In our previous issue of Private Duty Today, we talked about ways to make your newsletter more functional and valuable as a marketing tool and staff retention device. In this issue we will focus our thoughts on creating the actual newsletter. If you are a rookie, I hope this issue will help you launch your first newsletter. If you are a newsletter veteran, I hope you pick up one or two tips to make your life as an editor a little easier.

I’d also like to thank Constance Jobe, of Heritage Home Healthcare and Hospice for some insights for the following article. Heritage produces a quarterly paper newsletter that is distributed to employees, client families and other individuals. Ms. Jobe is the editor and primary writer of each issue. They produce a full color glossy 11x17 folded sheet at a local printer. They then produce black and white inserts in-house. The finished result is a high-quality look at relatively low cost. Each issue introduces new staff, highlights company-wide events, and offers informational articles important to clients. I particularly like two unique features. Each newsletter opens with a brief welcome letter from the agency owners. Each newsletter also includes bios of caregivers who were recognized for excellent customer service.

If you would like to show off your newsletter, or perhaps get a brief critique. Forward them to me by email or snail mail.

This isn’t news to the home care industry. Our clients have used newsletters in one form or another to generate interest in their businesses for decades.

As more and more home care companies turn to direct selling, we’ve seen interest and focus waning when it comes to producing effective newsletters. Our belief has always been that newsletters are an important part of a marketing mix.

Direct selling is all about relationship building and maintenance. Sending a salesperson into an office of a potential referral source and plunking down a coffee mug featuring your logo only gets you so far. Relationship building starts with listening, then becomes enhanced through two-way communication.

While there is nothing better than “face time” with potential referral sources, there are other ways of developing two-way communication. Newsletters, be they printed or electronic, can be an efficient and effective method.

By Jason Tweed with Constance Jobe

You’ve decided on the primary topic focus for your newsletter. You’ve decided on how much information and how much promotion to include in each issue. You know your target audience, and you know what action you’d like them to take after reading. Now, there is only one thing left to do... WRITE IT.

If you’ve never written a newsletter, it can be a daunting task. It gets even scarier after you’ve written your first issue and realized you spent an entire day writing and another day editing. How can this be a good investment of your time?! It gets easier, I promise.

Pre-Write.

Pre-write before you write. There are two primary activities to pre-writing; idea generation and organization.

I recommend that pre-writing starts about a month before your first issue. Sit down several times and create a list of potential topics for newsletters. I start by writing cool titles. If I create a cool title, I become more inspired to write the story.

Look for potential articles all week, and look everywhere. While most of my articles are inspired by meetings or conversations with clients, I’ve also gotten inspired by a vacation, being stranded in airports, and recruiting a new nanny. The key is to draw parallels to your audience’s lives or careers.

The second step is article organization. One of the best organizing tools is an outline. Create a brief outline, one page or less, for each article. You’ll find that some articles will never come to fruition. It’s better to discover this in the outline phase than when writing the actual article.

Write.

You’re probably sitting in front of your computer right now. You are reading your email. You are surfing the web. You’re looking over spread sheets or documents related to this week's business activities. Somewhere on your computer is a personal diversion; your favorite blog, your eBay auctions, or a game of Spider Solitaire is calling your name.

Here’s the problem. Now it’s time to use that same computer to write your newsletter. Here are some tips to get you in the mindset of a writer.

Find your writing space. It’s Tuesday afternoon. My administrative assistant is screening my calls more than I would normally allow. My children (I am a work-at-home Dad) are on their weekly trip to the library with our nanny. It’s my writing time. Every other Tuesday afternoon I write these newsletters. When you create an environment conducive to writing, you create inspiration. Writers who struggle will improve, and talented writers will flourish.

Use the 75/25 rule. About three quarters of your content should be informational and audience focused, but close each newsletter with a short promotional article. People will become consistent readers for the content, but you must promote your services to justify the time expense.

Use bullet lists. Bullet or numbered lists have several advantages. Here are a few:

• They break up the page and capture your reader’s eye.
• They can put specific emphasis on a topic.
• They are easy to write.
• They are easy to read.
• They look kind of cool!
• Is this enough bullets to make my point?
• Are you sure?

Borrow, but don’t steal. Become a voracious reader. If you read a great article in an out-of-the-way publication, re-write and focus it on your audience. One client read an insert on identity theft that was included with their credit card statement. They re-wrote it, focusing on protecting older people from identity theft. Never use articles verbatim or photos without written permission.

Use samples and stories. Narrative commentary will help you in two ways. First, telling a story is often easier to write than descriptive content. Second, stories that are used as examples will really drive a point home with your readers.

Let your personality shine. I’m a funny guy. People tell me I’m a funny guy. I try to let my sense of humor show whenever I write. Sometimes I use an interesting or funny title. Other times an unusual metaphor or outrageous example. Still other times I’ll tell a full story that relates to my topic. I really, really, really wish I had a joke to end this paragraph.

Edit.

Use lots of metaphors, then edit half of them out. Metaphors, for those who haven’t used the term since high school English class, are figures of speech where a term is meant to illustrate rather than be literal. “It was raining cats and dogs.” would be highly unusual and frankly disgusting. I find that most people tend to use too many metaphors, myself included. Rather than limit yourself, use lots of them and then edit the bad ones out. Go back and edit the mediocre ones out later. You end up with two or three strong metaphors.

Mix it up. Don’t be afraid to try an article slightly off topic. An article about time management or stress reduction appeals to just about everyone. Have continuity to your publication, but unusual articles occasionally capture attention of a different reader.

Try SOS when your writing needs HELP. In Morse Code, SOS (the nautical equivalent to 911) is represented by three dots, three dashes, and three dots. Short, long, short is an excellent writing philosophy as well. After I write a paragraph that seems wordy, I go back and edit some of them out. I’ve learned that mixing long sentences with short ones in the same paragraph creates a rhythm to my writing. Editors and writers will both benefit from SOS.

Newsletter writing becomes almost habit forming, but like any habit it takes time to develop. Benjamin Franklin once said “Do something twelve days in a row, and it becomes habit.” I found this to be true, and somewhere between Issue #1 and Issue #12 newsletters become habit and relatively easy. I’m hoping these tips will help you shrink your learning curve.

One of the most common questions I’m asked is whether your newsletter should be produced on paper or produced electronically. Should you email or snail mail?

My personal preference is email newsletters. It’s my belief that email newsletters are the wave of the future, but there is certainly merit and value in both forms. Here I’ve tried to identify the benefits of each.

Benefits of email newsletters over paper newsletters:

• First and foremost, expense. If you must print and mail your newsletters, email is far cheaper.
• Frequency. Email newsletters are most effective when delivered twice a month or more.
• Lay out time. Paper newsletters must be designed, where email newsletter software will feature lots of easy to use templates.
• Length and depth. Your newsletter can be very short or very long when sent by email without influencing cost.
• Tracking. With email newsletters, you can determine exactly how many people open your newsletter and how many click on call to action links.

Benefits of paper newsletters over email:

• The list. If you don’t already have email addresses for your audience you may have their physical address. I’d rather send a paper newsletter through a large list than an email to just a few.
• Permission. You don’t have to get permission to snail mail someone, but you do need permission to email people who aren’t already customers.
• Low tech. Paper newsletters are great for low tech editors and low tech readers. One word of warning, if you are a low tech editor, you need to improve. Your low tech audience is improving rapidly.
• Less SPAM. Your email inbox gets loaded with spam. Spam filters and delete keys will frequently kill your emails. Paper actually gets more attention recently, because fewer companies are spending money on direct mail advertising.

When I’m consulting with a client who is considering paper versus email we take two factors into account. Who is the audience? What are the distribution options? Below are a few examples to think about.

Client newsletters. Creating a client newsletter can be valuable if one of two possibilities exist. Are your clients in frequent contact with other potential clients? Do you have products or services available that you can up-sell to existing clients? If you answered yes to either question, a client newsletter could be a valuable use of your time and money. Paper newsletters work well because they can be printed in house and you can mail or hand-deliver them. Email newsletters work well if you have email addresses. According to the CAN-SPAM Act, customers give implicit permission to be contacted.

Employee newsletters. Paper newsletters work great for employees. Many of your employees visit the office infrequently, therefore, any extra contact can encourage staff retention. Paper newsletters can be distributed in employee paychecks.

Referral source newsletters. Sending newsletters to referral sources can be extremely valuable. The same newsletter can go to current referral sources as well as potential referral sources. Newsletters to referral sources must be highly targeted, therefore I believe email works far better than paper. The exception: If you do not have a list of a specific type of referral source, you may be able to purchase address lists from publications or associations. You cannot legally purchase an email list. You cannot even accept an email list given to your organization. Permission does not transfer according to the CAN-SPAM Act.

Regardless of whether you choose “to byte or not to byte”, a newsletter creates a forum of regular external communication with your customers, referral sources, and employees. Communication will frequently be a catalyst for growth, and lack of communication will almost always stunt corporate growth.

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Private Duty Today! is published every other Wednesday by Leading Home Care . . . a Tweed Jeffries company. We invite you to pass this newsletter along to your friends and colleagues in Private Duty Home Care by clicking on the link below.

• Publisher - Stephen Tweed, CSP
• Circulation Manager - Diane West
• Editor - Jason Tweed

Permission to Reproduce: Permission is granted to home care companies, home care associations, and home care related publications to reproduce articles from this newsletter as long as appropriate credit is given as follows: "Printed with permission from Private Duty Today! Copyright 2005 Leading Home Care ... To sign up for your FREE Subscription, log on to www.leadinghomecare.com."

You may also sign up for your FREE Subscription to Stephen Tweed's Leading Home Care Report. This bi-weekly electronic newsletter is written for home care company CEOs and senior executives who want to grow their businesses and multiply their performance.

email: jason@leadinghomecare.com

phone: 1-888-668-9333

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