Category: business communication

business communication, business writing, e-mail newsletters, e-news, e-newsletters, electronic newsletters, email announcements, email blasts, email newsletters, enews, enewsletters, newsletter advice, newsletter tips, newsletters, online newsletters, professional services firms

E-Newsletter Examples: Professional Services Firms

Below are some professional services firms’ e-newsletter examples (accounting and real estate) realms that effectively sell readers on their services.

DISCLAIMER: I’m not affiliated with these businesses. I admire their newsletters, and present them for educational purposes only.

1. Heal Accounting: Heal gives a great, brief summary of news that can affect readers in each email, with a link to the longer newsletter at their website. This works well to drive traffic. Links to feature articles appear at the top of the page. They also offer Tax Tips. They use headings and links well to break up the text for easy scanning. A helpful list of tax due dates for each month appears at the bottom.

2. Horne CPAs and Business Advisors: I love the headlines, the content, and the brevity in this e-newsletter which promotes executive partner Joey Havens’ blog posts. Joey wants us to be better, so it’s not about accounting. One recent email subject line that promoted a humorous, well-written blog post: “Storytelling Works Better Than Viagra.” The email teased people to read the post with a short preview and links at the top and bottom to read more. Each eblast features a thought-provoking story based on real life events with a message.

3. Art of Living by Sotheby’s International Realty: Each issue looks like a mini electronic magazine, with enticing photos of properties priced with a few more zeros at the end than many of us can afford. A short sentence below invites us to tour or read more about European-inspired mansions in the southern Midwest, ocean-front hideaways in the West, and luxurious lofts, estates, and town homes country-wide. Trending listings and Instagram posts round out the highlights. The subject lines could be a little shorter — I suggest they stick to one, rather than two, topics per headline for a pithier message with greater impact.

Need some advice to improve your newsletter? Contact me. Best of all, it’s free. 🙂

Which newsletters do you think are the best?

Published Sept. 4, 2018

business communication, business writing, e-mail newsletters, e-news, e-newsletters, electronic newsletters, email newsletters, enews, newsletters

How to Create a Great Newsletter for Business

Newsletters don’t merely inform — they’re also effective tools to connect with readers to subtly sell them on a product, a service, or a cause.

To create a great newsletter for business, it helps to know the content to feature in every issue and its length. Consistency is important to build trust and so that readers know where to look for the information they need and want.

Your content should be easy to create to save everyone’s time and be easy to read. Here’s how to create a great newsletter for business.

E-newsletters and e-blasts

An ideal length is 600 words. It’s enough for snippets on one or more topics — the fewer, the better, to keep readers focused, per newsletter studies.

Eblasts are good for short news items and are generally 500 or fewer words. They can feature one or two items with copy that links to more information at a website.

Either way, it’s best to link as much as possible to shorten the copy and make it easier to scan; links help emphasize the text, too.

No matter the content, include the date or the month and year, links to your social media sites and email address, your mailing address, with links to forward the newsletter and to unsubscribe, according to the CAN-SPAM Act (U.S.).

Your most important, eye-catching copy should be at the top to entice people to read more. An engaging subject line can also influence opens.

Essentially, the less said, the better, done in an intriguing style that doesn’t reveal everything all of the time.

Like blog posts, you can include “calls to action” to get leads.

Print Newsletters

These tend to work best at one to four pages long — roughly 2,000 or fewer words, depending on how you format the text. Anything longer than six pages creeps more toward magazine territory, which is fine, if you truly need all of that copy (and design).

For more than a few pages of text, breaking it into columns makes for easier reading. Graphics and photos work well to enhance the text, too. A logo at the top, with a masthead that shows the issue date and how to contact staff, looks professional.

For more advice, read five elements of effective e-newsletters for business.

Need help learning how to create a great newsletter for business? Want some thoughts on yours? Get a free e-news audit today!

What do you think about newsletters?

business communication, business writing, newsletter advice, newsletter marketing, newsletter tips, newsletter writing, newsletters, writing a newsletter

5 Elements of Effective Newsletters for Business

DISCLAIMER: The following emails — as examples of effective newsletters — don’t necessarily reflect my beliefs. I’m not affiliated with their creators, either. I simply admire their work and present it for educational purposes only.

1. Brevity – I subscribe (pardon the pun) to the notion that people don’t like to scroll much for information. The average e-newsletter should be less than 1,000 words. Just tell us what we need to know.

Example: The Conservation Law Foundation E-News

The CLF does well at consistently featuring short content that supports their mission. News items with catchy headlines at the top link to more info at their website to drive more traffic to it. It’s enough to incite action among liberals and conservatives alike. Because the CLF doesn’t tell the reader everything, the reader becomes curious enough to click on the links for more info. An effective “call-to-action” for donations is at the bottom of each e-newsletter.

2. Error-free – Nobody’s perfect. Mistakes happen in all types of content.

Example: MICS UNICEF Newsletters

The MICS (Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys) UNICEF newsletter regularly features clean, tight copy written in British English to give readers the results of surveys of children and women that the organization has conducted in over 100 countries.

3. Engaging – Your content must be interesting and useful for your audience to keep them reading and subscribing. The copy shouldn’t blatantly be an advertisement. That’s not always easy.

Example: MaineHealth Health Matters e-Newsletter

The MaineHealth e-newsletter truly informs, with healthful recipes, links to health tips and videos, and news everyone can use.

4. Organization – How content is presented — the text alongside the graphics — really affects how we absorb information in effective newsletters. If it’s well-formatted, everyone finds it easy to scan quickly.

Example: MaineGeneral HealtheMatters

MaineGeneral Health is one of my healthcare providers, so I subscribe to their newsletter. They present their information in a visually appealing way while projecting a positive image of their organization to build trust to keep patients and get donations. Donors can give money with one simple, easy-to-find click.

5. Originality – No one wants to read a “McNewsletter” that’s available elsewhere. Effective newsletters make reading a uniquely enjoyable experience.

Example: The Maine Humanities Council compiles their intellectual, thought-provoking content, such as news about upcoming events and poems by poet laureate Gary Lawless, with flair in “Notes from an Open Book.”

Need help with your newsletter? Contact me for a free e-news audit today! No strings attached. Just good, solid advice to help you increase profits and get more leads.

The Classy Writing Blog

How to Create a Great Newsletter

“Newsletters don’t merely inform — they’re also effective tools to connect with readers to subtly sell them on a product, a service, or a cause…..” Read more.

business communication, business writing, editing, editing your writing, writing advice, writing better

5 Useless Words and Phrases to Cut From Your Business Writing

1. are able to

Example: We are able to wash dishes, mow lawns, or do any of your other household tasks.
Revised: We can wash dishes, mow lawns, or do any of your other household tasks.

When you cut these useless words, you avoid using a “to be” verb (“are”) and a preposition (“to”). They bloat your writing. Use them only when they’re absolutely necessary.

2. as well as

Example: The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s MyPlate nutrition guide includes grains, vegetables, and fruit, as well as protein.
Revised: The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s MyPlate nutrition guide includes grains, vegetables, fruit, and protein.

People tend to use “as well as” in favor of “too” or “also,” especially if they’ve already used them, as a way to vary their word choices. They’re good alternatives, but you can also insert an “and” every now and then for better variety.

3. along with

Example: High winds and frigid temperatures, along with snow and ice, make for hazardous winter driving conditions.
Revised: High winds, frigid temperatures, and snow and ice create hazardous winter driving conditions.

Replace these useless words with plain old “and.”

4. there are/there is

Example: There are several action movies released during the summer.
Revised: Several action movies are released during the summer.

In many cases, you can trim these seemingly harmless phrases entirely.

5. in order to

Example: In order to finish processing your purchase, we need your payment information.
Revised: To finish processing your purchase, we need your payment information.

Trim the first few words to the essential: “to.”

Read more about cutting Filler Words in Your Speech at Ivypanda.

Quotes

“The best sentence? The shortest.” ~ Anatole France

“If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.” ~ George Orwell

Comments? Suggestions? Need help? Feel free to contact me.

Michelle Troutman
classywriting.com

business communication, business writing, writing well

5 Ways to Write Verbs and Tenses Correctly for Business

1. When you work with verbs and tenses, pay attention to the plural and singular forms of the subjects and objects of your sentences.

Example: Most people have an opinion about religion and politics.
Revised: Many people hold opinions about religion and politics.

“People” refers to more than one person, and in this case, “opinions” is more correctly matched to the plural form of the subject.

2. Don’t mistake the present for the future tense.

Example: We will be collecting litter at Evergreen Park on Saturday.
Revised: We will collect litter at Evergreen Park on Saturday.

The present tense — “we will be collecting” — is incorrect. Remove “be” and change the action verb “collect” to the future tense, which is correct because the event will occur later.

3. Don’t move from the past to the present tense.

Example: I drove to my appointment, watching for falling flurries along the way.
Revised: I drove to my appointment and watched for falling flurries along the way.

The corrected, properly matched verbs and tenses don’t make us wonder if we’re in the past or in the present.

4. Don’t use the present tense when you should use the past tense.

Example: While clawing my way to the top of Mount Everest, I was dodging frostbite as I was suffering from aching muscles.
Revised: As I clawed my way to the top of Mount Everest, I dodged frostbite while my muscles ached.

Again, we avoid the awkwardness of mismatched tenses.

5. Don’t use the wrong verb tense.

Example: Joe’s scrapbook of old photos were memorable.
Revised: Joe’s scrapbook of old photos was memorable.

The first sentence with these verbs and tenses would make more sense if the subject (“scrapbook”) was plural.

Quotes

“A tense trap is not a trap that makes you tense; it’s when you get stuck in past tense when the phenomena you are describing is perpetual or at least valid to the present moment.” ~ Daily Writing Tips

“The past is always tense, the future perfect.” ~ Zadie Smith

Comments? Suggestions? Need help? Feel free to contact me.

Michelle Troutman
classywriting.com