Who reads your site – We Fix Broken Websites

I was recently asked for tips about writing a newsletter. I’ve been writing, editing, or publishing one for more than 20 years. So of course I have some tips!

The first time I acquired the task (I volunteered), I was new to the organization. I thought it would be a great way to meet people (It was!) After not too long, I could call anybody in the group and ask questions. People knew who I was and thought I could put THEM in the newsletter and more people would know them!

People liked to be asked to talk about something they think they are an expert at! So take advantage of that!

Just like content on your website:

Make the writing personal.. like your talking to a friend.
Use short sentences!
Use subheadings to make it easier to follow the whole article.
People won’t read more than about 700 words in an article.
Use captions! People often read them instead of the whole article
Be VERY CAREFUL about centered content. It looks nice from a distance. But it is much harder to read if your eye has to work a bit to find the beginning of the next line.
Use some consistent mark to show the end of an article and something to show the beginning...besides the title.
Be consistent about how you show the author of an article

If it’s printed, make it be at least two columns wide content (NOT full width of 8 1/2 x 11.. Full width is very hard to read — especially on the screen)
Get somebody else to proof read it before you send it out.
Use only 2-3 fonts and be consistent where you use them.
- Article titles: one font
- Content: another
  My biggest newsletter uses Rockwell Bold for titles and sub headings
- Century Schoolbook for content
- Arial for captions and tables.
- And only sometimes do I add something weird!
- You want people to READ the content, not be confused about what is important

If it’s only an on-line pdf, then the pictures don’t have to be more than 72 dpi (maybe 96 if you’re feeling generous. Big pictures make the file too big to send) Here’s a thing I wrote years about about making a pdf smaller

Getting content for your newsletter

Ask people to write something specific..

Do not ask: Will you write something for the newsletter? (nobody will)
Do ask: Can you write about the workshop on the bird pattern (PS: I really liked those)
Or maybe do a recurring column on favorite tools
New member profiles
Cultivate the relationship with people who DO write. Then they’ll keep writing more. (S)

And here’s a secret bit of advice.

If you feel like you’ve got a bunch of sentences and they don’t quite fit the way you’d like, paste your content into an AI platform and ask it to put your content in order.

Or summarize it if it’s too long.
(I find Gemini, part of Chrome browser, does a good job of making the product sound like a person wrote it — not a machine. And if you don’t like the first version.. ask Gemini to take the result and make adjustment. ALWAYS read and evaluate AI results to make sure it didn’t invent stuff that isn’t right!)

Here are a few more tips about writing a good newsletter.

Good luck and have fun!

Who are the people who will visit your website and value your content?

Say you sell shoes on the web. Who is your client? Anybody?

Probably not. Not if you want to be really successful. If you tried to sell all kinds of shoes to all kinds of people, you’d have a heck of a time managing your stock and your site. So you have to find a niche, a specific group of people you are committed to serving.

So you think about the people who buy shoes on the web. They do so for lots of different reasons. Maybe they hate shopping in stores. Maybe they don’t have the time. Maybe they have hard to fit feet. Got really narrow feet? You go to TheNarrowShoe.com They sell shoes for narrow feet. You tell your friends with narrow feet to go there because they have exactly what you’re looking for.

Your ideal client

That’s the person you really want to do business with, the person you want to read your site, and the person you want to buy your products and services. I’m guessing you’ll actually LIKE this person if you met them on the street.

Then describe your idea client—in detail. Heck, find a picture of someone who looks like your ideal client. Write a short bio. Give the client a name. Then write your content like you are speaking to that person.

It will keep your message clear and your voice consistent.

For example: In my coaching business, Map the Future, I like working with engineers and geeks. People who get the straight line but also have the creativity to move it around a little. [Please note: I’m not coaching any more. But the example still has value.]

Here is my ideal coaching client:

Pete, works for a tech company. Loves what he does. And takes pleasure in saying the most with the fewest words. He wants to be taken seriously as a part of the team. And he wants to have fun doing it. Sometimes he’s seen as a clown. But he knows his stuff. He also knows he’s making some decisions that aren’t getting him what he wants. He’d like to be able to identify them quickly so he can either fix them or keep from making them again. He has some money. He is obviously fluent in technology and wants to find outside help that other people he knows maybe don’t know about. He doesn’t want to work with a tool. I am not a tool!

Tag: Who reads your site

Tips for Writing a Newsletter