Newsletter Guidance and Advice
Your content
Is it interesting? Is it worth reading? Is it easy to understand? Aim to grab the reader with the headline/introduction of each piece of content you create.
Are you providing people with new,valuableknowledge? Or are you replicating information that already exists elsewhere? Ideally you want to provide content that is fresh and relevant for your readers and rewards them for signing up to your newsletter.
How can your newsletter make their lives easier, perhaps you can share something important about a new way of working? You may have a training or event opportunity you know they'll be interested in. What knowledge, advice or tips can you impart? Keep it short and simple.
Use the button below the text for adding any links. Avoid using more than one link in each item. Hide the website address (URL) behind the button and make sure you use the button text to describe where the link will take you (e.g. Register for tickets for our Worship Event).
Your links should have a clear connection to the Church. Please don't link to commercial sites where your readers are encouraged to buy goods or pay for services.
Ideas for valuable content: success stories, how-to guides, good practice examples others can learn from, upcoming courses, conferences, and training opportunities. A monthly or yearly calendar can be a useful tool to mark out important events and inform the content for each newsletter.
Use a hierarchy
Most readers will be scanning your emails or viewing them on a small screen. Put the most important information first.
On handheld devices your newsletter will appear in a narrow column – try to keep this in mind when deciding how much content to include.
Call to action
Every newsletter needs to have a clear call-to-action. What do you want them to do after reading your newsletter?
Make the reader's next step obvious, and close each campaign with a call to action. Link to an event registration, a news article, a web page, a petition, or a fundraising page.
You can add a button or include a text link in the closing paragraph.
Best practice for images
Try to use photographs of real people or places in the Church (remember to get consent from individuals). Never use clipart or icons; it is outdated, unattractive, and poor practice. If necessary you can download free stock images from sites such as www.pexels.com or www.freeimages.com.
For advice on taking good photographs and choosing the right images, read our Top Tips for Photography.
Best practice for text
Always draft your text in a Word document or on Notepad before pasting it into your newsletter on Mailchimp. This will avoid you losing content within the platform and allows you to make edits easily and keep a record of evolving versions of your content. It is easier to make multiple edits and get sign-off before you upload content to the Mailchimp platform.
Avoid spam filters
Your Subject Line must not include: exclamation marks, all-capital letters, or trigger words (see list at end of document). Using all-capitals anywhere in your email (except acronyms) can result in your newsletter being sent to junk mail. N.B. If you do use acronyms always spell out what it means on first usage.
Do not use different coloured fonts, sizes and/or styles. Always use the template assigned to you. Email spam filters look for variations of colours and font styles as a first flag for removal.
Messages which use too many graphics may not reach your recipient. The common rule of thumb is to maintain a 60/40 text-to-image ratio. Images are important for drawing readers in and should be good quality.
Proof read your newsletter
Ensure at least one other person proofreads your content; another pair of eyes can catch spelling and style errors or odd turns of phrase. Proofreaders should double-check critical information, such as dates and the spelling of names.
Get Approval
After the proofreading has been completed secure sign off from your manager before sending the content to the Communications Department for a final edit.
Test your newsletter
Send yourself and the person who signs off your newsletter a test before sending it to Communications. This should allow you to see how your text and images will be displayed on different devices as well as helping you spot any typos or errors. You can also check your links are working correctly at this point.
When should you send a newsletter?
It is a good idea to stick to the same time and day for whenever you send a newsletter (e.g. the first Monday of every month). Your audience will value your consistency and begin to look forward to your newsletter's arrival.
Have your text, images and links prepared well in advance so your newsletter is signed off, tested and sent to Communications at least 1-2 days before the planned time and date. If Communications receives your newsletter at short notice we cannot guarantee it will be sent out on time.
Set goals and plan ahead
You need to aim for an open rate of at least 50%. You can view this information by selecting View report next to your recently published newsletter on Mailchimp.
If there is an open rate of less than 50%, serious consideration needs to be given as to how this can be increased or the newsletter ceased.
Including links in your newsletter allows you to see if readers have clicked on them to read more which is a positive sign of engagement. Conversely adding too many links can be off-putting for readers so be careful what you choose to link to. There is always a risk if people click on a particular link that they won't come back and finish reading the newsletter.
If your open rate is low consider the following:
- Review the quality of your content
- Ask others for feedback
*Examine the frequency of your newsletter to assess whether it suits your subscribers
- Try something different, shorter articles, a different issue time, more engaging images
Ask for feedback
Once your newsletter is published, ask a few of your colleagues to read it and provide feedback. What did they like? What content did they skip over?
A team meeting would be a good format to hear this kind of feedback as it may stimulate conversation about the newsletter and inspire new ideas.
Newsletter subject line: spam trigger words.
Some examples are: Dear Friend, Hello, For you, Apply now, Call now, Free, Winner, Important information, Succes.