HTML Preview Company Newsletter page number 1.
NEWSLETTERS
125
Newsletters
N
ewsletters are regular communications from an organization aimed at a specific
audience using a mailing list. You probably receive traditional print newsletters
in the mail as well as through email. What determines that you always read the
newsletter from your local Humane Society when you don’t read the monthly
newsletter inserted in your water bill? The content must be timely, useful, and impor-
tant to the specific users who subscribe to your newsletter. Some newsletters are un-
solicited and offer little more than sales information. Unlike brochures, press releases,
and other sales or marketing materials, newsletters for technical communication can
offer specific information to a well-defined group of product users, company employ-
ees, or organization members. Technical communicators may be responsible for re-
searching and writing the product updates, user profiles, expert tips, and other useful
information that keeps readers interested and engaged. Along with good content, the
layout and medium of the newsletter will also affect how likely users are to read it.
Newsletters are still mailed on paper, but increasingly they appear on web sites or
blogs, in email messages, or attached to an email as a fully formatted PDF document.
In this example of an electronic newsletter delivered by email, the software
company TechSmith gives users updates about their main product, SnagIt (a pop-
ular screen capture program), as well as other software tools and helpful tips from
users and experts.