Why the humble newsletter is your most effective, yet undervalued marketing tool.

Most newsletters are naff

Let’s face it. Most company newsletters are just plain naff. Dry, uninspiring and not worth taking the time to read.

I’d say around 90% of newsletters I come across just aren’t very good. And it’s immediately evident to me when a company hasn’t put in the thought, time or creativity to create something of value, that’s worthy of my time.

But, as the bar is set so low, it presents a great opportunity to create something brilliant - that will cut through the noise and get you listened to by your customers.

Ask yourself what you’re asking Before you send out your company newsletter, it’s important to consider what you’re asking of your reader.

The answer is - you want them to devote some of their precious, busy, finite time, reading about your business; people, achievements, thoughts, what you’re up to, how you can help them etc.

The newsletter’s challenge On top of ever-busier schedules, attention spans have dwindled to frighteningly pathetic lows. ‘Time’ and ’attention’ have become the new battlegrounds for brands and tech giants.

What will make them look forward to the next issue?

So, if we know that we’re competing with everyone and everything out there for customer attention, why aren’t we putting the effort in to create the best content we possibly can?

Ask yourself - when someone reads my newsletter, what are they getting out of it? What is there of value that they can take away with them?

When you create a newsletter, make sure you give your reader something of value. It could be some inspiration, a hearty laugh, some new information they didn’t know – perhaps a solution to a problem. Give your reader a reason to read your newsletter.

Appeal to the human behind the job title

Just like you, your reader eats food, has a sense of humour, reads books, watches TV, meditates, exercises etc. They are interested in all of this, and more.

An approach I’ve taken with my own newsletter is to appeal to the human being behind the title. Taking into account shorter attention spans and people’s tendency to skim content, most of my newsletter made up of ‘micro content’ that takes little time to consume - from a few seconds (gif), a minute (1 minute film) up to a few minutes (blog post).

The content includes things like a monthly recipe of authentic Indian food through to book, music and film recommendations alongside a couple of pieces of content focusing on work (blog post and a quote).

For WordBrand, this strategy works incredibly well by keeping me front of mind and I also receive great feedback every month from satisfied and thankful readers.

Make your customer the hero of your content (not you!) This is a common mistake. More often than not, the focus of a company newsletter is to talk about the company, rather than the customer. The reality is that most people don’t really care about your recent company away day or your business ‘brainstorm beanbags’.

Of course it’s good to give customers an insight into your company brand and culture, but keep your newsletter content balanced, and put the focus of your content firmly on your reader. Would do they want to see? Think about how your newsletter can create and nurture ‘connection’ with your reader.

Final note - stay worthy of your audience’s time and attention If you’re asking someone to give you some of their precious time and attention, then you must work incredibly hard to create something worthy of their time.

Create a newsletter. Be worthy. Keep front of mind. Grow. Thrive.