Last week I wrote about print vs. email newsletters. This week, I’m going to stick to the topic of newsletters, but take a step back. Some of the evaluation you’ll have to do when determining whether you want to pursue either print or email or both is to critique your current communication.  There’s no reason to commit/expand your newsletter program if the current one isn’t up to par. Below is a report card we’ve put together. We recommend rating yourself on each bullet and sub-bullet from 1 to 5, with a 5 being “Yes, we absolutely deliver.” Start working on the areas that you rated with 1s and 2s first since they are where you need to improve the most. Even if you can improve in 2-3 areas, it will be noticeable.

  • Provide fresh content
    • Content is topical to your Nonprofit/Association mission
    • Content is timely
    • Content appeals to your audience, be it specific or a variety (age, ethnicity, geographic)
  • Provide unique information
    • The reader may not be able to get the particular content elsewhere
    • The nonprofit/association’s opinion is included in the news piece (People back you because you are the opinion leader in your space)
  • Generate revenue
    • Highlight tiers of membership benefits (for Associations)
    • Ask for donations (planned giving, corporate partners, etc)
    • Do you have room for potential advertising space? (even if it’s to highlight a donor)
  • Drive Traffic to the website
    • Feature stories or content that drive traffic to the website or landing page
    • Calls-to-action to “get involved” in some way (campaigns, download content, petitions, etc.)
  • Build the Brand
    • Represent the “look and feel” of the organization, so readers know exactly who you are and what you represent
    • Tells your organization’s story by creating emotional appeal
    • Promote your accomplishments so “why we exist and our value is…” is reinforced
  • New member/donor solicitations
    • Provide information on membership benefits – your sales pitch (for Associations)
    • Provide reports (stories, stats) on how donations made an impact
    • Encourage readers to pass the news along to a friend who may be interested
  • Encourage two-way conversation with readers
    • Ask for feedback
    • Drive Facebook fans, Twitter followers, etc.
    • Call for input – questions, stories, photos, articles, etc.