How to Create Business Newsletters that Get Results

Results like these:

• Bigger or more frequent purchases by customers
  
  
• Making your employees more productive or loyal
  
  
• Members participate more often and renew their memberships

Want to discover how?

Read the full-length book, A Manager's Guide to Newsletters: Communicating for Results

After reading it, you will understand how business newsletters work, which significantly increases the odds your newsletter will succeed.

That's no small matter. Every year, would-be publishers launch thousands upon thousands of newsletters, and thousands upon thousands fail.

Why? Because the publishers thought business newsletters depended on good writing and good design. But, before you get to writing and design, you need to have a strategy. That's the rudder that steers your ship.

Just to extend that analogy a bit more, writing and design are the motors that make the ship go; strategy is the rudder that makes sure the ship goes in the right direction.

Right direction means you know what you want to accomplish with the newsletter, and what that means in terms of reader responses.

It also means you know what reader needs you're serving. After all, if readers won't read your newsletter, they won't do what you want them to do.

And, in the end, getting readers to act or think as you wish is the reason for publishing a newsletter. Every newsletter!

What others say about A Manager’s Guide to Newsletters: Communicating for Results:

“If you publish a marketing newsletter, as I do, you will want your own copy of A Manager’s Guide to Newsletters. It’s filled with practical advice that will get you results, whether you’re prospecting for new customers or strengthening relationships with those you have now. You’ll get more mileage out of your newsletter, and more satisfaction from your work with it.”

Dr. Ralph Wilson,
Publisher of Web Marketing Today and Web Commerce Today

“Dear Robert,
Your book is fabulous. I have been teaching library students, staff and managers for a while about marketing and newsletters. I have also been producing my own newsletters in corporate environments as information manager for a major telecommunications company in Perth. This book distills everything so beautifully and I will be recommending it to my students and my colleagues. I currently consult as an information broker in Australia and also as a marketing trainer. I am thoroughly enjoying your book and have been reading it since I bought the electronic version yesterday.

Thank you very much.”

Kitty Delaney

Here's the unique information you'll find inside A Manager's Guide to Newsletters, with commentary by the author, Robert F. Abbott...

• First, is a newsletter the right medium? Would newspaper or radio ads work better? Chapter 1 gives you the critical questions to ask. After you consider them, you’ll be able to justify to yourself or to others your decision to publish a newsletter.
  
  
• You wrote objectives for your newsletter; but, are they stated as actionable reader responses? Chapter 2 explains the importance of clear, focused objectives, and the need to think of them in terms of what you want readers to do.
  
  
• What does it mean to serve reader needs? This is a major hurdle for novice publishers of business newsletters, in my experience. Chapter 3 takes you beyond the cliches, to understand and really serve them.
  
  
• Are readers willing and able to read your newsletter? Chapter 4 details this critical newsletter management concept. I spent a lot of time thinking about just that question, and for a good reason. Everything depends on readers being willing, and being able, to read your newsletter.
  
  
• Find out, in Chapter 5, how to use the Shared Environment to select content that serves both your needs and those of your readers. Another critical point: it’s not enough to write well; you also have to write about the right subjects. This chapter shows you how.
  
  
• How will you write? Chapter 6 explains how to present your content effectively, based on reader characteristics.
  
  
• I’m often asked, “How often should I publish my newsletter?” and “How many words or pages should it have?” I respond: “It depends on how willing and how able your readers are.” Chapter 7 explains how much to publish, and how often.
  
  
• Similarly, I hear lots of questions about how many words or how many pages. That depends on the ability of readers to respond, and you’ll find more information in Chapter 7. Notice how willingness and ability have come back again?
  
  
• An editorial board is a group of people with a common interest in a newsletter. If you set one up, it could reduce your work load and increase the newsletter’s effectiveness. Learn how to set up and use one, in Chapter 8.
  
  
• If you’re new to publishing business newsletters, you’ll want to know about the steps involved in publishing. One person who helped publish this book offered the opinion that this chapter, Chapter 9 was worth the price of the book by itself.
  
  
• Wondering how much a business newsletter will cost? Here’s a better idea: First ask what you want to accomplish with it. Chapter 10 explains how to tie your spending to your objectives, and gives you a system for budgeting.
  
  
• Want to extend your reach? Use your business newsletter for media relations, by applying the strategies and tools in Chapter 11. One of my new clients is sending his newsletter to both potential clients and editors of business magazines. A great way to get extra value and impact from your newsletter.
  
  
• Need help finding story ideas? Chapter 12 offers processes and a list of 40 sources you can quickly and easily tap.
  
  
• The better you profile your readers, the better the results you can expect. After all, your newsletter will serve a niche audience, won’t it? My online newsletter, for example, targets managers and professionals who want better results through strengthened communications. Chapter 13 offers segmentation strategies and applications.
  
  
• Costs and returns: Chapter 14 uses simple arithmetic to help you assess the financial outcomes generated by your business newsletter.
  
  
• How will you evaluate the processes that led to the results? Chapter 15 gives you a system for evaluating the critical components. It takes you step-by-step through an evaluation process that will identify the strengths and weaknesses of your newsletter.
  
  

Learn even more about business newsletters with these bonuses

When you purchase your electronic or printed copy of A Manager’s Guide to Newsletters: Communicating for Results here at this website, you’ll also receive three bonus packages (free shipping & handling too, if you buy the printed version). You can download the three bonus packages immediately.

Bonus Package 1

Two reports that extend and complement the information in A Manager’s Guide to Newsletters: Communicating for Results :

• A special supplement on electronic newsletters: This report builds on the first seven chapters of A Manager's Guide to Newsletters, explaining critical differences between printed and electronic newsletters. You’ll learn how you can leverage your newsletter using email.
  
  
• A copy of the publishing plan I wrote for Abbott's Communication Letter. Use this plan as a template for your plan, or as a helpful guide to creating and publishing your own newsletter, whether electronic or printed.
  

Bonus Package 2

20 articles about business newsletters that provide insight into a number of issues you’re likely to confront in publishing your own newsletter. Again, they supplement and extend what you learn in A Manager's Guide to Newsletters

• 25 Ways to Use Customer & Marketing Newsletters
   
• 25 Ways to Use Employee Newsletters
   
• 25 Ways to Use Member Newsletters
   
• How to Give Your Newsletter a Name: forget that Acme Gazette stuff! Take a strategic approach to newsletter naming and get extra value from the name alone.
   
• The Big Newsletter Secret: Nope, the secret to business newsletters has nothing to do with writing or design, despite what you hear from writers and designers. The secret is something more fundamental.
   
• Getting Consistent Readability: While writing isn’t the biggest issue, it is an important one, especially consistent writing. This article explains how to keep yours consistent.
   
• Making Deals for Content: Here are some ideas for getting good content without writing it or paying someone to write it for you.
   
• How to Pitch a Newsletter to Your Boss: If you need permission from the folks upstairs to start a newsletter, here are some tips that will help you get a positive response.
   
• Use Testing to Get Answers to Critical Questions: The Internet has opened up many quick and easy ways to test --rather than guess -- when making important decisions.
   
• The Basics of Email Newsletters: In the first of three articles on email newsletters, we look at the stuff above the actual message, including programs, and how to properly use addressing and subject lines.
   
• The Body of Your Email Newsletter: The second article explains how to handle the content of your newsletter; for example, setting the length of your lines.
   
• Distributing Your Email Newsletter: This article guides you through the choices you’ll need to make if you publish electronically. And, it provides a number of helpful resources you can tap.
   
• Is Your Newsletter Management Propaganda? Well, sometimes employee newsletters are propaganda from management. Let me explain how you can avoid that kiss of death to newsletters.
   
• How to Say “No” to Content You Don’t Want: You know the dilemma; nice people, poor ideas. Here are some ways to turn them down without making them mad.
   
• Employee Newsletters for Small Companies: Here are some ideas that help if you’re at that awkward size -- big enough to need a newsletter but not big enough to spend a lot of money on it.
   
• What about Canned Newsletter? If you are in a very small company, a canned newsletter may make more sense than a custom newsletter. This article helps you make a decision more easily.
   
• Comparing Newsletters with Newspaper Ads: A guide to help you compare apples to apples, and then make the right choice.
   
• Content Resources for Employee Newsletters: In a half hour or less, you will have many sources of good content for your employee newsletter.
   
• Content Resources for Customer Newsletter: Again, quick and easy ways to find content for a newsletter.
   
• Handling Advertising in Your Newsletter: If you decide to sell advertising in your newsletter, this article will help you figure out how much space to allocate to ads, and how much to charge for them.
  

Bonus Package 3

• Value Assessment Worksheet for Customer & Marketing Newsletters: A one-page process for determining break-even, and for assessing how much a newsletter could add to your bottom line.
  
  
• Value Assessment Worksheet for Employee Newsletters: A one-page process for working out the value of an employee newsletter.
  
  

Bonus Package 4

• If you buy a printed copy of A Manager’s Guide to Newsletters: Communicating for Results you’ll get free shipping and handling to anywhere in the U.S. and Canada.
  

About the author:

Robert F. Abbott, a writer and publisher, has published custom business newsletters since founding The Newsletter Company in 1991. He has worked with clients in diverse industries, to help them plan, publish, and distribute employee newsletters, customer newsletters, and company newsletters.

He also published a free online newsletter for seven years. Abbott's Communication Letter provided original communication ideas for managers and leaders; selected articles from the newsletter can be read online at http://www.communication-newsletter.com .

With a Master of Business Administration degree and a background in radio news writing and announcing, he brings a fresh new perspective to newsletters. This perspective emphasizes the importance of getting results, not the publishing process itself. That means less emphasis on writing and design, and more emphasis on strategy and tactics, the critical foundation of all successful newsletters.

Mr. Abbott also participates in many volunteer activities, in everything from political parties to community organizations, and frequently provides communication expertise in these roles.

 

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Quick facts:

Title: A Manager's Guide to Newsletters: Communicating for Results

Author: Robert F. Abbott

Publisher: Word Engines Press Inc.

Formats: electronic and paperback

ISBN: electronic 0-9633287-0-9; paperback 0-9683287-2-5

Size: 216 pages; 8.25“ x 10.75“< /P>

Includes: three example newsletters; 17 illustrations; bibliographical references; glossary; and index

Cover: See the blue, yellow, and red cover above

Prices: electronic $27.00; paperback $34.00 (list price $39.95) all figures in US funds

Comparing the electronic version and the printed version:

• Content: the same in both versions (although the electronic version also includes information about using Acrobat Reader)
• Page numbering: altered slightly in the electronic version
• Cover: The light and dark colors of the cover have been reversed for the electronic version, so printouts on laser or inkjet printers will consume less ink
• Reader software: The electronic version is a PDF file, readable with the free Adobe Acrobat Reader (you can download a copy of this free program when you download your copy of A Manager's Guide to Newsletters).
• Printing: The electronic book can be printed -- in whole or in part -- on any laser or inkjet printer

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Our guarantee

Let us take the risk. If you’re not completely satisfied with the book, for any reason and anytime within the 12 months after you buy it, just let us know and we’ll refund your money completely. And, if you bought a printed book, we’ll also refund what it costs you to send the book back. You can buy with confidence that it won’t cost you a cent if you don’t like it.

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Order your copy now

If you purchase your copy of A Manager's Guide to Newsletters: Communicating for Results now, you receive not only the book, but also the three bonus packages (free shipping to the USA and Canada, too, if you buy a printed copy).

Simply click on the button next to the version you want (the content is identical). In just a few minutes you will download your bonus packages (and a copy of the book if you buy the electronic version). You can use your VISA, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, or PayPal credit card.

A Manager’s Guide to Newsletters: Paperback copy	$34.00 U.S.
A Manager’s Guide to Newsletters: Electronic copy	$27.00 U.S.

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