HOW TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY

One of the things you need to keep clearly in mind when creating an e-newsletter is that your customers or potential customers are probably receiving a lot of information by email already.
They are going to have to WANT to read your email – you will need to send them something that will grab their attention and make them want to read it all. Knowing your audience is probably the most important first step to achieving this.

Users tend to glance at websites when they need to accomplish something or to find the answer to a specific question. In contrast, newsletters feel personal because they arrive in users’ inboxes, and users have an ongoing relationship with them. Newsletters also have a social aspect, as users often forward them to colleagues and friends.
The positive aspect of this emotional relationship is that newsletters can create much more of a bond between users and a company than a website can. The negative aspect is that newsletter usability problems have a much stronger impact on the customer relationship than website usability problems.


Here are some tips for how to achieve this:

** Provide news that is INTERESTING to your readers. Unless you have some really hot products or services to announce your customers are likely to hit the delete key. DON’T let this become a habit for them!

** Ensure there is some benefit to your customer in reading your e-newsletter, not just a benefit to yourself. Always think about your reader!

** News about industry trends, financial effects, buying patterns is generally of interest to most readers. Express an opinion about this, make it personal for your customers to relate to.

** Offer tips and advice! Good useful tips are valued by customers who already have a very busy working life, if you can make this a little easier for them they will value your newsletters.

** Develop case studies. People are interested to read about how another company solved a problem. They generally are more willing to take the opinion of one of your other valued customers more readily than to simply read why you think your product is so great.

** Review websites or books that provide industry information your readers may find useful.

** Invite guest columnists or items of contribution to give a wide range of information and opinions to your readers. Make your readers feel that they are being offered information that they can use as they see fit, rather than making them feel that you are ‘telling them’ something.

** Make it fun. Even though business is serious stuff, everyone appreciates a short break from this seriousness. If you can do something to allow your customer to relax and smile even for a few seconds, they are more likely to read on further and absorb what you have to say to them.

** Position advertisements for products lower in the e-newsletter. Many readers are turned off if the first thing they see is an ad asking them to buy something.

** Remember the rules of good writing apply– simple words, short sentences and short paragraphs. Check for grammar, spelling and typos before you send it. If possible get a friend or colleague to test it for you as if you’ve been working on it closely you may not see obvious mistakes like repeated or missing words. One way of seeing it more clearly is to send it to yourself. This way you can check the layout too.