Electronic newsletters

Newsletters can be a great way to advertise your club, promote events, send competition updates and share general club news. Sharing newsletters over e-mail is a cost-effective way to communicate.

It is a good way to stay connected with your members especially those who perhaps do not follow social media or check in on your website often.

• Sending newsletters by email is a cost effective option and becoming increasingly more popular than print. However, it is important to consider who you want to communicate with before you rule print out altogether
• There are many free and easy to use websites to help you build your newsletter and tailor the style to suit your club

Are they right for your club?

For some clubs, electronic newsletters work really well, but not every club needs to use them. Think about the pros and cons before you spend time setting up a club newsletter.

Pros

• Cost effective & sustainable- think of all the paper and money you are saving by not printing. You avoid having to get someone to deliver them door to door also
• Link up- you can send people to your website or social media accounts through links on your newsletter
• Communication- electronic newsletters are good to keep your members up to date. Once they are set up they are relatively quick to send, so you can get information to them fast

Cons

• Some people are reluctant to share their e-mail address but building and maintaining a good database of contacts is worth the effort
• Electronic newsletter open rates are dropping as more and more people are blocking them as unwanted emails or junk mail
• Standing out - there is a chance your newsletter will get lost amongst the e-mails in your recipient's mailbox. If you have a really important message you want them to receive, you may need to follow up with them in another way

Getting started

If you’ve decided an electronic newsletter is a good tool for your club, remember to consider a few key questions:

• What do you want to tell people by sending out newsletters? Who do you want to receive them?
• Have you got an up to date database of contacts?
• Who will be responsible for creating the newsletter and writing stories? Get someone involved who has the knowledge, passion and interest, to create a successful newsletter
• Consider how frequently you want to send out newsletters

We’re always interested to hear and share great examples of clubs' newsletters. If using a newsletter has been a success for your club, and you want to share your story, get in touch clubmatters@sportengland.org.