Enhancing and Restoring Safety & Quality Cultures - Dave Litwiller - May 2024...
23 Things to Consider When Creating a Business Newsletter
1.
2. When done
correctly, a
newsle1er
can
be
a
huge
asset
to
your
marke=ng
efforts.
There
are
any
number
of
reasons
why
a
newsle1er
is
a
good
idea,
opportunity
but
chief
among
them
is
the
for added engagement they
provide.
Read on to
learn
27
=ps
to
make
current
clients
and
prospects
alike
want
to
read
your
business
newsle1er.
3.
4. Seek out a reputable email
service provider.
Can
you
do
it
on
your
own?
Sure.
However,
too
much
can
go
wrong
and
if
you
violate
certain
laws
of
the
CAN-‐SPAM
act,
you’re
up
a
creek
without
a
paddle
(and
your
wallet
will
likely
be
feeling
very
light).
5. Decide whether your
newsletter will be opt-in or
opt-out.
For
example,
if
your
site
requires
an
account
to
use
it,
will
you
automa=cally
enroll
your
users
in
your
newsle1er
subscrip=on?
Or
will
you
tell
them
about
it
and
let
them
make
the
decision
from
the
start?
6. Make sure subscription
options are easily seen on
your website.
If
people
don’t
even
know
that
you
offer
a
newsle1er,
then
you’ll
find
yourself
having
a
hard
=me
geRng
subscribers.
7. Build your subscriber list.
Make
sure
these
are
people
who
want
to
hear
from
you.
If
you’ve
built
your
list
in-‐house,
fabulous!
If
you
pay
for
email
lists,
make
sure
you’re
up
to
speed
on
who
you
can
and
can’t
contact.
8. Have an editorial calendar.
A
newsle1er
is
just
a
piece
of
your
overall
content
strategy.
Just
as
you
likely
have
an
editorial
calendar
for
your
blog
content,
you
should
also
have
a
plan
in
place
for
your
newsle1er.
9. Know what you want to
accomplish with your
newsletter.
As
with
anything,
goals
are
important.
Maybe
your
end-‐goal
is
to
get
25
people
to
sign
up
for
your
webinar
or
100
people
to
register
for
a
conference
you’re
co-‐sponsoring.
Maybe
your
goal
is
just
to
get
more
subscribers.
When
your
goals
are
less
specific,
know
how
you
will
define
success.
Whatever
those
goals
are,
iden=fy
them
at
the
beginning
so
that
you
can
align
your
content
strategy
to
suit.
10. Decide how frequently you
will send the newsletter.
When
doing
this,
have
your
goals
in
mind.
If
you’re
a1emp=ng
to
use
your
newsle1er
to
get
your
audience
to
register
for
your
conference
or
a
monthly
webinar
you
hold,
you
need
to
keep
those
registra=on
deadlines
in
mind.
If
you’re
not
using
the
newsle1er
to
promote
something
=mely,
consider
any
other
correspondence
that
your
community
might
be
receiving
from
you.
If
they
start
to
hear
from
you
too
oZen,
you
become
noise
and
they
start
to
ignore
you.
That’s
definitely
not
what
you
want.
11. Know your audience.
As
with
anything,
goals
are
important.
Maybe
your
end-‐goal
is
to
get
25
people
to
sign
up
for
your
webinar
or
100
people
to
register
for
a
conference
you’re
co-‐sponsoring.
Maybe
your
goal
is
just
to
get
more
subscribers.
When
your
goals
are
less
specific,
know
how
you
will
define
success.
Whatever
those
goals
are,
iden=fy
them
at
the
beginning
so
that
you
can
align
your
content
strategy
to
suit.
12. Decide if you will follow a
regular template or not.
In
other
words,
will
readers
know
that
in
every
issue
of
your
newsle1er,
they
can
expect
a
video
interview
with
an
industry
professional,
seven
pieces
of
original
content
wri1en
just
for
the
newsle1er,
three
of
your
most
popular
blog
posts
from
the
month,
and
a
message
from
your
CEO
at
the
end?
Or
will
your
publica=on
depend
more
upon
what
you
think
is
more
important
to
include
at
that
par=cular
=me?
13. Consult with your creative
department or a third
party in order to create a
design for your email.
No
one
wants
to
look
at
an
ugly
email.
It’s
just
a
cruel
fact
of
the
world.
If
your
newsle1er
is
both
aesthe=cally
pleasing
and
func=onal,
you’ll
already
be
ahead
of
the
curve.
14.
15. Use a heading that is eye-
catching without being
overwhelming.
You
want
readers
to
open
your
email
and
be
drawn
in.
Maybe
you
want
the
color
to
pop
or
you’ve
got
some
kind
of
graphic
or
logo
to
use
in
the
header.
Ask
yourself
if
that
image
will
be
appealing
to
visitors.
If
the
color
is
too
light
or
bright
against
the
background,
you
risk
turning
your
readers
away
before
they
even
get
to
the
content!
16. Use the F-layout for visual
appeal and readability.
The
F-‐Layout
is
popular
in
website
design
because
it
uses
content
to
draw
the
eye
across
and
down
the
page
in
the
shape
of
an
F.
Try
this
layout
technique
to
give
your
readers
a
very
natural
flow.
17. Enhance your content, but
make sure you don’t have
too much going on.
While
it’s
okay
to
include
video
or
images,
keep
a
balance.
If
you’ve
got
too
much
going
on,
you’ll
over
s=mulate
your
readers
and
cause
them
to
close
the
email
as
soon
as
they
feel
overwhelmed.
Design
will
play
a
big
part
here
in
keeping
assets
organized
and
balanced.
18. Ideas for newsletters with
original content:
•
A
video
message
from
the
CEO
•
A
video
interview
•
A
podcast
•
An
ar=cle
that
follows
up
on
your
most
popular
blog
post
And
why
use
original
content?
This
is
probably
for
you
if
you
have
a
highly-‐engaged
following
that
loves
to
interact.
They
consume
lots
of
content
on
your
site
and
want
something
fresh
in
a
newsle1er.
19. Ideas for newsletters with
curated content:
You
will
hand-‐pick
content
from
around
the
web
and
arrange
it
to
share
with
your
subscribers.
When
choosing
this
content,
look
at
what
does
well
on
your
site
and
try
to
find
material
from
others
that
runs
in
the
same
vein.
Why
use
cura=on?
This
style
is
for
you
if
you
want
to
shine
the
spotlight
on
some
of
your
peers
who
are
either
thought
leaders
in
their
fields
or
are
crea=ng
the
kinds
of
content
that
your
audience
will
enjoy.
20. Ideas for newsletters with
recapped content:
You
will
use
previously
created
content
and
do
a
round-‐up
or
best-‐of
kind
of
email
newsle1er.
If
you
only
publish
3-‐5
blog
posts
a
week,
you
might
include
all
of
them
in
one
place.
If
you
publish
more
than
that,
you
might
use
the
newsle1er
as
a
best-‐of
list
or
to
highlight
posts
you
thought
were
par=cularly
good.
Why
use
recapped
content?
Recapping
your
content
is
a
good
solu=on
for
a
busy
audience
who
prefers
to
see
the
highlights
all
in
one
place.
21. Optimize your email for
mobile devices.
It’s
no
longer
safe
to
assume
that
your
newsle1er
will
be
read
on
a
computer.
It
could
very
well
be
consumed
on
a
smart
phone
or
tablet,
so
make
sure
it’s
s=ll
easy
to
view
and
navigate
for
those
on-‐
the-‐go
readers.
22. Invite interaction.
Just
because
your
readers
are
looking
at
an
email
newsle1er
doesn’t
mean
that
there
can’t
be
some
interac=on
involved.
If
you’re
featuring
some
of
your
own
blog
content,
link
them
to
the
comments
sec=on
on
each
of
those
posts.
Include
an
email
address
where
they
can
contact
you
to
provide
feedback.
Link
them
to
a
poll
or
survey
so
that
they
can
let
you
know
what
they
thought
and
what
they’d
like
to
see
in
the
future.
23. Avoid spammy words in
the subject of your email.
Here
are
a
few
examples:
free,
money,
bargain,
reduced,
slash,
credit,
credit
card,
and
so
forth.
Look
at
what
shows
up
in
your
spam
filter.
You’ll
see
a
host
of
words
that
you
should
avoid
using.
Along
those
same
lines,
don’t
use
all
caps.
That’s
another
red
flag
for
spam
filters.
24. Have a good proofreader on
hand.
You
might
have
a
fantas=c
editor,
but
even
the
best
editors
are
fallible.
Have
a
great
proofreader
on
hand
to
look
over
the
final
product
before
it
goes
out
to
your
readers.
This
will
save
you
the
embarrassment
of
knowing
that
everyone
is
going
to
see
that
glaring
typo
or
misspelling
that
the
editor
missed
at
3am
when
she
was
=red
and
trying
to
finish
up.
Make
sure
your
newsle1er
is
as
smooth
as
possible.
25.
26. Have a plan for measuring
your success.
AZer
the
newsle1er
has
had
a
significant
amount
of
=me
to
marinate
with
readers,
you’ll
want
to
look
at
your
analy=cs
to
find
out
how
many
people
opened
it,
how
many
clicks
through
it
saw,
how
many
deleted
it,
how
many
emails
bounced
back,
and
so
forth.
These
are
all
things
that
will
help
you
to
decide
adjustments
to
be
made
to
the
content,
schedule,
or
other
details
in
the
future.
27. Create an archive for your
newsletters.
Perhaps
you
have
a
specific
page
on
your
site
that
houses
the
.pdf
versions
of
all
of
your
newsle1ers.
If,
when
crea=ng
your
content
strategy,
you
envisioned
that
the
newsle1er
would
serve
as
a
reference
for
readers,
you
certainly
want
to
make
sure
they
can
access
that
content
when
they
need
or
want
it.
28. Do it all again.
Once
you’ve
finished
your
newsle1er,
it’s
=me
to
start
again.
Keep
in
mind
what
you
learned
from
the
analy=cs,
as
well
as
from
reader
feedback
and
interac=on.
Use
that
knowledge
to
help
you
shape
the
next
newsle1er.
29. Content Equals Money
Content
Equals
Money
is
a
content
wri=ng
service
that
serves
a
wide
variety
of
clients
with
top-‐shelf,
sharable
content.
Our
goal
is
to
work
with
small
companies
in
order
to
help
them
reap
the
same
results
from
content
marke=ng
as
the
Fortune
500
companies.
Content
marke=ng
is
truly
scalable
and
can
work
for
all
businesses
and
business
sizes!