8 Tips for Writing a Great Association Newsletter
If you’re looking for ways to boost your association’s success, consider adding email to your content marketing strategy. As of 2019, email marketing has shown a 4,200% return on investment for associations, equaling approximately $42 in returns for every dollar spent.
This type of marketing in the form of periodic e-newsletters can be a great way to help your association take actionable steps:
- Streamline your communication
- Engage current and potential members
- Pass along valuable information about your association
With 69% of nonprofits worldwide already regularly publishing an email newsletter, what are you waiting for? In this blog, we’ll go over helpful tips to make sure your newsletter has value and sparks interest.
[Related: Membership Retention Basics: What Your Association Needs To Know]
Why Implement an Association Newsletter?
Distributing a quality email newsletter that represents your association has many benefits. Here are just a few we want to highlight.
Optimize Communications
Having a regularly scheduled newsletter means your association can maintain and optimize communications with key audiences.
Instead of reaching out whenever something new comes up or you have a question for your members, a newsletter can contain all pertinent ideas, information and events in fewer messages.
Emphasize Your Knowledge
An association newsletter is also a great way to show you’re an industry expert. By including relevant news, broadcasting upcoming events and even showcasing influential members, your association has an outlet to demonstrate that you’re ahead of the curve.
In turn, this can increase member retention by providing unmatched value in an easy-to-read email.
Inform Your Audience
Are you providing a new service? Is a big fundraiser coming up? Are you partnering with another nonprofit? Do you need volunteers?
Newsletters are an excellent way to inform your audience of the latest association goings-on and to reach out if you’re looking for assistance.
[Related: The Membership Recruitment Plan Every Association Should Implement]
Tips for Writing a Great Association Newsletter
Read on to explore key ways to create an exciting and effective association newsletter for your members.
1. Understand Your Goal, and Keep It Focused
No one wants to read a newsletter if it’s one long train of thought or all over the place when it comes to topics. You write a quality association newsletter with a focus on the value you want to give your members. When putting together your newsletter, focus on your audience and your goal.
For example, write with your primary desired outcome front of mind. Are you trying to engage new members? Roll out a new service or promote an event? Ask for donations?
Let this focus lead the way to a great association newsletter.
2. Get to the Point (Keep It Short and Sweet)
Avoid run-on sentences and big, unbroken blocks of text. Your average reader wants concise content with broken-up, digestible paragraphs and headers for at-a-glance navigation.
If you have a lot of information to offer, consider writing “teasers” with links to full PDFs or pages on your website. This helps you avoid overwhelming the newsletter (and readers) with too much content and unsightly walls of text.
3. Show Your Expertise and Authority
An association newsletter is your chance to show off your industry knowledge and let others know your association is leading the industry.
You might include content like this:
- E-books
- White papers
- Video series
- Member testimonials
- Industry-related news highlights
- Upcoming events
- Membership survey
All these content types can build trust and position your assocation as a leader.
[Related: No Silver Bullet for Association Success — It’s All About the Members]
4. Promote Sales, Services and Events
An email newsletter is a perfect place to broadcast upcoming events: conferences, webinars, fundraisers, workshops, membership get-togethers and more.
Additionally, a newsletter can work to promote new services and products, as well as tell readers how they can get involved.
5. Spotlight Member Benefits
Your association works hard to create valuable member benefits, and your newsletter is an ideal place to highlight them. Show your members the value that being involved with your association brings.
In fact, people often aren’t aware of all the benefits that come with their membership. With that in mind, use your newsletter to drive home the value and increase member retention.
6. Humanize Your Association
When interacting through a computer, it’s often difficult for people to see the humans behind companies and organizations. A newsletter allows your association to introduce new members, volunteers and staff. Newsletters can also humanize upper management by highlighting board members, founders and other association leaders.
Additionally, newsletters with pictures and anecdotes give members a look at what goes on behind the scenes of your association and can vividly introduce partner organizations. That humanization builds valuable, lasting connections.
7. Highlight Your Community
Associations are all about giving back, so why not use your newsletter to give shout-outs to other leaders doing great work in your industry?
[Related: Keeping Association Leaders and Staff Accountable]
8. Include a Clear Call to Action
An association newsletter must let readers know where they can find you online and how to get ahold of you. Include links to your social media pages, email addresses, phone number(s) and of course — your website.
This call-to-action section is also a perfect opportunity to further boost engagement:
- Ask for feedback and opinions regularly
- Call for volunteers
- Conduct surveys
- Ask people for financial support with features like “donate here” buttons
Overall, your newsletter’s call to action gives members everything they need to take the next step.
Boost Your Engagement Efforts With CM Services
An association newsletter can be an extremely beneficial aspect of your content marketing strategy — but only if it’s focused and brings subscribers true value and quality. Follow our eight tips for writing a great association newsletter, and see how one can benefit your association!
At CM Services, we help associations like yours overcome challenges and meet goals with these crucial professional services:
- Strategic and operational planning
- Association membership recruitment strategies
- Publications
- Graphic design
- Project management
- Marketing
- Events
- Sponsorship and advertising
Contact us today for further information and support!
Featured image via Pexels
