Many large organisations will have magazines or newsletter for their employees. Some have them for their customers too. These may be paper based, but more frequently they are sent by e-zines sent by email or made available on the company website. But whatever format they use, they still need people to write for them – ideas for articles, snippets of information etc.
Newsletters are often short, maybe only one or two pages. Those that are for staff only will usually contain information about upcoming events or announcements, changes in management, new staff, retirements, deaths, competitions, suggestion schemes and that kind of thing. They may also advise of any factors, international or political, that may affect the company. There may also be the chance for staff to contribute to the newsletter in the form of ‘Letters to the Editor’. The aim of this is to promote a feeling of team spirit, making staff feel part of the organisation.
Newsletters that are intended for customers are usually written for information or promotional purposes. They may have articles that offer advice, or a letters page for satisfied customers to send testimonials to. For example, a car company may include an article on how to prepare your car for winter. But, when you read them, you’ll often find they’re a thinly veiled advertising tool. The helpful article about how to prepare your car for winter, will also be advising you to buy their specially designed anti-freeze, snow tyres or take it along to a registered dealer to have a winter check done at a special rate.
Company magazines are much the same as newsletters in their function, but they are longer, like ‘normal’ magazines. A good example of a company magazine that I’m sure a lot of you will have seen are the in-flight ones you are given on planes. These will have ideas about destinations you can travel to, places to stay or eat and attractions you can visit. However, at the end of it all, you’ll find details of how you can fly to that destination using the airline whose plane you are currently sitting in.
So, what could you write about?
There are lots of topics you could write about for your company newsletter or magazine. And what you choose depends on who the publication is intended for. For example, if you work for a large supermarket chain and you have a staff newsletter, you could write about people in your store. Maybe someone is trying to raise money for charity and they want to spread the word, get sponsorship or encourage people to take part. An article for the newsletter is a great way to get the information out. Or, is there a funny or endearing story about an incident with a customer? For example, a member of staff saved a customer from dying of a heart attack by performing CPR – a local store hero story would be a winner!
But, before you start, the first thing you should do is study a few issues of the publication so you can see what kind of articles they already accept. This process will also enable you to see the style of writing the publication uses – it’ll probably be informal, but it’s worth checking. You should also check the length of the articles and the level of detail included, i.e. are they written for people who know the business or product or for the ‘average Joe’ as these two factors will affect how you write. The submission guidelines and the name of the editor are also important – it’s a good idea to address any submission to the editor by name.
If you do all this, you’ll be able to tailor your writing to fit the publication beautifully and increase your chances of getting published. So, have a go and see what happens. On the plus side, you could find you’re soon describing yourself as a published writer. And the worst that can happen? You’ll get a ‘no’, which isn’t the end of the world, is it?
Incidentally, If you’d like more help with writing for newsletters have a look at our Advanced Business English course, as there’s a whole module on the subject. Or the Article Writing course from Writers Bureau.
