101 Newsletter Answers

Using The Power Of Newsletters To Communicate

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April 21, 2008

'Balance' In PR Newsletters (1)

Why Newsletters?

Take the word 'group' out the heading above and the subject of this article might be about any one of a whole range of competing media. For example, the telephone might be thought of as one of the most effective communication tools of all time. Then again a good argument could be put for television. Or newspapers. Or radio, or… , well, you get the idea. The point is that every form of media has its strengths and, accordingly, its proponents. But by including the word 'group', the field is narrowed dramatically and only one stands out way above its competitors: the newsletter. Newsletters are absolutely the number one tool for communicating with groups.

It doesn't matter who comprises a group. They might be formal members of an organization large or small, or they might be seemingly disparate people who just happen to have a common interest. The key word is 'common'. A group consists of people who have something in common. They may be customers, prospects, employees, club members, family members, etc; in fact there are an infinite number of possible groupings.

How Public Is Public?

You may be forgiven for asking why, if this is the case, newsletters are so often suggested as being ideal for public relations. Surely the term 'public' implies the general populace, doesn't it? Well, er… no, actually. Put simply, what is meant by 'public relations', or, as it is better known, PR, is how an entity's public, i.e. its target market or group with a common affinity, sees your organization. For example, if your group is the P&C Association of the local school, your publics would include all parents of children at the school, the schoolchildren themselves, the school's teachers, neighbors of the school, other community groups you look to for assistance such as Rotary, local media, companies in your area, and so on. All these groups will have contact with, or be affected by, the activities of your association.

Largely as a result of this misunderstanding, the term public relations has often been misused. Over the years it has become incorrectly associated with propaganda (particularly for government groups) and confused with advertising. It is, admittedly, difficult to define because it encompasses such a broad range of techniques. The best all-round definition I know is 'promoting goodwill' for a company, government body, individual, or the like; in other words, the practice of working to present a favorable image. And certainly this is the area where newsletters excel.

What To Include

So what needs to be included for your PR newsletter to be most effective? Before this question can be answered it is important to evaluate your organization's current image. This can be achieved by asking some questions of your own:

1. What do people think of us?
2. What would we like them to think?
3. How do we get them to think well of us?

Don't assume you know all the answers. Conduct some research and find out what people really think of your organization. Talk to representatives of your 'public' and ask them to assist you by giving an honest assessment of how they see the organization. You can't improve your image if you don't know what it is!

The Balancing Act

Finally, put together your newsletter's content and present it  in as balanced a form as possible. The issue of balance is crucial. It isn't necessary to labor over it, though. The very act of striving for balance should, in most cases, ensure that you have it. After all, it's not an exact science! Just try to make sure you include enough humor to offset any technical or complex material. Balance your 'must-include' items with fun or trivial items. Include something graphical (such as a cartoon, crossword or diagram) on pages with a lot of tight text.

The balance we are concerned with here is in terms of 'content'. There are other issues to do with the look of your newsletter that you might want to consider, such as balancing large areas of print with a reasonable proportion of white space. Whatever you do though, avoid using numerous typefaces in the one publication. This is a common mistake among 'newbies'.

Part (2) of this article will look more closely at the specifics of 'content' in an effective newsletter.

© 2000 Mike Alexander (Revised 2003)

 

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