Notes

The Surprising Truth Concerning the Wellness Newsletter You're Creating
If you try to launch a wellness newsletter, the enthusiasm you currently have should build and spread. You need this publication to be a beacon, not a burden.

Your wellness newsletter can be the driving force of inspiration - a primary way to show and tell the energy of your program. It could entice and enlighten, helping employees realize the value of participating in the program and encouraging them to embrace healthy choices.

You Are Now a Publisher. Think Like One.

Your publication won't be any of those ideas - actually, the newsletter could get your company into some legal trouble and certainly would weaken your program's overall credibility - unless you think and act like a publisher. Your business card doesn't say "publisher," but the surprising truth is you now are.

You need to be.

A smart publisher is concerned about the integrity and visibility of his or her material. That means this content in your wellness newsletter needs to be right in addition to being noticed and used. The correct philosophy isn't "send and hope." What The Average British Diet and know."

A smart publisher realizes that reliability - particularly when the topic is really a person's health - often requires expert review, together with people who are experienced in the best practices of writing, editing and designing communication pieces.

Is the content credible? Does it abide by copyright and "fair use" laws? Do your images match the voice of your copy? Those along with other publishing questions have to be answered.

4 What to Care About

As you put on your publishing hat, start with these basic questions:

? What does your audience want and need to know?

? What do you intend to tell employees (current wellness program participants and/or perspective ones) about your program?

? How should they have the publication (print, electronic or both)? How often should website deliver it?

? What resources do you have to complete the job? What other ones do you need to make the project run smoothly and impressively?

1. A publisher cares about readers. Treat employees such as a high-quality trade magazine views its readership. Find out what topics are likely to resonate with them, and tailor your messaging and content to support those needs, wants, and interests. An excellent first move: Send employees a quick survey. The information you get can fuel your publication plan and help you set the newsletter's goals and expectations.

2. A publisher cares about categories. Many health, wellness and benefits experts feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of what they might communicate. Steal a page from newsstand publications, and categorize your thinking into sections that match your mission and your employees' needs. Think about USA Today. World events are ever-changing, and the supply of human interest stories is endless, yet each issue is segmented and presented in four easy-to-find, color-coded sections: main news (blue), Life (purple), Sports (red), and Money (green). This structure enables readers to create expectations - people "know w here to turn" for information that counts most to them.

? What regular "departments" can you create?

? What special issues might you intend?

? What could your "cover stories" be about?

? Will you segment your content by topic or by theme (inspiration, values, humor, etc.)?

3. A publisher cares about brevity. Stick to an eye-friendly, simple design. Same goes for the copy - short, poignant, and scannable may be the right recipe. Also, make sure your content pays to, timely, and relevant. Advisable would be to monitor some newsletters, magazines, newspapers, and Websites you respect (especially publications pertaining to your industry), and apply their good content and design ideas to your publication.

? Arrange for short articles. Your employees most likely will only scan snippets and brief articles that catch their attention. If you do include longer stories (a lot more than 350 words), break them up with graphics, white space, pull quotes, and short paragraphs.

? Entice readers with compelling "blurbs." Lists work.

? Write a punchy Table of Contents to increase the quantity of pages and stories your staff reads.

4. A publisher cares about scheduling. You need a structure. Building an editorial calendar and production task list could keep your messages in constant motion - employees will receive relevant, consistent communication at when you need. From our experience, it's best to start at the end and plan backward from your final publishing dates. The key is to deliver what's specified on the program instead of what happens to be on your mind.

Set target dates for the following tasks:

? Choosing story ideas and assigning them

? Completing first drafts

? Editing for length, grammar, and clarity

? Dropping copy into an HTML template with placeholder titles (if it'll be emailed) or into graphical design software for layout (if it will be printed)

? Revising and finalizing content

? Checking links to make certain they're active and correct (if emailed)

? Sending to employees

Publishers Also Turn to Experts for Help

If you have an internal marketing or communications team, you could have ample resources for producing a newsletter's content and design. But many businesses assign the project to clerical staff and receive unprofessional results.

Partners may bring valuable experience, infrastructure, technology and new ideas to your wellness communication. You call the shots, but a skilled, creative partner can make sure your audience receives top-quality messaging.

Shawn M. Connors, President & Founder, Hope Health

Shawn has a lot more than 30 years of workplace communications experience. He founded Hope Health in 1981 to produce and sell among the nation's first Health Risk Assessments. Today, Hope Health is really a business-to-business, health-based communications company specializing in producing information distributed at workplaces. It includes a wide variety of lifestyle-related information in various formats including newsletters, brochures, booklets, posters, calendars, and electronic media. Shawn is an accomplished author, speaker and communications expert. [http://www.HopeHealth.com]
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