How to find newsletter content

"But we'll never find enough content to fill a newsletter!"

If we had a dollar for each time we'd heard this (and its e-newsletter and magazine variants) from clients ... well, our pockets would be heavier.

Seriously though, the question of maintaining relevant and interesting content for regular communications to customers, clients and prospects is daunting for business leaders. They have never been taught the discipline of knowing how to identify good content. It would be like the Image 7 team moonlighting as brain surgeons.

There are many sources of good content - particularly for online publications - available today. Some of it is even free. Most of the good content you will pay for.

But why would you need to look outside your organisation for content?

Many clients lament that they just don't have the resources to do it. Now, the only major resources you'll need are time, a telephone and a modicum of writing talent.

Here's some ideas ...

  • Look again at your customer service correspondence. Email, regular mail and telephone communications are all rich sources of content. If someone - or many people - ask a good or common question and you send back your usual useful reply, why not include that as a Q&A in your publication?
  • Look again at the new products bulletins you receive from suppliers.
  • Look again at your company's press releases. A little editing and you have newsletter content.
  • Look again at your intranet or your website. Perhaps there is some interesting information there.
  • Look again at the market research you use in your business. Pull out just one statistic, or the answer to one question, and expand on why this is important to your reader.

Probably the most useful tip is to start a good old-fashioned manila folder (cost, about 10c) and label it "Newsletter Ideas". Whenever you see an article that prompts an idea, tear it out and pop it in the folder. When you receive an email that prompts an idea, print it out and put it in the folder. Whenever you hear an idea, scribble it down on whatever is to hand and then drop it in the folder.

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