8 Newsletter Do's and Don'ts
|
Even if you are a newsletter veteran, it's a good idea to review the basics:
- DO send your newsletter on a regular basis and tell readers how often they can expect to hear from you.
- DON'T fill it with dense writing. Use graphics, boxes and sidebars.
- DO give it plenty of white space.
- DO invite readers to connect with you, with a special offer, or invitation to complete a short survey, or a contest.
- DON'T weigh your newsletter down with only serious news. Even if you are on an errand of mercy, keep the atmosphere light.
- DON'T sweat the content too much--you are not writing for the Nobel Prize.
- On the other hand, DO proof read carefully!
- DON'T write for a mass audience. Remember that newsletters assume an interested membership.
These do's and don'ts apply to all kinds of newsletters, whether hard copy or e-mail. Click here for more on e-mail newsletters |
Your Voice
|
Why is "Writing in service to your voice" on this e-news header every month? Because your voice (sentence lengths, word choices, rhythm, reading level, phrasing) is the essence of your communication. Everyone-whether community hospital, law firm, or family restaurant, has a voice-and when you find it, your newsletter will come together.
Which one is your voice?: Formal or informal? Technical or general? Short sentences, lots of dashes, exclamation marks? Or lengthy phrasing, a certain gravity, sobriety of style? Do you toss in some charming graphics, or merely a black and white photo of your new CEO (or yourself)? Know your voice, and use it!
And speaking of voices, how about this one, for the season?
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness . . ."
See you in August.
|
