Put the “New” Back in Your Newsletter
Is your newsletter a bit predictable? If you aren’t excited about writing or producing your newsletter when that time rolls around, there’s a good chance your readers aren’t excited about reading it, either. What can you do to breathe new life into a tired old newsletter? Incorporating even a couple of design or content changes can go a long way in giving your publication a fresh look and feel.
Getting Revived With a New Look
Making your newsletter easily readable should be a main objective. If readers have to struggle through some obscure font to get to the message, they may give up on it pretty quickly. And while fancy script font sometimes used in nameplates have a lot of design impact, they aren’t the best choice for the body font. The general guidelines for newsletter fonts indicate that serif faces (with the small line at the top and bottom of the line strokes) are best for body text. San serif faces are appropriate for headlines, short sidebars and display texts.
Also make sure that your newsletter design matches the image of your company. In other words, if your company has a corporate, formal feel, make sure that feel is reflected in your publication with more corporate color choices and design. If your company is on the informal side, be sure that more relaxed feel comes through in your newsletter.
And no matter if your newsletter is formal or informal, consistent use of colors is important. Use the colors in your logo or nameplate throughout the publication along with only colors that complement that particular palette.
Finally, if you are using a template, you can keep it from having that “template” look by watching the use of boxes, which tend to give newsletters a “prefab” feel.
Saying the Same Things in a New Way
In determining how to best give the content a boost, you should first reexamine your newsletter goals. Have you strayed? Specific goals are the key elements in measuring the effectiveness of your newsletter.
Once the goals have been reestablished, there are a number of easy ways to enhance your newsletter’s message. One of the best ways is to have interaction with the reader. Consider featuring a blog link within the newsletter. You may also want to feature one or two links that are directed to your Web site featuring products or services that you would especially like to promote. Surveys are another good tool to increase reader interaction and to obtain any particular feedback you are seeking.
Variety is vital in keeping your message fresh. Be sure to include a mix of pertinent articles all of which having a core message of how the information benefits the reader. Some column ideas include guest columnists, message from the company president, fast facts, and questions from the readers. And consider adding graphics to the articles and icons for regular columns so that over time the reader will associate the icon with the benefit they receive from reading the column.
Finally, make sure your articles include a call to action. Give the reader a way to act upon the article’s message.
Freshening up your newsletter doesn’t have to involve a lot of time, effort or money. Use these tips for brainstorming new ideas to enhance your company’s unique communication goals.
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