Speak To Your Audience
Newsletters and blogs are great ways to speak directly to your patients or clients about issues they care about and keep them informed on developments in their fields.
Newsletters & Blogs
Share Your Knowledge Through Newsletters and Blogs
What are newsletters and blogs?
Newsletters and blogs are two key ways businesses communicate with customers. Blogs are part of a website’s content. Newsletters are usually separate from a website and sent to customers who sign up to receive them.
Blog content, delivered through posts on a website, is a business-oriented diary or log of what an individual observes in the business or broader industry. In fact, the word “blog” was created from “web log.”
Blogs are part of a website
Blogs are part of a website listed under their own tag. You can give your blog a name that echoes your business name or reflects it. If you’re a specialty pharmacy, for example, you can use a name like Specialty Pharma News. Just be sure it isn’t used by a competitor or copyrighted.
Most blogs are scheduled with topics to go out at least once a week, but blogs can be pretty spontaneous. If you’re a specialty physician, you may want to be the first to blog about a new NDA (new drug application), so the regularly scheduled topic can be bumped.
Blogs can be less formal than webpage content or a newsletter. They should have at least 500 words each.
Newsletters are formal communications to customers
Newsletters are official communications actively sent to customers. They’re useful marketing and communications tools, especially when you have a lot to say outside of a blog. Unlike blogs, newsletters are sent to readers who have given you permission to email them directly.
Ideally, newsletters should be about actual news you curate for your audience. Examples of newsletter articles include trends you’ve observed in their industries and regulations that impact them. You can use newsletters to announce your own news, too, about new products or services, or early-bird sales for your readers.
Here’s a good blog post (yes, the irony) about what a newsletter can do for a business.
You can post newsletters on your site after they have been sent out to regular readers. Be a little judicious about this – post just a few so that the content remains “exclusive” to your email list.
Why do I need a blog and newsletter?
Ideally, you should have both a blog and a newsletter because they serve different marketing purposes and sometimes, different audiences as well. There can be content overlap between the two as well – just make sure the content isn’t identical.
As we noted, newsletters are sent to people who actively intend to read your news. You might want to give them small rewards like coupons and access to readers-only discounts. You can think of your newsletter readers as those who take a more active interest in your industry and perhaps even your business. And of course, you can create snippets from your headlines to get people to visit your website and subscribe.
A blog is more wide-ranging and available to anyone who can find it. They are web-based from the start and are a relatively easy way to update your site. They’re perfect material for sharing to social media sites.
“I can’t do both a newsletter and blog!”
If you feel you must choose between one or the other, consider what benefits your target audience most.
- Newsletters might benefit people who are most invested with your products or services. Examples include patients on a drug regimen or graduate students in your industry. These people are more likely to reserve a spot for a meeting and make return to your website for more information – including blogs.
- Blogs can have regular readers, too, but are probably a better way to build an audience. Regular blog followers may be more likely to sign up for a newsletter that brings them exclusive benefits.
John Townsend of The Content Panel notes that blogs are more far-reaching than newsletters and live on the web indefinitely as long as they remain useful.
I’d counter that a really good newsletter in a niche area can get widely shared and establish your reputation. I have experienced that myself.
What can I expect from a blog and newsletter?
Timely and well-written newsletters and blogs will pay off because they help you establish yourself in the marketplace.
Having both a blog and newsletter reinforces so many parts of a marketing campaign.
- Both drive readers to your site – either directly (to read a blog) or indirectly (to actively engage with your site).
- You have more visibility by covering more marketing bases – the web itself and building up an email list.
- These items ensure regular contact and outreach to new patients or clients.
2024 Rates
Here are my 2024 rates for blogs and newsletters:
- 600 words – $225
- 1000 words – $360
- 1500 words – $525
- 2000 words – $775
- 2500 words – $950
While 500 words are usually cited as the minimum for blogs, many SEO experts recommend 600 words or more depending on the depth of the topic.
Clients Testimonials
I’m delighted to recommend Ruth Ann Monti because I know the focus and dedication she brings to her work. This smart, articulate professional has an eye for detail, a strong work ethic, a quick wit, and a passion for what she does. Ruth Ann also has a knack for staying up-to-minute with the latest news and trends. It was a pleasure working with her at HIDA. We continued a great professional relationship continues through our involvement in Professional Women in Healthcare.
JaneRetired Association Director
I worked with Ruth Ann Monti at a consulting firm in Silver Spring, Maryland. We shared a small cubicle, working in very close quarters that could have made co-workers very uncomfortable. Not so for us. I found Ruth Ann to be congenial and very easygoing. Her sense of humor, more than once, brought perspective to the highly charged work we did as consultants working under deadlines on time-sensitive projects.
When she started writing health-related articles for the online Examiner, I looked forward to each installment with anticipation. Her work showed research – is a tireless researcher – and great insights into the issues she was reporting on for her readers. As always, her sense of humor drove points home. An absolute joy to read.
JennyWriter and Editor
Ruth Ann did a great job on a newsletter for our non-profit group. She had great ideas on what our readers were interested in and offered tidbits of information that we would not have otherwise considered. Her creativity in the content was ingenious. She always had the newsletter prepared on time and ran with and expanded our basic ideas. She needs only your basic information to take off running. I would certainly recommend her for any of your creative writing needs.
ConnieLegal Assistant
Get unique content to attract more site visitors looking for your products or services.
Don’t be shy: call me!
