The Newsletter as a
Marketing Tool
Newsletters can be an effective way to deliver your message on
"your terms" to leaders in your community
BY AMY LARSON
One of the first tasks I was asked to do when I
accepted the community relations job at the
Fox Valley Park District was to develop a community newsletter.
Previously, our park district included a few
brief articles in the seasonal program brochure
featuring information about projects completed, awards won, and new staff. I was asked
to expand this two-page section into a separate,
four-page newsletter.
Our executive director wanted more than
information. He asked me to "make it look like a
real newsletter." I took that to mean he was
looking for more photos, sidebars, pull-quotes,
a catchy tide and masthead—all of the elements
that make a piece easy and inviting to read. It
would continue to be a part of the program
brochure, but advance copies would be mailed
to a select list of community leaders.
At first, the thought of filling up four blank
pages with interesting stories and photos seemed
overwhelming. But I soon realized that our park
district had a wealth of information waiting to
be shared with the public through the avenue
of a newsletter. Those pages filled quickly, and
the problem became a matter of deciding what
to cut versus what to print.
Two years later, I still haven't run out of ideas.
Here's an account of how our newsletter, The
Park Bench, is an important marketing and
public relations tool for our district.
Why use a newsletter as a marketing and
public relations tool?
The Fox Valley Park District is fortunate to
receive a large amount of positive coverage in
our local daily newspaper. The newspaper has a
"stringer" (part-time correspondent) assigned
to cover board meetings, and it is not unusual
to open up the morning edition to find three
or four articles about our district in the
main news section.
Since the topics we include in our
newsletter receive positive attention in
the daily news, why re-cover some of
them in a newsletter? We have several
reasons for doing so. While we're grateful for the positive press we do receive,
even the best media coverage is filtered
through the perspective of a writer
outside of the organization. In our
newsletter, we get to inform our public on our own terms. The reader might
learn some additional details about a
project the newspaper edited out, or
we can include a well-written quote
from a district staffperson. Telling our
own story gives us an edge.
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Another benefit of the newsletter is
it serves as a way to open the lines of
communication with other businesses
in our community. By taking this step,
we're identifying our park district as
an organization that "does business" with the
community. Our district operates with an annual budget of more than 20 million dollars,
employs a staff of 1,000 during the peak season, maintains 2,000 acres of open space and
10 major facilities, and provides services to
150,000 community members of all ages. These
factors put our district on equal footing with
48 / Illinois Parks and Recreation
MIXED MEDIA
many of the larger companies in our city.
But even smaller park districts can, and
should be, recognized as members of the business community. A well-targeted newsletter can
help do just that. The cooperation between
our district and the local school districts, city
and village governments, and other community organizations is a great source for newsletter story ideas.
Finally, a newsletter is not only an avenue to
tell the public what we are doing, it is a way to
show them. Photos are as important as the written word. And their use is not restricted to
merely illustrating an accompanying article. A
well-written caption alongside an eye-catching
photo is often more effective than a detailed
written account of a completed project.
Who receives The Park Bench?
The Park Bench newsletter is sent to a mailing list of about 250 individuals that the Fox
Valley Park District identifies as "community
leaders." This group includes members of our
community network, park advisory groups, city
and other local government officials, the local
chambers of commerce, local school board
members, and both sponsors and participants
in our district's annual golf outing. This mailing list receives the newsletter, along with a cover
letter, about a week before the information hits
the street through our activity guide. By incorporating the newsletter into the activity guide,
every household served by our district has the
opportunity to read the newsletter.
Why does our target group want to read
the newsletter?
As the newsletter editor, my most important
job is to put myself in the shoes of our readers.
When evaluating story ideas, I try to look at the
district from the perspective of those participating in our programs and as a resident interested and involved in what happens in the community. When deciding what to include in the
newsletter, I ask myself how this affects the
reader, and write articles from that perspective.
The focus is on projects, facilities and special
events. As a general rule, we don't include articles on staff changes or other internal concerns in the newsletter.
Articles must be brief. About 200 or 250
words is what a typical attention-span will read.
If there is much more to say, it helps to break it
up by using graphic elements such as pull-quotes or sidebars. Another option is to give
readers a source to go for more information.
Referring the reader to our Web site for more
details about a particular subject accomplishes
another marketing goal.
The front page usually contains two articles.
This helps appeal to a diverse population. If a
reader isn't interested in one topic, hopefully
the second story will draw him or her into the
newsletter. Articles don't have to squeeze onto
one page. By continuing on an inside or back
page, the reader is forced to move through the
entire piece. And when the article breaks in the
middle of something juicy, like a statistic or in
the middle of a sentence, the reader is compelled to finish the article.
Producing a newsletter geared to community interests and concerns seems to be an emerging trend among Illinois park districts. My office receives mailings of publicity and marketing efforts from other districts, and I've noticed
several newsletters similar to The Park Bench.
With some thought to your audience and your
editorial calendar, your district can benefit from
this useful public relations and marketing tool
as well. •
AMY LARSON
is the community relations coordinator for the Fox Valley Park District.
The Editorial Calendar
By incorporating The Park Bench into our park district's activity guides, the newsletter
editions coincide with the spring, summer, and fall/winter activity guide editions. Printing and mailing the newsletter/activity guide takes four weeks, and I schedule four weeks
for producing the 100-page guide itself. I prefer to begin working on newsletter articles
prior to beginning work on the activity guide. Therefore, I may be writing seasonal news
articles as much as 12 weeks in advance of the publication date. This is where the editorial
calendar becomes a crucial planning tool.
My editorial calendar is more than merely a list of topics or story ideas; its a work-in-progress, tracking current and seasonal district activities of interest to our readers. The
calendar should reflect ideas that
strike a balance between parks and
recreation departments, seasonal
issues, and community partnerships. Stories should include information about and for the
park district resident, park district activities and statistics, and
upcoming programs and events.
Providing the reader with a well
balanced story mix adds credibility to the overall message.
The calendar may include
ideas for recurring columns,
such as a "rips" or "Q&A" column in which the format stays
the same but the material
changes each issue. Photo opportunities need to be planned in advance as well. Photos
can stand alone, or be used to illustrate an accompanying article.
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The calendar's format is simple. It consists of one page for each of the three editions,
with each page listing the various areas for the story mix. Keep the calendar handy at all
times, and as an idea comes up, jot it down for the appropriate edition. The calendar also
serves as an index of past stories and can assist you with balancing your coverage when you
have many areas to cover. •
— Amy Larson
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