Writing Guide
Our aim is to help you write clearly, consistently – and creatively – in a way that is relevant to your audience (whoever they may be).
| Purpose | Typical audience | Pros | Cons | Can you do it yourself? | Thinking points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A highly efficient way of collating lots of information into a single (digital) communication | Ideal for local audiences (but can also be segmented - or sent to all) | A relatively inexpensive way to reach a large audience with detailed news and messages | To capture and retain attention (and avoid information overload) it needs to be well written and designed | Yes – but you can use a vendor for the creative part | A good option for communicating to a local audience (site, region) |
Newsletters are one of the first things that come to mind when we think of ‘updating’ a specific audience with a larger volume of information - for example local newsletters for a specific DSM site or region.
Newsletters are a great way of bringing information together in one place and thus avoiding lots of emails. That said, the newsletter that you and your colleagues lovingly crafted will inevitably be another email in your recipients’ already overloaded inboxes. Ask your BG or regional communications person for approval.
Because the bottom line is: does your audience want or need yet another newsletter in their lives? If so, it needs to look good and be well-written to gain and hold their attention.
Think about your audience; can you share your messages properly and reach them via this channel? Check out the comparison notes below and weigh your pros versus cons. This will help you decide how to spend your time/ money for the best result.
Things to keep in mind
Newsletters are ideal for local audiences because they provide one quick, easy-to-use reference document that can cover multiple topics: from business, products and best practices; to charity projects, social events and team recognition. However, they are not always the best channel: before you create your newsletter, think about alternative channels you could tap into. Such as:
How will you know ‘what success looks like’? Measuring the response to this channel /tool could give you a better understanding of whether you’ve reached your communication objective. KPIs can be qualitative or quantitative. Here are some ideas:
If this a stand-alone initiative, then go ahead! However, if this is part of a wider initiative, you might want to take a step back and look at the broader communications perspective. A good starting point is our 9-step approach to creating your communication plan - which includes an overview of all the internal channels and tools.
Our aim is to help you write clearly, consistently – and creatively – in a way that is relevant to your audience (whoever they may be).
If we want our voice to be heard above the noise it’s essential that our brand identity matches our ambition.
Email is a tried & tested way of sending secure messages quickly, to a wide audience.