The,art,e-Newsletter,Design,an marketing The art of e-Newsletter Design and Content Development
Automation technologies represent a fundamental aspect of any modern industry. The major types of industrial automation solutions, such as DCS, PLC, SCADA, and MES, are used on a large-scale in process and discrete industries.DCS technologie Awhile ago, I got an email from one of the "gurus" I follow and it shocked me. The gist of it was this person wanted to trade services for a household item.To say it floored me would be an understatement.What was worse was a few days later t
Creating a beautiful content rich e-newsletter for your suppliers,clients and other readers to browse over once a month surprisinglyplays a vital role to the success of your business. An e-newsletter canbe a simple unobtrusive method of exposing your business to hundreds ofpeople in a way that is not only is enjoyable for the reader but alsogives you credit for your professionalism and knowledge of the industryyou work in. The key is structuring the newsletter correctly anddeveloping content that is appropriate for your readers each and everymonth.Beforeyou put pen to paper, its important to have a newsletter design thatwill compliment the content youre putting into it. If you run anonline store, you may want your newsletter to showcase products thatare on special and other discounted items whereas if you are a serviceprovider, it may be in your interests to post articles that identifythat you are indeed a professional. Your newsletter design needs tosupport whatever content youre putting into it so before you approachyour designer, get a clear idea in your head about what you intend topost in each newsletter.Ensure that your newsletter designerclearly understands the importance of marketing your product or serviceto your target audience and does not go overboard with marketing orsales elements. Obviously it depends on what your approach is and whatindustry you work in, however a newsletter must be unobtrusive. It mustnot try and throw sales in its readers face at every chance it gets.Regardless of what your designer learnt at university, throwingmarketing slogans and calls to action in peoples faces is not the bestapproach.Once we have a nicely structured newsletter design, weneed to fill it with creative content that will entice the reader tovisit your website or contact you for more information. If youreselling products, it is suggested that you have a graphic designerdesign the entire newsletter for you. You want your newsletter toappear like a monthly brochure rather than just some text throwntogether. If youre a service provider, provide detailed tips,articles, analysis reports and other information that will complimentthe type of work you do. Its important to note that the quality of youre-newsletter will reflect on your readers the quality of your productor service. If you throw articles together without proofing them orwhip up a quick list of discounted items nobody will be overlyinterested. A few key points to consider when developing content for your newsletter are as follows:- Keep your strategic audiences in mind, always.- A newletter must be sustainable - Be realistic about the amount of content you can consistently produce.-Begin with good basics and build on solid ground - The most basicnewsletter should have a few lead stories, shorter news items, and amessage from your leader. A more developed publication might includefeatures, departments, columns, an editorial, cartoon, in-house news,news tidbits, regional round-ups, etc.- If you're doing anemailed newsletter, 'clean and simple' spells 'effective'. Keep it toplain text. Be concise, and put an 'in-this-issue' outline at the top.The footer should have complete 'subscribe' and 'unsubscribe'information. You should archive back issues, with an annotated index,on your website.- Your copy should sing rather than drone. Itshould ring when tapped. Write compact copy in the active voice. Editfor clarity, conciseness, jargon, length, correctness. The bottom lineis your readership; give them top priority.- Watch to see howpeople scan your publication. Talk with a new sampling of readers aftereach issue. Do a formal readership survey on a regular basis. Trackwhat's happening.As stated a number of times throughout thistip, your newsletter must be unobtrusive yet enticing at the same time.It should persuade your readers to visit your site, call you fordetails, purchase your product or tell a friend about your serviceswithout annoying or frustrating them. If you have a number of peopleunsubscribing from your newsletter, then youre doing something wrong.Keep it simple, to the point and never go overboard. Remember, thee-newsletter isnt so much the important part its the click-throughsto your website that matter.
The,art,e-Newsletter,Design,an