazines, and other publications based on their covers. We're drawn to attractive covers like bears to honey. Conversely, we've repelled by an ugly front page. In The Well-Fed Self-Publisher, Peter Bowerman writes, "It's categorically impossible to overstate the importance of a good cover." He goes on to add, "Hire a professional designer. Don't use your cousin who's artistic, and don't let your printer's design department handle it."
Pete is referring books here, but we argue that it applies to magazines and even newsletters. Why wouldn't it? Visually appealing design starting with the cover of your publication and carrying through to the back page helps keep your audience interested. If your competitors' communications vehicle doesn't, you have them beat, at least on this important battle front. Even if you don't have competitors, you're ahead of the pack. Every organization has customers, whether its a company or a non-profit. This is all about communicating with and educating those clients, internal or external.
Speaking of education, there is much more to building a remarkable newsletter or eZine than generating a pretty cover and writing compelling copy. It's a great start and will put your organization head and shoulders above most, but rest assured that there are other tricks to the trade (such as headline and photo caption writing). To find out more about the fine art of newsletter and eZine communications, bookmark this blog and make a habit of visiting rmc-strategic.com. If you are a restless soul and would like to cut to the chase, feel free to contact kirk@rms-strategic.com. Kirk is an expert in marketing communications, and one of his favorite topics is company and non-profit-generated media.
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