Newsletter Strategy Sessionsm
For publishers of client newsletters
RESOURCES
Newsletter directories including Oxbridge, EzineSeek, etc.
Great links for newsletter writers, editors, and publishers: professional associations, publications, sources of newsletter content, etc.
Reviews of books of interest to newsletter writers and developers
Research sites including encyclopedias, almanacs, library card catalogs, reference desks, census data, annual reports, fee-based research services, specialized search engines, etc.
Newsletter
development services – Get expert
help launching,
re-launching, or
e-launching your publication.
Article
NAVIGATION
Contact Newsletter Strategy Session
Return to home page
12 Profound Tips for Client Newsletters
By David M. Freedman
About the author
A promotional newsletter is one that a firm distributes free to its clients, prospective clients, and referral sources. The purposes of a promotional newsletter are to
- help build name recognition
- demonstrate the firm’s areas of expertise
- establish a reputation for professionalism, and
- show that you are able to explain complex, technical concepts in a language that readers can understand.
Publishing a successful newsletter requires a commitment from the top. The worst mistake you can make is to try to publish a newsletter without devoting sufficient resources – especially the talent – to do it well. There are an awful lot of hastily written, nearly useless newsletters being sent through the mail and over the Internet these days. Yours will stand out if it’s carefully planned and clearly written.
Following are a dozen ways to ensure that your newsletter gets opened, read, underlined, highlighted, photocopied, passed around, cited, quoted from, and appreciated.
1. Keep the marketing objective narrow. One newsletter can accomplish one marketing objective, no more. For example, if your goal is to make readers aware of a new practice area, keep the editorial content narrowly focused on that area – don’t try to demonstrate the breadth of your firm’s expertise at the same time. Trying to accomplish multiple objectives with one newsletter will dilute its effectiveness.
2. Make sure the editor understands the marketing objective. The editor of a commercial newsletter (distributed only to paying subscribers) is accountable primarily to the readers; they will not buy a subscription unless they find the content valuable. If they don’t pay for the publication, it doesn’t survive. The editor of a promotional newsletter is accountable to both the readers and the firm’s marketing director. If the firm doesn’t get substantial marketing bang for its buck, if the publication doesn’t help attract and retain clients, it doesn’t survive.
Don’t get me wrong, the editor must preserve his or her journalistic integrity and resist undue editorial influence from the marketing department. But it’s possible to do that even while seeking direction and editorial input from marketing.
3. Pretend it’s a subscription newsletter. Although you don’t have to sell your promotional newsletter to readers, you must compel them to read it. In fact, since they haven’t paid for it, they may feel less inclined to read it because they don’t have an investment to protect. Every article must be written and edited as though you’re selling the newsletter to subscribers. That is, the writing must be excellent and the information extremely valuable. Don’t assume people will read it just because it lands in their mailbox. And if they don’t read it, it can’t achieve the marketing objectives and it doesn’t survive.
4. Keep news about your firm to a minimum. Provide information that readers can use to make more money and stay out of trouble.
5. Narrow down the topics and cover them in depth. Some newsletter publishers want to demonstrate how broad the firm’s expertise is, so they try to make the articles broad in scope. Broad topics make for superficial coverage, resulting in frustrated readers. Not only that, but the tactic may backfire, because the reader may assume that the author doesn’t know enough about the topic to be specific.
An example is trying to write an article on estate planning that covers wills, trusts, powers of attorney, life insurance, charitable donations, and gifting strategies in 600 to 800 words. It’s going to be superficial and practically useless to a sophisticated audience. Narrow it down to irrevocable trusts or healthcare powers of attorney or estate planning for blended families.
6. Be specific. Give definitions, examples, hypothetical cases, anecdotes, analogies, etc., so that all concepts are crystal clear. Today’s consumers of professional services want their advisers to be able to explain technical concepts plainly and clearly. They want to understand documents before they sign on the dotted line, and they want to know if they got a good deal. They are less likely than their parents to take the advice of their lawyer, broker, or accountant without understanding every clause and provision. They are less apt to have confidence in an adviser who confuses them with jargon.
If you don’t have enough space for specifics, it’s a sign that you need to narrow down the topic further and start over.
7. Stay in touch with your readers and respond to their changing needs. Many newsletter writers who don’t have much journalism experience concentrate on what they (or staff members) want to talk about, rather than what their readers need to know. So give your audience plenty of opportunities to tell you what they need. Some marketing directors use fax-back polls or e-mail to solicit readers’ comments and suggestions. I’ve found that most readers don’t respond well to those impersonal contacts. There’s nothing like calling them on the phone and asking for feedback, story ideas, problems that need solving, success stories. Have a good ol’ conversation.
One great method of staying in touch is to run a Q&A column in the newsletter – call it "Ask the Expert" or something like that. At least once a week, call a reader and say, "Hi, I am the editor of XYZ Newsletter. I just want to make sure you’re aware that we have a regular column called ‘Ask the Expert,’ in which our staff answers questions that our readers submit. And I’d like to encourage you to send us your questions. In fact, I’d be happy to save you some time and give you a chance to ask questions over the phone, and I’ll type them up and get them answered for you." Offer to fax the answer right away, instead of requiring the reader to wait for the next issue to read it. My experience is that four times out of five you’ll get at least one good question and sometimes two, and occasionally an excellent story idea.
Attend the seminars that your readers attend. This not only a good way to get to know their needs, but also gives you and your newsletter visibility.
Another important way to stay in touch is to study the information habits of your audience – read what they read, watch what they watch, and listen to what they listen to.
8. Give the reader many points of entry. Include short features, news briefs, regular columns, and/or sidebars in each issue, along with full-length features. Give every item a compelling headline. The more heads you have, the greater chance that readers will see something that appeals to them and get involved with the newsletter.
9. Include a response mechanism. For readers who want more information about a specific topic covered in the newsletter, offer to mail or fax free literature that the firm has prepared in advance. Feature a column called "My Biggest Mistake and What I Learned From It," and offer a reward for each submission from a reader that gets published. Get readers accustomed to dialing your phone number.
10. Be punctilious. Dot your I’s and cross your T’s. Use a dictionary and a style manual. Proofread the newsletter several times before you release it. Clients want to know that you sweat the details. Good grammar, punctuation and style show that you care about the quality of work that leaves your office. If you don’t have anyone on staff who can proofread and copyfit, hire a freelance editor or a graduate student in English to do it.
11. No gratuitous graphics. White space is way nicer than clip art.
12. Send the newsletter to "thought leaders." To increase circulation and get the newsletter into the hands of people who influence your audience, add the following to your circulation list: colleagues, libraries, professional and trade associations, college departments, regulatory agencies, and reporters who cover your practice area. Ask for their feedback whenever possible.
A newsletter is no substitute for providing high-quality service and making face-to-face contact with prospective clients. But it can reinforce your reputation as a source of valuable advice and useful information.
About the author
DEFINITION: A client newsletter is one that you distribute free, primarily to clients, prospective clients, referral sources, and other stakeholders of your firm. Its objective is to be informative, to demonstrate your expertise, and to promote your services, rather than to earn a profit.