The majority of the emails which hit your inbox are probably quite dry and dull. They might convince you to look at it for a second or two; but after that, you are probably pretty quick to delete it because it fails to attract your interest. The same applies to your NFP newsletter. Regardless of how interested an individual may be in your NFP or charity, unless you give them something worthwhile to read, your email will be quickly deleted.

Focusing on the storytelling aspect, you can opt to write about one of many things. It is the relationship and connections which will really grab hold of your readers – the stories which impact others, the benefits that others have received thanks to the efforts of your volunteers and your organisation as a whole.

However, like any good book, each newsletter should collaborate to complete your overall story or your brand. If you were to look back over all of your newsletters, is there a specific theme or connection between them all? Do they work on building your connection with your readers and strengthening your overall relationship?

Have a look at your newsletters from the past twelve months. Are they aligned with your marketing strategies and overall goals? What could you do differently? Make sure that there is some kind of flow with the information you are sending out to your readers. After all, it is the warm prospects which are most likely to donate their money or give their time to volunteer

How can you build on your storytelling?

- Teach your staff the importance of storytelling in your NFP
- Ask your team to collect stories which may be of interest to your readers
- Create opportunities where people can share their stories to gauge the most interesting ones
- Set up a schedule so you know which stories will be featured in your newsletters
- Check to see if there are any images which can be used to emphasise the story

With clear direction, your staff and volunteers are one of the best assets you have to locate great stories. If they understand the need to keep their eyes and ears open and share suggestions, then the more chance you will have of creating interesting newsletters.