I've been looking closely at the newsletters I receive in my email and noticing some strategies that make the publications more effective... and some that detract from the purpose. We're always looking for ways to improve the B2B communications our clients have asked us to handle for them, so it helps to pay attention to what others are doing.

If you are thinking about starting up a newsletter on your own and you are not sure how to proceed, here are some thoughts and personal observations that might be helpful.  

1. Focus on the challenges and interests of your audience

I can't stress this strongly enough. In a B2B environment your newsletter subscribers are future buyers of your products. The sales cycles may be very long. For many in the document industry, the time between repeat sales to the same customer can be years. So to keep the interest level high, avoid the mistake of talking only about your product's features and benefits. After reading a few issues, your customers are going to understand all they need to know about your product. Without an expectation of reading something new and useful in each issue customers and prospects will stop reading the newsletters. Every issue should have some items that zero in on your customer's perspective.

 

2. Proofread and test

Misspelled words, broken links, bad grammar, and poor design choices detract from your message. They also communicate a lack of professionalism and question your ability to pay attention to details. These are definitely not the impressions you want your customers to have about your company. I've seen content that was pretty good, but really hard to ingest because of poor organization or simply because the newsletter designer chose an unusual font or neglected to provide sufficient contrast between the text and the background.

3. Be brief

This is a challenge for many of us. We know the material very well and we want to share it. But I suspect that newsletter articles of 1500 words don't get read very often. As consumers of content we have become accustomed to rapid-fire stories and headlines. If your reader doesn't have time to read long articles when he opens your email, chances are slim that he will return later. For topics where I have extra volume I'll look for ways to break it into separate parts, or I'll make additional content available for download from the web site.

Also keep in mind that there are a number of people who may read your e-newsletter on a smart phone. Overly long articles result in lots of scrolling or eyestrain on these small screens.

4. Be original

There are differences of opinion among content marketing experts. Some are dead set against using anyone else's content. They believe everything in your newsletter should be written by you - from scratch. Others think it is perfectly OK for your newsletter to be a collection of links to articles in other publications. My position is somewhere in the middle. I think original content is the most impactful. You should strive to create content yourselves or have someone write it for you. 

But not everyone has the time or the talent to produce brand-new material every time. I'm fine with using links to other content as long as you put your own spin on it. Tell the reader why you liked the article or direct their attention to parts you think are particularly important. This is much more effective and it indicates you've put some thought into how your newsletter can be useful to your audience.

 

5. Use graphics, bullets, and headings

Graphical enhancements make the pieces easier to read. Most busy businesspeople will scan a page before deciding to invest their time to read it. Pictures, charts, headings, and bullets stand out and quickly communicate what the article is about. You can also use color or fonts to call attention to certain portions of the articles.