Newsletters are so yesterday

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(If by yesterday you mean today)

Sure, long-form content can be (and usually is) boring. And boring is bad. Especially in today’s real-time, too-many-choices world. If your audience snoozes, you lose.

But content, as in your monthly newsletter, does not have to be boring.

Here are a few ways to re-invent your newsletter; and actually, authentically, engage your readers.

Use your blog. Publish your newsletter as an online blog. Let visitors search and comment on the articles. If your company doesn’t have a blog, then create one. Buy a wordpress theme, install it, and start writing. The more interactive you can make it, the better. And added benefit here is that

Go mini. Break your newsletter into several mini newsletters. Nobody has time anymore to read a long newsletter, regardless of how good the content is. So break that behemoth into several bite-sized bits. Easier to read. Easier (for you and them) to share. And because each blog post will have it’s own URL, you can have your sales people email the link with an abstract of the post.

Multimedia wins. Use video, audio and photos to accompany your blogesque newsletter. Recording and editing software are super cheap these days. Give your audience a choice to consume your content. Different fish swim in different ponds. A word to the wise however, if you do decide on a podcast or video series, do spend a little money to get it professionally edited. Sound quality makes a big difference.  The more listenable it is, the more listeners you’ll have. And the more chances you have of getting that content shared.

Have some fun. Don’t be a stuffed shirt. Live a little. Be human. If all your newsletter / blog did was regurgitate product news and press releases from the previous month, that’d be a waste (of time and resources). Why not share news about your employees? Showcase their hobbies, personal endeavors, spare-time projects. You might be surprised at the engagement you’d get from a story about your product manager and his 3 hairless cats.

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