5 tips for a better association newsletter

Helping with judging on ASAE's Gold Circle Awards led to some ideas for builiding a better association newsletter. (I'm talking now about printed newsletters, or ones formatted for printing even if they're distributed electronically -- as opposed to "e-newsletters.") Here are some tips to improve yours:

1) Re-evaluate its value as a communications vehicle -- Years ago, printed newsletters were a highly efficient form of member communication. What's the real demand among membership for information in this format? My advice: If you think that one day the printed newsletter will be phased out, kill it sooner rather than later. If it still has value (and, believe it or not, lots of association members out there prefer a printed newsletter), see below for ways to start making it more valuable.

2) Particularly for professional associations, de-empasize the flash and build up value -- Not long ago, newsletter design was about color, art, graphics that "pop." Now other formats are the better place for that. If a printed newsletter is going to thrive and survive, it needs to be about news you can use, actionable ideas, a tightly written summary of what's going on in legislative and regulatory issues. Keep it graphically appealing, but the emphasis has to be on making the newsletter an efficient way to communicate ideas that demand more than a few sentences.

3) Emphasize action -- When I edited the American Trucking Associations newsletter (then a bi-weekly) my motto was that the newsletter should answer this question: "Why am I sending ATA my dues money?" Don't just report what happened -- show action. Your association didn't just "submit comments to the so-and-so agency in response to notice of proposed rulemaking blah blah blah" -- No! Your association "defended your industry this week," or it "laid the groundwork for future growth," etc. I'm not saying to ham it up or overhype what's going on, but just don't lose sight of the idea that your members are reading this because they want to know what your association has done and why it has real, bottom-line value to them.

4) Cross-promote -- At every opportunity, cross-promote your association's other offerings. Connect the dots for your readers. If there's a story on an employment issue, and your associaton offers education and training materials, mention that. Mention your association's issue expert on that topic and give contact information. Try to imagine your reader circling this story and writing "Are we doing this? Get on it!" and handing the newsletter off to the appropriate manager. Now there's no question in your reader's mind that your newsletter has value.

5) Cross-promote, but don't make the newsletter a long sales pitch -- (Caution: if your association has a sales department, they will fight you on this.) Your newsletter has to be about news. Now, the upcoming meeting is news, but it's not the news your readers are looking for. They want actionable items. Spell out the real value of the meeting -- not just the hype. If your newsletter slides down the slope toward a marketing piece, it will be seen as junk mail.

On a side note, I think blogs have killed the "e-newsletter." If you're moving what was once printed newsletter content over to an e-mail newsletter, you're wasting readers' time. Put it in a blog, let them subscribe to an email update list (like Feedburner) and RSS feeds. Give them the news as it happens. The only e-newsletter-type communications I subscribe to are the ones that don't give me any other option.

Tagged: Associations, Newsletters.