Six Editorial Elements that Generate Results

Like any successful project, a newsletter is a collection of small details that add up to a whole greater than the sum of seemingly simple parts. Often the hardest part is to decide what to include in the newsletter. If it contains only pictures of employees, praise for your company, and details of interest only to your staff, you probably are wasting every penny spent on the project.

Here are six types of stories that can benefit your company, while keeping the interest of your reader. The rules work whether the publication is aimed at your customers or your in-house employees.

Hard news
This is the key to making your newsletter seem to be more than advertising. Hard news must be of real value to the reader. Include items that are new and of interest to the reader and your industry. Look at the front page of your local newspaper for examples.

Features
These articles constitute an in-depth look at a particular product, problem, or situation—any topic that appeals directly to the reader-as-customer. Features tell a story—rather than being “the news,” they are about the news.

Editorials
Not only do opinion pieces unabashedly share your ideas and rally others to your point of view, they also contrast with the “news” articles, giving them credibility. Make sure editorials are attributed to one or a specific group of individuals, not the entire company. Ask for feedback on opinions expressed in these stories.

Regular columns
More informational (think Q&A or process descriptions) than hard news or feature stories. Under the byline of an expert in your company, columns work two ways: by giving the readers information that you want them to have and by making the company columnist an expert simply by presenting him or her as one.

Advertising
Advertising lends credibility to the rest of the newsletter. If you want to introduce a new product, for instance, you can use an ad to make sure it is noticed, and also do a straight news or feature article about the product. When compared to the advertisement, it seems more believable.

Letters to the Editor
Feedback such as letters to the editor demonstrates your responsiveness to the readership. You can respond to complaints with frankness. Also, letters to the editor offer an opportunity to solve problems and lend another note of credibility to the rest of the newsletter’s content.