1. Keep the information relative to your audience. Make sure it is something of value that the reader can put to good use in their personal life or business.

2. Know the purpose of your newsletter, create a timeline to execute it (i.e. daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly). Stick to your schedule for each newsletter and maintain quality content.

3. If you’re going to have contributors to the newsletter, give them clear guidelines to follow regarding the topic, length of article and deadline in which to have the article submitted for production. Give your writers a byline which includes their name, e-mail, url and a couple of short sentences about their expertise.

4. Graphics have a place in newsletters but don’t overdo it. Balance your text and graphics together. Use colored boxes to break up content.

5. Proofread your copy! The biggest  mistake you can make is to have spelling or grammatical errors. It’s always good to have a few sets of “eyes” to make sure your copy is perfect.

6. Grab your reader’s attention with the Subject Line. Keep it short and descriptive to peak their interest, they won’t open it to see what you have to offer. Keep your subject line to 40 to 50 characters.

1. Your subject line can “make or break you” Your subject line is one of the most important pieces that will get you a higher open rate for your newsletter.  Make it personal and intriguing – you need to peak the reader’s interest.
2. Write a newsletter that will bring value to your customer. Keep your sales pitch for your products to a minimum while providing valuable tips, strategies and resources. Not only will it give your company a good reputation for producing good content, readers will share the information with other colleagues.
3. Get straight to the point: Write in terms your readers will understand, and keep it short. This will give you credibility and keep the reader focused.
4. Branding: While you want to make sure your company logo, and information, are in the newsletter, don’t overdo it. Keep the branding space to a minimum and focus on the content.
5. Write as if you’re speaking to the reader. If your newsletters are more personal, you will have a better chance of connecting with your reader.

Know your target audience and write for this audience; if you have clients in various industries, you may want to consider writing newsletters that are directly related to their industry and the products/services they would most likely purchase.

Write in a way that your audience will understand; don’t use technical jargon – make it easy to read and don’t include too much content. Use bullets, subtitles and paragraphs. Balance your images and text – don’t overload the newsletter with too many images – readers are looking for useful information. Include content from other companies if the information would be useful for your reader, but do get their permission to use it in your newsletter. Insert links to your web site in the content to drive the reader to your web site.

Use colored boxes to highlight information or quotes from other people. Use them to break up the written content so your newsletter will flow better and make it easier to read. Make sure to choose your colors wisely. Bright colors can make the newsletter difficult to read.

Proofread your newsletter – you will lose credibility if you have spelling errors. Your subject line is vital to getting your newsletter opened – create a curiosity level. It should relate directly to the content in your newsletter. Keep your subject line short.

Track your responses – know your click-through rate, open rate, etc. It’s critical to know if your newsletters are attracting your readers.