This is the second in a series of posts about the elements of a successful newsletter.

2. The Content

You’ll remember from my first post in this series that I said it was very important to focus on what interests the reader rather than what interests you. Then you’ll make it more likely your client will read what you have to say.

So the first rule is, your content should be interesting to your reader.

Now, there are 2 reasons why a client might want to read your newsletter. 1) Because he or she is interested in your product and service and wants to read articles relating to that product or service; 2) He or she finds your newsletter so fascinating anyway that they will read articles that don’t directly relate to your product and service because…well…your newsletter is so damn good!

That’s not to say you will want to steer clear of writing articles that relate to what you have to offer. You should in fact devote a large portion of your newsletter to these. After all, your reader is likely to be interested in these articles, and you’ll be able to benefit because you will be educating readers to the advantages of what you offer and then slip in ‘reasons to buy’ (hang on for a later post on this topic) within the articles.

But sometimes, what you do isn’t endlessly fascinating. There is, for example, a finite attention span people might have for articles about tax rules, even if they are well-written and focus on the needs and wants of the reader.

So it’s perfectly OK to include other content, as long as it’s still interesting.

Here’s some ideas for other content you can put in your newsletter:

• ‘Tidbits’ of information – trivia that intrigues, entertains and educates
• ‘How to’ information – useful ‘lifehacks’ that save people time or teach them to do something they didn’t already know
• Games and puzzles – very popular, and a great way to make sure your newsletter is kept, at least for a few hours or days
• Articles on topics that are indirectly related to your product or service – if, for example, you are a tax accountant, you might wish to include articles on savings products

My “Ready to Go Newsletters”, which will launch early next year, will be including these sort of articles because they make for great reading, even if they are not directly related to any particular product or service.

The key thing is: make all your articles interesting. Make sure they have headlines that grab readers (more on this in a later post), that they are written in a lively and interesting way, and that they are always about the reader.

If you do all this, you’ll create a product that becomes valuable in itself. Something that people look forward to. And something that you as a business will want to be associated with.

What a great way to bring your message into hundreds or thousands of homes!