Design a Customer Newsletter
That Gets and Keeps Attention

Plan Your First Newsletter

• What's my primary purpose? To keep my company name in front of customers? To tell them about new products? Remind them about existing products? Entertain? Educate? All of the above?
• Who is my target audience? What message do I want to convey to them? What categories of information would interest them?
• What is my budget?
• Do I want to write all of my own material or use other resources? Should I run a regular feature or column?
• How often will I publish -- bi-weekly? monthly? quarterly?
• Do I want a print or electronic format or both? (To find out more about electronic newsletters, visit the e-newsletter page.)
• What will I name my newsletter?

Design Your Newsletter

Get design ideas by looking at other newsletters. Look at sizes, color, nameplate (the section carrying the title) and content. Look at templates at Xerox Small Business Resources, HP or Microsoft Office Online. Once you have ideas, approach designing in one of several ways.

• Use a template. Find one you like online or pay someone with graphic design skills to create one. Either way, save the basic template to your computer, so you can build each issue with it.
• If you don't feel comfortable doing your own designing each time, you can hire a freelance designer. Also, if you use a commerical printer, you might pay a designer there to create your newsletters. Even if you hire someone to design, I suggest that you still write your own content, if possible.
• Once you have a template, choose your method of printing. If you print a small quantity, use your computer printer. For larger quantities, bid the job out to commercial printers to get the best price. Take a look at the HP Print Calculator to help you decide the most cost-effective approach.
• If you'll be using a commercial printer, talk to several while you're still in the designing phase. They can direct you on color choices and how it will affect your printing costs.
• Incorporate your logo on the front and back. Always include your contact information, locations addresses, phone number, web site url and email in each issue.
• Make sure your nameplate stands out, without being overpowering. The basics of your nameplate, such as size and typestyle, should not change greatly from issue to issue. If you want to add variety, include a changing graphic in the nameplate. This graphic could be tied to the month (a shamrock in March) or even better to an article in the newsletter.
• Don't use more than two fonts or typestyles. Typically, it's best to use one font for headings and subheads and another for body copy or text.
• Keep your design as simple as possible. White space is good for improving readability. Don't overdo the graphics or text.

Write Your Content

• Make sure your content is written for your target audience. If you're writing for very different age groups, you probably need a different newsletter for each group. The design and content of each one would vary to appeal to a particular age group.
• Write in a conversational tone. Your newsletter should be informal and without hype. The person reading it should feel as if it's a letter from a friend.
• Write an outline of articles to include for each issue. Prioritize them, so if you run out of room, you make sure to include the most important.
• Strike a balance between promotional articles for your business and "other" articles. Promotional articles inform customers of an upcoming sale or new or existing products. Make sure promotional articles focus on "you" not on "us." Make certain the article focuses on the benefit to the customer.
• "Other" articles could be consumer education articles that pertain to your business. "How to" or "technical advice" articles related to your area of expertise. Question and answer columns. Helpful tips. These "other" articles aren't just fillers. Select interesting articles your readers look forward to reading.
• Use current events to keep your information timely. If a world or local event pertains to your industry, write an article explaining the impact to your customers.
• Read articles in other newsletters that target a similar market. Also, search the web for relevant articles. You can't just copy someone else's article without their knowledge. But you can contact them and ask permission to reprint it.
• If you're in search of content, look at some of the sites that provide free content. Look at Marketing-seek.com, Authorconnection.com and Web-source.net.
  

• Keep a tickler file, either in your desk or on your PC. As you run across interesting articles, keep them for possible future use.
• Involve readers when possible. Include a clip and return survey and print the results. Run a calendar of events that community groups can submit information to. Run coupons for your products or for non-competing businesses. If you strike a deal to run another company's coupon, make sure they'll do the same for you.
• Include photos of satisfied customers with testimonials. Do a regular spotlight on a customer. People like to see themselves. Run photos of customers who win any contests you may have. Just make sure to get permission before using any customer photos.

Distribute Your Newsletter

• If you send a regular statement to customers, take advantage of it. Design your newsletter to fit your statement envelope and include it as a stuffer.
• If you don't have regular statements, you'll most likely mail your newsletter. You can mail it in an envelope or leave space on it for a mailing label. If you want it to be a "self-mailer," talk to your local post office before printing to ensure your design meets postal regulations.
• Talk to the post office, or visit the USPS.gov web site, to learn how you might take advantage of bulk mail rates. If the mailing quantity is beyond your budget, bring your numbers down by targeting specific customers.
• Post a PDF version on your web site. A PDF is a "universal" file type that can be opened by anyone with the free Adobe Acrobat Reader. To convert your newsletter to a PDF file, you'll need a PDF writer. You can use the full version of Adobe Acrobat. There are also free PDF writers online. I use the free CutePDF Writer.
  

• Once you've created a PDF file of your newsletter, post it in an archives section of your web site. That way, your readers can access old issues whenever they want. And they'll want to, because of the useful content you provide. Right?
• When you post your newsletter as a PDF file on your web site, put a link to it in the signature line of all emails you send.
• On your web site, ask visitors to sign up to receive a reminder email when the PDF is available. (If you're sending an e-newsletter, you'll want a sign up for it on your web site too.)

Some Final Newsletter Tips

• Don't be overly ambitious when deciding how often to publish. Creating a newsletter takes more time than many people think. Print often enough to ensure information is timely; allow enough time between issues to create a truly impressive newsletter.
• Once you decide how often to publish, stay on schedule so readers know when to look for your newsletter. Allow yourself time for writing or gathering content, designing, proofing, editing, printing and distributing. Determine the date you want information to reach readers, then count backwards to figure when you need to start working on it.
• Before printing or distributing, always have at least two other people proofread. It's very easy for a newsletter editor to overlook typos or unclear wording. (Since the editor wrote it, it seems clear to him or her!) Yes, I'm saying it again. Your newsletter is a reflection on your company and the way you do business. It should represent you well.





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