The newsletter phenomenon – part 2

Behind the scenes
So the newsletter is here to stay, is still much loved, and still the popular kid in school. While part 1 of this article talked about when it’s agood call to use a newsletter, we now get to the cooking. There’s practical nuances that work behind the scenes to make the newsletter an effective tool – frequency, content, technology, and just simply the skills and resources needed to create it.

The frequency and regularity is important. This depends on how easy or difficult it is to source content, the effort going into design and layout, and mindspace of your audience. The newsletter that arrives promptly in your mailbox at the same time, same day every week makes you believe it’s credible and dependable. And therefore the news in it is also credible and dependable.

To ensure regular streams of content you need a network of sources who are enthusiastic and willing to provide news on your publishing schedule, besides their day jobs. Packaging content is important – tiny digestible bites with goto links for more information. Graphical treatment of key points or emotive use of colour and design create the ‘mood’ to receive information. Engagement devices such as contests, feedback, and a call to crowdsource content make audiences feel included.

Then of course there’s technology. Is your newsletter a pdf delivered by email, or an emailer, or is it an e-zine? Or perhaps it’s just a news stream on your website that is delivered to mailboxes? The technology must be chosen based on the receptiveness of the audience. In one internal newsletter I worked on, the technology evolved with the audience. It began as a pdf, then became an interactive pdf, then grew into a slick e-book. But following an acquisition which changed employee demographics, 50% of them were not receptive to the e-book, so we scaled it back to a pdf. It’s most important to reach people – the technology is a means to an end.

And who will do all this work? Admin, CSR, sales teams, businesses and change programs would believe that that this is an hour’s work tops for a coms person. Coms people do have superhuman powers, but not here. It needs the skills of writing, design, and whatever technology you are using – maybe html, flash, maybe a tool subscription.

The newsletter generally heralds a time in the organization where there is a thirst for information, and a compelling need to share it.  While it is a positive climate for communication, newsletters are the ‘last mile’ connect. In a newsletter, the amount of information that can be shared is limited, and its job is to ‘push’ the content until a ‘pull’ is created – where people themselves visit the regular channels frequently.

Newsletters must eventually pave the way for a strong aggregated channel such as a single monthly or weekly communique, the intranet or website. In the food-related dessert analogy I use here, the intranet or website is the buffet where people can choose what information is relevant and helpful to their work. They can choose how much they want, look around and see what they may want later, and keep coming back whenever they want.

So what the ideal newsletter essentially says is “Bon appetite!”  

 

The newsletter phenomenon: Part 1 - “This calls for a newsletter!”

(This is a two part article on newsletters – part 1)

Every coms person has come across this – the newsletter phenomenon. It’s when suddenly everyone in the organization is overwhelmed with the need to communicate (a job too well done by the coms head, perhaps?). Admin wants a newsletter to tell people they’ve recently upgraded the washroom. CSR wants more volunteers. Businesses want multiple newsletters – one for sales teams, one for customers, and one to let global know they’re on the job. Change programs want one because for the life of them, they can’t justify their very existence on the very intricate multi-colored graphic from their ppt slide with the objectives and methodologies in font size 8.  

Now just to be clear. I love newsletters.

As a communications device, a well-designed and thoughtful newsletter is the chocolate cake of coms – looks delectable, delivers just the right information right to your mailbox, so easy to consume. And if crafted with care, leaves you wanting more. Which is exactly the coms person’s evil design – to ultimately lead you to the mothership, the intranet or website.  

But just like the chocolate cake, if eaten every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner, ugh. Overkill. No longer interesting to the reader nor useful for the sender. If everyone is serving dessert at their stalls, no one wants to buy any.

We must understand the humble newsletter as a communications tool  - in the context of the purpose, the time, and the pulse of the receiver. Typically, a newsletter is useful in these scenarios:

1.       When an organization is vast and unstructured – In organizations with multiple businesses, each one needs to reach out to their people to create a sense of core team or a shared vision. The same goes for customers – a conglomerate selling a diverse portfolio needs to create separate nuggets of relevant and exciting news for the customers of their specific industry, product or technology.

2.       When the intranet or website is ineffective – The more sustainable way to communicate is intranet or web. But many intranets or websites are ill structured making it frustrating to find information. In this case, a newsletter is an interim solution, curating content and linking it with web or intranet, so that people know where to find what. At times too, an older audience or one that is not well on-boarded into the technology may struggle.

3.       When change is in the air – Especially in times of change, it is important to over communicate, so that there is a sense of reassurance or something to focus on. A newsletter in this context is extremely high impact.

4.       When there’s too much to say, but all to the same audience – In the coms maturity cycle of any organization, there’s usually a time the newsletter phenomenon hits hard. Then your mailbox is filled with them, and pfft…it’s over. Overkill. If there is a common audience, and many teams trying to communicate to them, it makes sense to have a single aggregator newsletter.

The newsletter has evolved from a simple communication containing information to one that is dynamic, and can deliver return on investment. Far from becoming outdated, it has redefined itself to the current digital environment and can now offer advanced tracking and effectiveness metrics. A newsletter can let you know who read it, how much time they spent, which article interested the reader most, and entice people to act. For internal audiences, this could help put a metric to that nebulous HR parameter - employee engagement, or for customers it could generate and qualify sales leads, and become the first touchpoint to reel in the person to a longer conversation.

No doubt about it. Newsletters are still around, still making waves, and still stealing the show.  

Wait for part 2 of this article: The newsletter phenomenon – Behind the scenes