This document discusses corporate publications, focusing on newsletters and e-zines, emphasizing their role in advancing organizational objectives while balancing reader interest with client goals. It highlights the shift from print to digital media, the importance of visually appealing content, and strategic internal and external email communication, including etiquette and effective campaign techniques. Additionally, it reviews email campaign statistics and guidelines for optimal engagement and compliance with legal standards.

1. Newsletters, E-zines and Brochures Chapter 12 PR 313

2. Corporate Publications Newsletters Magazines Intranet sites Web sites E-zines

3. Purpose To advance the organizational objectives of your client To serve the interests of the employees (who are also the readers)

4. Editorial Freedom? Unlike a traditional newspaper or magazine, there is less editorial freedom in this genre The client is paying the cost of the publication – it is NOT meant to be “fair and balanced”

5. Beyond Propaganda You should be careful to include content that is of interest to the reader If it is just company “propaganda,” the readers will dismiss the information Include news that is relevant to the readers and their jobs

6. The Shift A shift is occurring from paper to online for corporate publications Online is more cost-effective Print is still popular but costly

7. Electronic Publishing Tools Microsoft Word Microsoft Publisher Adobe InDesign Quark XPress

8. Templates Make it Easy Until you get comfortable with these programs, use the templates Downloadable or plug-in applications that already have the layout design ready

9. Think Visual Present the info in a way that is visually pleasing Use bullet points, if appropriate Use graphics and bold fonts Use white space to your advantage

10. Headlines Most people scan headlines to determine whether they will read the story A kicker can be used to supplement (and contextualize) a headline Example: VOGEL’S LEAVES PULLMAN Popular Clothing Store Closes Down WSU 37 – UCLA 15 Victory for Cougars

11. E-Mail, Memos, Letters, Proposals & Reports Chapter 14

12. Strategic Memos As part of your campaign, you may need to send formal memos that brief the stakeholders on the key developments These should be written in an efficient, authoritative style

13. Internal E-mail Etiquette Get to the point…fast! Remember that e-mail is ripe for misunderstanding Minimize your distribution Never assume your e-mail is private Think before you “send”

14. E-mail Campaigns E-mail campaigns are powerful, but tricky to do successfully Some companies are using e-mail as only part of a larger digital online campaign Mobile phone marketing/Text messaging Blogging Social networking campaigns

16. Cutting Through the Clutter Your e-mail campaign will be competing for the attention of the public According to some estimates, the average worker sends and/or receives 200 e-mail messages a day But the biggest challenge is…

18. E-mail Filters & “Spam” Promotional campaigns via e-mail are often perceived as unwanted “spam” by users Many e-mail filters prevent messages from even reaching the in-boxes of recipients

19. E-mail Campaigns A study was conducted on the use of promotional e-mails It tested variables relating to the opening of promotional e-mails in one’s inbox Of the e-mails sent, 27% were opened Messages that included the company name or brand in the subject line had significantly higher open rates — as much as a 12-point increase.

21. E-mail Campaigns Images are not always more compelling than text, according to the study B2B e-mail messages that were mostly text or had an equal amount of text and images generated higher click-through rates than image-heavy e-mails. SOURCE: Silverpop.com

23. E-mail Campaigns Messages were classified into seven different format categories. One column Two or more columns of equal size Two or more columns of varied size Letter Newsletter Varied cell blocks Postcard The data clearly show that consumers prefer the newsletter format, and businesses prefer the postcard or varied block format.

25. External E-mail Etiquette Make sure you have been granted permission to email your recipients through an online opt-in process or have been provided explicit permission offline.

26. External E-Mail Etiquette Ensure the mailing is clearly labeled as coming FROM the person or company that has a relationship with the recipient. If you use a FROM label that a recipient doesn’t recognize, it may prompt them to unsubscribe, even if they are actually interested in your services.

27. External E-Mail Etiquette Give your recipients an easy and obvious way to opt-out or unsubscribe from your mailings and remove them quickly from your mailings if they have already done so. It’s the law and it reflects favorably upon your company when you act in a responsible manner. You don’t need the negative publicity that accompanies the “spammer” tag.

28. External E-Mail Etiquette Make sure your SUBJECT LINE reflects the content of your email. When recipients think they’re being tricked into opening the email they often become resentful - and unsubscribe in mass numbers.

29. Structure of the E-mail Campaign Subject Line Salutation First Sentence or Paragraph Body of Message Closing

30. In-Class Activity Create your own bulk e-mail campaign for your non-profit Write your e-mail pitch Use I-Builder to test your mailing After you establish an account, you will have access to the online tool