From what I see, many small business professionals struggle with writing compelling newsletter content. It’s not easy. You need to be interesting, personal, AND remind them of your products and services.Try too hard to do both… you end up confusing and losing readers.
The trick to creating compelling newsletter content is simple:
You’ve got to connect with readers in emotional ways and offer solutions to their problems.
When I’m working with my clients on their newsletters, I often find one of two problems (or both): lack of clarity and lack of connection.
Problem #1: Lack of Clarity
Clarity has to appear not only in your mind, as the author of the newsletter, but for your readers as well. If you write about a book you’re reading, then about a movie you saw, and then about how to use your business products and services, without tying them together with benefits to the reader, you are jerking your readers around.
Unless you have a clearly defined plan for publishing a newsletter, you run the risk of confusing readers (and losing them!)
Solution #1: Create Clarity
Here’s a little tool I use to create newsletters for my clients. Feel free to use it, modify it, or leave it.
- Define your business Ps & Q – (3Ps + 1Q):
=> What Problem do you solve?
=> Who are the People you serve?
=> What Products and services do you offer?
=> What makes you uniQue?? - Create a course outline or a table of contents as if you were writing a book or teaching a class on this problem, i.e., your expertise.
- Make a list of keywords, categories and topics you’re qualified to write about and that must be addressed to solve the problems of your readers.
- Make an editorial calendar for each time you are going to send a newsletter. Make sure you cover all the topics and categories. Keywords are important if you are going to post your newsletter to a blog – they help with search engine optimization.
- Make a schedule to include research, writing, formatting and distribution. Don’t overlook sharing on social sites.
Here’s a hot tip: When you organize your editorial calendar according to an outline or a table of contents, you’ll also have ideas for a sequence of blog posts that tie in to your theme and makes sense for your readers. There will be an order. Brains love order.
Problem #2: Lack of Connection
Does this happen to you? You just learned about an important change to your industry, and you are so eager and excited to get this out in front of your readers (and meet your newsletter deadline), that you publish the news with all the details, but fail to mention how this will impact your readers, or why it’s important to your reader?
As subject matter experts we are knowledgeable. We are the go-to resource. And we are excited to share it. The trouble is, it’s not about us.
Solution #2: Make an Emotional Connection
When writing your newsletter content, focus on your reader. What drives your readers? Use emotional words and phrases. Create a story, and include:
- Metaphors
- Analogies
- Vivid descriptions
- Strong emotional language
- Compelling words: “You,” (Your Name), “Free”, “Because” and “Instantly.”
If you haven’t already, write up your story, how you evolved to your professional level and found your passion. Post it on your website and blog. Consider how you can link it in your newsletter bio, and how you can use this technique of linking factual information to your story. Share it in your newsletter.
What other techniques are you using to create compelling content that focuses on your readers, their problems and solutions?
If you’re having trouble, let me know.
Send me an email or give me a call and let’s talk.
