Who are you?…where are you going?

You may know the answer to these questions, but how do you get the world to understand?

From the Brontes to the Bible to the Beano, words have always driven people to understand emotion. They are a powerful tool in telling people the truth about your world.

Words can make sense of often chaotic perceptions of the truth of who you really are…what you aspire to in business and in life. Newsletters and magazines allow you to channel emotions and energy, inspiring your own people or the people who buy from you.

The simple truth is that telling stories can change people’s behaviour – creating actions and reactions in others.

No successful business these days can possibly deny the power of that medium of expression, whether is is electronic or printed. A great newsletter or magazine is the mini-serialisation of the evolution of your business…the evolution of your relationship with your audience.

We can no longer allow people to decide for themselves what to think about you and who you are. As in any good film, the plot unfolds, along with the characters, in every line of dialogue. Integral can use words and design to tell your story in a coherent, attractive and powerful way.

Printed newsletters are still very effective for some audiences and long may they live. However, e-newsletters can give you a more targeted and measurable way of imparting information – and importantly receiving instant feedback and sales.

With an e-newsletter, using the latest technology, you can measure how many people have opened it, how many clicked through to your website and even what time of day people read it. That’s powerful information and can really help you move forward in your customer and stakeholder communications.

With this in mind, here are our 10 top tips for newsletters:

1. Aim for a high-impact design with strong photography.

2. Ensure consistency in design and tone between your newsletter and other company literature and brand.

3. Build your distribution list and aim for quality rather than quantity. Allow recipients to unsubscribe. Review the list regularly and its impact.

4. Include articles that associate readers with the success of your organisation and celebrate with them.

5. Include stories that talk about pioneering work that the organisation is doing and make readers feel part of it.

6. Include an option for interaction from the audience (perhaps a competition or a survey).

7. Include industry news that will provide your readers with topical things to read so as to keep abreast of the latest trends.

8. Remember that newsletters play a key part in an integrated marketing campaign. For example, imagine the impact it will have if received on the same day that you’ve been featured in a newspaper article.

9. A regular drip, drip of news is what builds a relationship, so issue your newsletters regularly.

10. A printed newsletter makes a great business card, so keep copies for networking events.