Write the content for the weekly newsletter. Try to write 2-3 different subjects and test them out on your team.
- Company updates
- A list of the companies blog posts
- Any special promotions we are running for the week
Write the content for the weekly newsletter. Try to write 2-3 different subjects and test them out on your team.
How to Start Writing the Content
Consider your audience. Before deciding on what content you need for your newsletter printing, take a moment to define your audience; gather demographics, and decide what topics will interest them. For instance, an audience of mostly middle-aged women probably won't be interested in a detailed article explaining a product. Instead, choose a topic that will connect with them, specifically on a personal level.
Choose your topic. Include a variety of topics and sections that will make your newsletter more interesting to a variety of audience. Just as a newspaper contains different sections, your newsletter should incorporate similar sections such as a response section, letters to the editor, industry news, and featured articles. Include tips or customer reviews within boxes to break up the layout.
Ask questions. Keep all information accurate. Use the six questions to give your newsletter a versatility: who, what, when, where, why and how. The best articles incorporate all six of these questions and answers, if applicable. This may require some research such as interviewing, but it is worth it if you want to make an effective newsletter with your audience's opinions expressed.
Research your topic. Writing subjectively can severely harm your credibility. Without proper research, you risk presenting incorrect or inaccurate information, which may offend or confuse your audience. Provide information such as statistics, expert opinions, and quotes to prove the validity of your research. Make sure to give the source (e.g., magazine, website, book) credit where credit is due.
Make it understandable. Use concise and comprehensible vocabulary to ensure readability. Avoid verbose language. For instance, rather than using an adverb/verb combo, use a verb that denotes the same meaning.
Use interesting headlines. Write dynamic headlines by using action verbs that evoke curiosity. Without an interesting headline, readers may skim over your articles, because they find it uninteresting. Headlines are one of the keys to creating loyal readers, since a well-written headline means a well-read article means a well-read newsletter. Also, if any of your articles are more than a few paragraphs long, use subheadings to break up the text.
Microsoft Word, Corel WordPerfect and OpenOffice have the ability to spell check a document.
There are several online solutions that users can use to spell check their documents online as well as add-ons that enable you to spell check in-browser.
Read your work again. Double check all newsletters. Quality is of the utmost importance as it goes out to thousands of customers.
Proofreading the Content
Print off the text and proofread on paper – it is much easier to spot errors on paper than on-screen. Before you do this, however, it is a good idea to run the spell check on the computer to catch any obvious errors. Don’t rely on this alone to detect spelling and typographical errors, though, as it cannot always be completely accurate. The grammar check is not worth using at all, as a computer cannot cope with all the complexities of grammar and sentence structure, and often ends up being more confusing than helpful.
Use ink that is a different colour from the print so that your corrections stand out and can be easily spotted. Beware of using red if proofreading for your colleagues, though, as it may remind them of the dreaded red pen wielded mercilessly by their teachers back at school!
Read slowly and deliberately using a ruler so that your eyes focus on only one line at a time. Go through the text several times, each time working on a different aspect. This will help you to retain your focus and concentration.
Have another member of your team check your work. Always get an external proof from someone else.
Another pair of eyes is bound to catch any errors that you may have overlooked. Also try reading your paper backwards, word by word. This forces your brain to comprehend each individual word, allowing you to catch more typos and grammatical errors.
Once checked by another team member, check it again yourself. It is important that there are no mistakes in the company newsletter.
Here are some of the most common mistakes with grammar and language use that you should look out for when proofreading:
Make sure you remove the formatting of your text. If you are editing in Microsoft Word or Evernote, they can add extra formatting which can be copied when you move the content to Mailchimp. To remove this formatting, open notepad and paste all the text into Notepad then copy it back out again, adding just the raw text to your clipboard. You may need to manually add the images and links into Mailchimp as Notepad will also remove these.
At the top right, you'll see a menu that says "Create Campaign"
Once you click on it, it will display a drop-down menu with a list of different types of campaigns.
Click on the one that best fits the type of campaign you're creating.
That's it!
Select "Send to entire list"
Name your campaign "Newsletter MMDDYYY"
Enter the subject line you created when writing the newsletter.
Copy the content from Notepad to Mailchimp. Remember to add images and links again.
Add text content and raw links to the plain text email template.
The Weekly Newsletter is sent on Tuesday Morning at 8am.