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Dear Alun

What do you write about in your newsletter? Do you tell your readers what you got up to at the weekend? Do you have a moan about the weather? Or do you just ramble on about a bunch of vaguely interesting business issues?

Your newsletters in up against a lot of competition - from other newsletters and email communications - so you need to make sure you get your readers' attention. One way of making sure that they carry on reading is by focusing on what you write. This issue of the A-Z of Newsletters will give you some ideas on how to write great content. 

Best wishes,

Chantal

chantal@JustAddContent.co.uk 

PS The number of people who read the A-Z of Newsletters grows with every issue. Thank you for recommending us to people you know - we really appreciate it. If there's anyone else you think should receive this newsletter, please send this issue to them, or ask them to go to www.JustAddContent.co.uk to sign up for their own free copy.

C is for Content

Gone are the days when you can get away with writing any old thing in your newsletter. Now you have to really think about what you're writing and who is reading it. If you don't, your readers will go elsewhere to find the information and advice they need.

How to you make sure you write really good content?

• Write with your readers in mind. What do they need to know about? What issues are they struggling with? If you don't know, you need to ask them. I've got a pretty good idea about what you need to know about  newsletters - if there's anything in particular you'd like me to cover, click here to let me know.

• Keep on track. If your readers have signed up to a newsletter about email newsletters, make sure that you focus on email newsletters. Don't go off track and talk about unrelated topics, or promote products and services that won't answer your readers' questions.

• Don't go on about it. Once you get started you can probably write pages about what you do and how great it is. But do your readers have time to read a novel every time they open your newsletter? If you find you're writing too much, split the material into two or more issues of your newsletter. How much is too much? I recommend no more than 1000 words for a month newsletter and 5-700 for a fortnightly one.

Learn to write clear, concise content that really focuses on the issues your readers need help with and you'll be able to keep their attention with every issue. The more people who read your newsletter, the more people you can get your message to and, eventually, work with.

C is also for ...

Christmas Cards - is it too early to start thinking about them? I don't think so. Many people intend to send cards to thank people for their support over the last year, but don't leave enough time. If you're one of these people, start thinking now about Christmas cards, especially if you have them over printed. If you'd rather send a Christmas email, you can start looking for an original design. If you don't celebrate Christmas, how about sending something in the New Year?

Copywriters - if you struggle to write your newsletter, why not get some help? There are professional copywriters who can get to know your business and write great content for you every month. I've got a team of really talented writers, so if you'd like to know more about how they can help you, please get in touch. Click here to see examples of their work - and some other great newsletters.

Calls - at 1pm on Thursday 13 September I'm running a free one hour teleclass on how not to do a newsletter. It's being organised by my friend Judith Morgan, through her organisation - Lonely Entrepreneur. The call is free to anyone who wants to listen in and ask questions about newsletters. To register, click here to go to Judith's website and join her club, where you can get even more free help with running your business.