When you are writing a newsletter, there are lots of things that can go wrong. In my time writing newsletters I see three very common mistakes over and over again. All three are very costly to the long term success of your newsletter.
Not writing regularly.
The best newsletters are published to a schedule. If you are doing a print newsletter the best frequency is monthly.
If you don’t make time to write then you are going to be rushing to meet your deadline or you will miss an issue. The Single Most Important factor to creating ongoing success with a newsletter is actually consistency.
Writing for most people is a task that is considered important but not urgent until the day before the deadline. This is asking for you to get writers block or to procrastinate. Make the time to write regularly. Even if it is once a week. Know that you are going to write for a couple of hours once a week.
It is the first thing I do every day for an hour before I start on anything else. I write for at least an hour.
Writing only about your Business Topic.
Newsletters are meant to be about news and information your clients will find interesting. They are not where you talk about technical dross.
You have flyers and brochures, sales letters, the telephone if you want to sell to them or tell them about your widget. Imagine trying to start a sales call without some pleasantries.
Most people over estimate how interesting their business specialty is, 4 page news letter from an insurance broker = 4 pages of stuff about insurance. Nobody is
When I was at Uni I read a lot of newspapers in lectures… Anyway the first things I looked at were the quiz, the comics and then I tried to do the crossword after that I’d read the news… Your newsletter is more likely to be read if it is entertaining and interesting and not just about what-ever business you are in.
Not Writing Clearly.
According to the 1993 National Assessment of Adult Literacy, most adults read at an 8th Grade level. So run everything you write through a readability checker. MS Word has one. Look up ‘readability’ in its help function. And use it. And try and hit that eighth grade level.
Just because your readability score is high doesn’t mean that you can’t express complex ideas. Or that more educated people won’t read it. In fact, simple, easy to read, clear communication is just as welcomed by the super educated as it is by everyone else.
Keep your words short, your sentences short and stick to one paragraph per idea. It will make your writing far easier to read.
By the way, this article has a readability of 67.8 (higher is better) and a grade level of 7.0. How do feel about it now that I’ve told you?
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