10 content management tips for your B2B email newsletter

Anyone publishing a B2B e-newsletter knows that a common challenge is finding enough good content to keep readers interested, engaged and impacted by your emails.

In the first in a three part series we take a look at 10 ways to manage your content effectively and maintain a steady stream of interesting ideas.

1. Keep a content folder

Developing e-newsletter content usually becomes a priority when deadlines are pressing. Then you're under pressure to come up with ideas and material fast.

A better approach is to keep a 'newsletter content' folder or file permanently open somewhere on your PC or desk. One you can use to store content ideas and material as and when they occur to you.

To make this work you need to keep the newsletter in mind at all times. Then the things you see, read or hear are more likely to trigger a 'that would be a good topic/idea for the newsletter' reaction.

Ideally, everyone in your organisation should keep the newsletter in mind when going about their work. So, for example, when sales reps hear the same question again and again from customers, they should suggest addressing that question in a future newsletter.

When deadlines loom, this content folder eases the burden of creativity when it comes to actually producing the next issue.

2. Develop reserve content

It helps to have reserve content tucked away for when things get tight. Write an article that won't date or lose its relevancy for your audience and store it away for emergencies. If you really do get stuck, you can raid the reserve to fill the next issue.

The downside to this tactic is that such a reserve provides a nice excuse for skipping content development for an issue. After all, there's the reserve to use...

3. Watch your numbers

Every time you send out a newsletter, you get a nice report on how many people opened the email or clicked on a link etc. Use those reports to learn about reader interests. If a particular subject line caused open rates to rocket, you know where to focus more content in the future.

Examine your website reports too. Which parts of the website are most popular? What words and phrases do people use to find you in the search engines? What words and phrases do they use in your on-site search facility?

All of this information gives clues as to the kind of content topics likely to interest people most.

If your system is clever enough, you can track which search terms brought those people to your site who then signed up for your newsletter and focus content accordingly.

4. Sign-up to your competitors' newsletters

Let others in your position be your inspiration. Monitor the other e-newsletters in your field to get ideas you can adapt and apply to your own publication.

5. Go where your readers go

Look at the sites they visit and learn what interests them. Check out relevant newsgroups, online forums, discussion lists, social networking sites, chatrooms, media sites, blogs etc and pick out the topics that generate a lot of interest and coverage among your readership.

Use the general and blog search engines, for example Technorati and Google's own blog search service, to find relevant themes and topics. What is the blog community saying about your business, products, services or sector?

The same concept applies offline. Draw on your market research. Take every opportunity to mingle with your potential readership, such as at trade fairs, to understand their needs and interests. Then you can plan content that addresses both.

6. Talk to sales reps and customer service

The people who deal with your customers and prospects on a day-to-day basis are a super source of information on issues, questions and interests in the context of your products and services. So get their input on useful content.

7. Partner

You can be sure that your readers share interests with the readers or customers of other newsletters or businesses who are not direct competitors.

Partnering with these newsletters and businesses is an obvious way of sharing the content burden. You provide content for your partner's newsletter, and they provide content for yours. For example:

• A web hosting service might share content with a search engine marketing company
• A PC manufacturer with a software provider
• A hotel chain with an airline etc

8. Recycle

You don't have to keep writing new material just for the newsletter. Recycle content from other parts of the business, particularly if newsletter readers are unlikely to have ever seen it.

For example, if you're writing regular blog posts you can repackage these as newsletter issues.

9. Let readers choose

On your sign-up forms, consider leaving a space for readers to suggest topics they'd like to see covered. Encourage reader feedback at all times. Let them tell you what they need to know more about.

10. Consider reducing length and frequency

If you're really struggling issue-to-issue to come up with engaging content, then reconsider your publication frequency and/or email length.

There is no point in publishing for the sake of doing so. If you're not continuously providing engaging, relevant material to people, then you'll quickly lose their interest.

Since recipients value their inbox space they will do more than just ignore poor content - like you would, say, a badly written newspaper ad - no, they'll actually begin to resent the meaningless intrusion into their email privacy. Spam reports are the logical consequence.

So reduce the frequency or length to a level where you can guarantee maintaining a consistent standard of content in the long term.

Next month we give you 10 great content ideas so your readers will always be looking forward to your next email.