An Interview with Ellen Katz, Managing Editor at BizActions
?How do you come up with ideas for the email newsletter articles you write? Don?t you ever run out of topics to write about??
We rarely run out of ideas because we are constantly looking at the news, reading information from official sources, examining trends, and asking questions. Our article ideas come from a variety of sources.
A Timely Opportunity we published in January, for example, was about how a provision in the Fiscal Cliff law extended a tax-saving opportunity for some affluent IRA owners who want to pass some of their wealth on to their favorite charities. One of February?s Timely Opportunity articles was about an IRS crackdown on tax identity theft and how readers can protect themselves from becoming victims. In March, we wrote about a new court case in which an employee stole trade secrets and provided businesses with strategies on how to protect their intellectual property.??
?What is a Timely Opportunity article??
It?s an article you won?t find anywhere else because no other publication has connected the dots in the same way we have. That?s what makes the article a Timely Opportunity. Each Timely Opportunity should involve something new or timely ? AND there should be an opportunity for the reader.
If we just write about what is already in the news, we don?t provide anything of value that readers can?t find anywhere else. We assume that people have read about major developments in newspapers like the Wall Street Journal or heard about them on television or other websites.
?How do you take those developments to the next level by providing the kind of insight that would be appropriate coming from a professional adviser??
We must providing exciting, relevant content?in our CPA client newsletters, financial planner newsletters, payroll newsletters,?law firm newsletters and chartered accountant newsletters.
Repeating the news is not enough. Busy executives and wealthy individuals aren?t going to click on an article they have already read. So we provide advice, strategies and analysis.
?What kind of response rate have you noticed with your Timely Opportunity articles??
Many of our clients see the highest rate of click activity on the Timely Opportunity articles in their email newsletters. I think that the combination of fresh, intelligently compiled information with a relevant and actionable opportunity attached to it is the best formula for compelling content. It works very well for our clients, which is why we keep adding more types of Timely Opportunities to our editorial arsenal.?
We have recently added Timely Niche Articles to our Editorial Calendar every month in six additional categories (construction, manufacturing, not-for-profit, business valuation, forensic accounting and payroll). We follow the same methodology for these timely articles as we do for our weekly Timely Opportunity articles, researching and following the latest and most important business?developments to determine what is not only newsworthy, but also offers an opportunity for readers to take action.
?What suggestions do you have for other people who have to write articles for their newsletters??
In addition to watching the news, here are some other sources of article ideas:
- The calendar ? What time of year is it and what does that mean for your readers? Year-end tax planning strategies and last-minute filing tips are two examples of articles tied to the calendar. But you could also consider current events, holiday-related news and other timely topics.
- Press releases from federal agencies ? The IRS and agencies such as the EEOC, OSHA and SBA regularly release information. We sift through it to decide what is relevant to our readers. CPA firms, law firms and other professional service providers usually have some kind of federal or national agencies that provide relevant news and updates that would be pertinent to their clients. Those agencies can be a source of great information.
- Court cases and new laws ? For example, what do cases from federal courts, U.S. Tax Court and the Supreme Court mean for businesses? How do they affect certain industries? What consequences might there be for a certain segment of individuals? How do new laws affect personal finances?
These are just a few of the ways the BizActions Editorial Department comes up with unique ideas for our Timely Opportunity and Timely Niche Articles. We publish Timely Opportunities in Accounting (US), Accounting (Canada), Accounting (Australia), Legal, Human Resources and Banking. Add our monthly Timely Niche Articles in six more categories, and you?ll see we publish hundreds fresh, timely and relevant articles per year!
Your firm may not need to write hundreds of articles every year in order to have a successful newsletter campaign, but consider keeping tabs on current business headlines to help you draft ideas for your content. Your contacts will appreciate the timeliness and importance of your messaging.
Becca Fieler is an Online Marketing Specialist for BizActions, a Thomson Reuters Business, serving as a strategic partner in the planning and implementation of electronic communication and marketing initiatives. She develops and oversees comprehensive programs that present marketing strategies and solutions to diverse audiences, including attorneys, accountants, banks and credit unions, human resource companies and other professional service providers.
Posted in: CPA Firm Marketing, Email Marketing, Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Newsletters
Source: http://www.bizactions.com/how-to-keep-business-newsletter-content-timely-exciting-and-relevant/
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