The Power of the Newsletter – Solidifying Customer Relationships with Captivating, Relevant, Durable

You’ve worked hard to gain your customers’ business and want to explore ways to strengthen your relationship with them while informing them of important news and information. One proven method of maintaining regular contact with existing and potential customers is by distributing a company newsletter. But wait! Before you begin developing your first issue, don’t make the common mistake of thinking your newsletter is another opportunity to “sell” more products and services. Newsletters are NOT ads; what’s more, if you make the mistake of treating your newsletter like an advertisement you will not only turn off many of your valued customers, you will risk destroying that coveted trust that you’ve worked so hard to develop.

Think of your newsletter as an intangible agreement you make with your customers. They’re living up their end of the agreement by opening your newsletter and scanning it for information that is relevant to them; your end of the agreement is to deliver content that your customers will find engaging, relevant and pertinent to their needs. If they enjoy the read, if they learn something new, if they’re left with a positive feeling, then your newsletter has succeeded in boosting their perception of your company and they will likely purchase more products and services from your organization in the future.

The trick to writing effective newsletter content is to stick to what you know best and share your knowledge and experience with your customers. Don’t assume that your customers will know what you consider basic information – it’s amazing how much knowledge and experience business owners simply take for granted. Think of your newsletter as an opportunity to share your expertise and teach what you have learned about your products and your industry. When assembling the content, ask yourself if the information you are assembling will be helpful, interesting and useful to your customers in some way.

INCOMPAS can assist you in writing and producing your own effective newsletter content, or we can edit your existing newsletter and offer constructive advice on how to strengthen your editorial product. To get you started, we’ve developed a step-by-step guide to assist you in producing a winning newsletter.

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Step-by-Step Plan for Developing Durable Newsletter Content

1) Be in tune with your audience – Always put yourself in your readers’ shoes by thinking about what matters to them. What are their most frequently asked questions when it comes to your products and services? Ask your customers about what issues matter most to them. Hold a brainstorm session with your colleagues and talk to your sales, administrative and technical staff – the front line for your customers; ask them what they think is on your customers’ minds.

2) Build a solid foundation – Decide how many pages your newsletter will be and think carefully about how often you can realistically produce an issue. Develop a budget, and be realistic about the time and expense required to assemble, write, design, edit and distribute each issue of a newsletter. Assemble the team you will require to help you develop and maintain a quality newsletter. Ideally, you will have an editor in place to manage and deliver polished content and a designer to establish and maintain a distinct, refined look.

3) Establish an editorial calendar – Plan your issues in advance, develop an editorial calendar and decide on a production schedule. Give your contributors plenty of lead time and clearly written writers guidelines, including word count expectations and photo requirements. Because you will likely depend on volunteers to contribute to your newsletter, realize that the only person who will respect imposed deadlines will be you. Allow plenty of time in your production schedule to allow for unexpected delays.

4) Develop centralized themes – Start by grouping your newsletter content around a central theme that will tie all articles together. Working to a theme will help you focus your content and will help your readers better relate to your company, products and services. When structuring your newsletter, start with one or two short feature articles (such as a customer testimonial or case study, or an article examining a current, newsworthy issue) and follow with regular departments reporting product, company and industry news, and providing seasonal advice, tips & tricks, frequently asked questions (faqs), training, trends, etc. Ask a leader in your organization to write a column each issue, and place this column in a prominent position in your newsletter, preferably immediately following your “lead” feature. Once you establish a newsletter structure, follow it every issue to give your readers a greater feeling of continuity and brand recognition. Don’t forget to leave space for a linking Table of Contents or a box explaining what’s inside.

5) Focus on content first – Don’t let fancy graphics and colourful images distract you from delivering engaging, relevant content. Develop the content first and ensure the newsletter’s design supports and highlights your message. When writing, remember that newsletter articles should be short and direct; place all of your most important information in the first sentence or paragraph if you can. If an article requires a more in-depth approach, write a short newsletter introduction and summary highlighting the main points of the story, and provide a link to a more detailed article in your website. This option will enable you to populate your newsletter with a variety of quick-read articles, drive traffic to your site while allowing anyone interested to read on for more information, and build on the trusted relationship that you have established by delivering a relevant, interesting and entertaining newsletter.

6) Use active voice – Don’t get lost in passive land! Keep your sentence structure short, snappy and active. Passive voice can be tricky to spot; watch your word order, since a passive construction presents the object first and the subject last. For example, “ABC Corporation designed the new widgets to improve efficiency” is a more effective than “The new widgets were designed by ABC Corporation in an effort to improve efficiency.” Also when writing, always ask yourself, ‘who cares?’ and ‘why is this information important to my audience/customers?’ Place contact and other support information in sidebars, giving your readers quick visual reference points.

7) Write an attention-grabbing subject line – When distributing your newsletter by e-mail, your subject line should tie directly to a specific headline article in your newsletter, and – most importantly – it must stand out distinctively amidst the multitude of subject lines in your recipients’ Inboxes. Your subject line should also give your readers a clear idea of the main theme and subject matter of your newsletter.

Provide opt-in options – Manage subscriber expectations right from the start by explaining to your readers the editorial focus and purpose of your newsletter, as well as the value your readers can expect to receive by receiving and reading it. Provide a link to back issues to give people an idea of the general nature of your newsletter, and give them options to unsubscribe from receiving your newsletter electronically or in print form. Follow the standard rules that dictate distribution of responsible permissions-based e-mail practices.

9) Read up on your competition – Reading newsletters produced by your competitors and other industry participants will help you generate new ideas, and stay abreast of what people in your industry are talking about. If your competitor covers a topic of great importance to your industry, it is perfectly acceptable for you to cover that topic as well; for best results, wait a few issues and approach the issue from a completely different perspective.

10) Seek reader feedback – First, talk to your customers about the articles you’re developing and ask their permission to publish their comments in your article. Watch to see how people scan your newsletter. Talk with a new sampling of readers after each issue, and conduct regular formal readership surveys. Monitor click-through rates and use web analytics to help you track reader response to the articles you present, and use this information to guide you as you develop future issues. Don’t be afraid to get a little controversial. Establish a strong editorial voice and an open forum, and get people talking by inviting your readers into the dialogue.

December 25th, 2008

Online Dictionaries: A Universe of Words

Everybody needs a dictionary. You may have a tattered family volume, a hardcover dictionary from student days, or a paperback bought at a bargain price. But you don’t have to buy a dictionary, you may go online and discover a universe of words and fun.

Looking for a Spanish translation? Go online. Need a defintion for a Cockney word? Go online. Wondering about a Chinese symbol? Go online. Before you visit an online dictionary you need to prepare for the “trip.” Grab a cup of coffee or tea, or a glass of water, and a healthy snack, because once you start reading dictionaries you’ll be absorbed for hours.

Start with “OneLook Dictionary Search,” a fascinating Website with 6,257,269 indexed words from 993 dictionaries. Your options include a basic word search or a “wildcard pattern” search that matches any sequence of letters. The word “bluebird” is used as an example. To find the definition you may enter “blue” or “bird” or “bl (blanks here)rd.” There’s also a reverse dictionary on the Website. If you enter the phrase “when cancer spreads through the body,” for example, dozens of medical words pop up.

“The AlphaDictionary” Website is just plain fun. A word of the day is posted on the site and when I accessed it the word was “glade.” You may submit your own word of the day if you’re so inclined. If you get bored while you’re looking for definitions click on “AlphaDictionary Word Games” and do crossword puzzles and “word jungles.”

Cambridge University Press has a Website called “Cambridge Dictionaries Online.” You’ll find a variety of dictionaries on this site, plus dozens of “Online Activities and Worksheets.” I clicked on CLD, activities to do with the “Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary,” and found an alphabet trivia quiz, collation games that show how words are used together, multiple meanings, verb patterns, information on nouns, verbs, and adjectives, “The Rich and Famous” crossword puzzle, and more.

There’s also a list of “The Top 40 Words 2004″ on this site. I learned the word “advice” has held its place as number one. According to Cambridge University, “The only change in the top 6 is the fall of ‘idiom’ from 4th place in 2003 to 17.” Like a soccer mom rooting for a small kid on the team, I found myself rooting for “idiom” and hoped it would rise to stardom again.

“The TravLang Translating Dictionaries” Website has dictionaries in more than 35 languages, including Hungarian, Polish, Esperanto, and Turkish. You’ll also find an AOL Translator link and an online dictionary on this site. Many foreign language dictionaries, including this one, have ads on them so be prepared.

“Webopedia” (I love the name) is both a dictionary and a search engine for Internet and Technical definitions. I’ve used it several times and found it user-friendly and concise. You’ll find other unusual dictionaries on this site, too: South Asia dictionaries, Biblical dictionaries, Gaelic dictionaries, and more.

You’ll want to check out an encompassing Website called “The Internet Public Library.” A stop here gets you “Strange and Unsual Dictionaries,” “VoyCabulary” (links to Web pages or phrasesto online references like dicitonaries) and even a Chinese Characters Dictionary.

The next time you’re stumped by a word, or need a break, or the kids have cabin fever, go on the Internet and visit online dictionaries. You’ll have fun, the kids will have fun, and everyone will learn new words and new things. What a deal.

Copyright 2005 by Harriet Hodgson. To learn more about her work go to www.harriethodgson.com.

Harriet Hodgson has been a nonfiction writer for 27 years and is a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists. Her 24th book, “Smiling Through Your Tears: Anticipating Grief,” written with Mayo Clinic psychiatrist Dr. Lois Krahn, is available from http://www.amazon.com.

December 25th, 2008

Ezine Article Writing: A Template Saves Time and Aids Structure

Writing articles and submitting them to article directories is a great way to generate publicity and expert reputation but can be a time consuming and frustrating process unless you approach it systematically. Having written hundreds features for printed media for 20 years, I soon found I needed a very different approach for online articles and developed this template to help me produce articles that work.

The first thing I learned is that you are writing for four audiences with different sets of needs.

1. The Publisher - Web sites, ezines, blogs and printed media all require different lengths and styles of content so you need to be flexible with lots of choice from short punchy to in depth analysis to personal commentary. Articles need to be topical, from an expert and contain no overt promotion and self serving links. The more articles you write the more of an “expert” you become.

2. The Reader - People search the internet for content so the article needs to provide topical, fresh ideas with plenty of easy to digest, practical advice.

3. The Search Engines – You need to do extensive keyword research for your web site then select a specific primary keyword or phrase for each article and use it liberally for maximum search engine ranking

4. The Directory - They each have specific requirements regarding format, structure and topic. Each article will be checked to see that it does not beach their content guidelines and formatting rules.

Before you start the article – type out the headings below to form the template – then use the notes to guide you.

Article Title

Maximum 100 characters (including spaces) – that’s about 12 words.

Make it grabby to catch the attention of readers and publishers but start with your primary search engine keyword phrase. In printed media titles starting “How to…” or “10 top tips for…” are very popular – they are not good for search engines. This will go in the title of a web page.

Abstract

Maximum 500 characters – about 90 words but 50 or 60 is better.

Make it enticing to hook the publisher and make them want to read the full article. The abstract is primarily targeted at the publisher and will be displayed just below the title on the search pages in the directory, but is secondary to the title in getting attention. Some publishers may also use it.

Description – Meta Tag

Maximum 200 characters but preferably 150 – two lines of text.

Shorter punchier version of the abstract which must contain your primary keywords – you will need this if you publish on your own web site.

Keywords – Meta Tag

Maximum 100 characters – about 12 words comma separated

Start with your primary keyword of phrase then add other relevant keywords used in the article.

Article Text

Length really depends on your market and style. Much advice suggests about 250 to 750 words, but some publishers want in-depth analysis and I have had a 1700 word article reproduced at least once. Research your market and be flexible, with a mix of lengths and perhaps long and short versions of the same article.

Write the basic article with NO FORMATTING WHATSOEVER – if you are using word, disable all the auto-formatting like smart quotes, automatic hypertext links and paragraph spacing because they will all cause you problems. You can always reset them later.

Get your Primary Keyword Phrase into the first sentence if you can and provide a liberal sprinkling of keywords throughout. Don’t overdo it. The article still has to be a good read and remember though you are writing for four audiences, Content is King.

Absolutely no advertorial copy – Do not promote your products and services you will kill the article.

Absolutely no self serving links – No links to your web site or affiliate sites in the body of the article, if you do you will not be published. If you have links to resources show them as text – many sites do not allow live html links in the article.

Copyright

Copyright, date, name, country

Few directories ask for this but it makes sense to put it at the bottom of the article or in the field requested.

Resource Box

Maximum 500 characters, “including spaces and html code.” This is the limit for many sites so best to stick to it for all.

This is your opportunity to promote yourself but limit to 1 or 2 self serving links and write in the “Third Person.” The publisher has to live with this on their site or ezine so make it palatable for them. I offer an incentive for people to visit my web site, but make sure that live links show the web address not keywords. If the publisher doesn’t use live links, you still want people to see the web address.

HTML Formatted Article

Once you have completed the unformatted text article – you can then make an HTML formatted copy if you wish. Most sites do not need HTML, a lot of publishers don’t accept it and some directories forbid all html. Remember “Content is King.” If you do format – keep it simple – too much formatting and it will never be published.

Copyright 2005 Richelle (Rikki) Arundel, UK

About the Author:

Founder and First President of the Professional Speakers Association, RikkiArundel is an International Keynote Speaker, Trainer and Writer and an expert in sales and marketing communications with an impressive track record.

Get your free copy of How to Get Customers Queuing up to Buy at http://www.SpeakingandMarketingTips.com

December 25th, 2008