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Select
Editorial and Design Content That Will Accomplish Your Mission
How do you select the right stories, layout, and design for your publication?
Begin by asking yourself, "What do I want this newsletter to accomplish?"
Many organizations have launched internal or external publications
just because competitors have them. But a newsletter without a
clear purpose, or any evidence
to prove it's achieving those goals, is usually first in line to be axed
when cost-cutting time comes.
So, establish clear goals before you begin selecting content. If
you publish an internal newsletter, you may focus one section
of your newsletter — maybe
even an entire issue — on benefit changes, another on safety, a third on
recent operational changes, and so on. With an external newsletter, your topics
could include new products, improvements in customer service, tips to help customers
get the most for their money, and just about any other column or story containing
information that will somehow benefit your readers.
Once you have decided what topics will best help you accomplish your
communication goals, place the greatest emphasis on news and
information that will interest
the largest number of readers. Then present that information in several
different styles — a news story, a "Message From the President," or a Q&A,
for example — that will appeal to different types of readers.
In creating your content, try also to build in as many ways of measuring
reader response as possible. Provide phone numbers, fax numbers, or
e-mail addresses
that readers can use to request more information. If you're doing a
product newsletter, check with salespeople to get an idea of
how many requests
for information they
received about a product featured in the publication. For internal
newsletters, check with HR to see if they get fewer questions
about a specific topic
after it's been explained in the newsletter. Check with safety officials
to see
if the frequency of a particular accident decreased after a prevention
story appeared
in your publication. Encourage, even challenge, readers to respond
to opinions expressed in editorials. Print letters to the editors
and ask
for more.
Talk to readers whenever you get a chance. And every so often, do a
readership survey to evaluate overall reader response and, at
the same time, show
the
members
of your audience that you value their opinions.
Measurements such as these will help you adjust the content of future
issues, increasing the probability that your newsletter will continue
to generate
results for years to come. Keeping records of your success will also
provide you with
valuable ammunition you can use to defend your newsletter budget
against cost-conscious executives looking for easy ways to cut
the organization's
budget.
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