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The invention of desktop publishing software in the 1980’s meant that anyone could create a sharp looking newsletter with snazzy clipart. And boy did they ever! Businesses loaded up their dot matrix printers and began enthusiastically boring employees on a monthly basis.

Because they were churned out with such frequency, newsletters began to lose their initial impact. They started to get a reputation as being an ineffective, internal marketing tool. Which is a shame, because the truth is newsletters are not a bad idea. Bad newsletters are a bad idea.

A well done PAC newsletter, full of relevant and well-written content, can be one of your greatest marketing tools. It provides an opportunity to create transparency and demystify your PAC. Showing readers how their PAC is educating lawmakers and protecting their future by building a strong, stable industry.

Newsletters also create another channel of communication, addressing the reality that not everyone processes information the same way. George Bernard Shaw once said, “The greatest problem in communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished.”

The most successful PAC outreach programs that I have seen are the ones that acknowledge that their audience is not homogenous. Everything from how crowded a particular department’s inboxes are to the age range of your eligibles can impact how they need to receive information in order for it to hit home.

So maybe save the clipart for your 80’s office party? But don’t disregard how powerful a well-written, contemporary newsletter can be for your PAC.

Amie Adams
President
DUNN Associates

Part 4 of a 5 part series focusing on common myths that can become roadblocks for PAC Managers. Next up – Myth #5 – We know what they need to hear

Previously – Myth #3 – We’re Not Ready For Peer to Peer, Myth #2 – Don’t Ask Too Often and Myth #1 – I Got This!