Highland Marketing newsletter: format and guide

The newsletter word file needs content under four headings: summary (for publication on the website / sign-up page), ‘subject line’ and ‘preview’ (for Mailchimp), ‘Seven days in the NHS and health tech’ (above the run of news/press clipping items), and ‘HM content’ (reminder indicator for guest interviews, etc).

The next section shows how this works, and what goes in each block.

Summary for listing on site

• Text goes here: Each newsletter is sent to Gregor MacKenzie with a 100-word (ish) piece of text that summarises the main news stories and flags-up HM’s own content items. This is used on the website, in spaces where the newsletter appears (mainly the sign-up page/archive and the newsletter’s live slot on the homepage).
• Subject line: The subject line is what Outlook users see when the newsletter arrives in their inbox. If this is not filled in, it defaults to Healthcare Roundup. However, we have been filling it in to see if this encourages more opens, by giving people an indication of content they might be interested in. This needs to be short – c. 9 words – and to include the words Healthcare and Roundup.
• Preview: The preview is the text that some email users will see below the subject line if, eg, they are using Outlook in preview mode. Again, we’ve been filling it in, to see if this improves engagement with the newsletter. 150 characters max.
• Seven days in the nhs and health tech: This is the ‘news’ or ‘news in briefing’ listing that the HCRU has always run.

Pick items that are going to be of interest to readers: so ‘big picture’ items about public health and the NHS, if they are likely to affect or shape the health tech market; national IT strategy and contracts, major deployments (EPRs usually get a slot), smaller deployments (focus on things that have happened, rather than partnerships, funding rounds, etc).

Items run in the order above (national, NHS, big IT, big deployments, smaller health IT news). Include HM press releases from the week but give them what they are worth in news terms.

• Headline: Headline text goes here: Each news in brief item has a headline. This is either a straightforward keyword summary of what follows (Barclay makes speech) or an indication of an omnibus item (Health IT news: Trust A deploys… ICB B forms partnership with… Company C wins…)
• Pic: goes here Tag: goes here: Each news in brief item has a picture, and the Pic: tells Gregor MacKenzie what it should be. If there’s something or someone specific (Barclay to go with him making a speech) flag that, and if it’s an omnibus item (several NHS stories, several IT items) just put ‘generic NHS’ or ‘generic server’ etc (a sizeable library from which to draw material has been built up).

The Tag: is not a description of the picture, but the type of news item (Covid-19, NHS, Health IT, etc). It is there so readers can run their eye down the newsletter and pick out items by type.

• Text goes here and here and here and here: Single item 75 words or 100 words (aim for 100 words it looks tidier than a mix). Omnibus items 75 words, 100 words, or blocks of 75 words or 100 words (where the items are all similar, and it doesn’t make sense to create another slot for them). Please use these word counts: the newsletter looks very odd otherwise, and it’s a discipline to hone down and stick to length.

All items require a link: this can be an original document (government paper, think tank report etc) or a reference to a publication that has run a story on something (Note: if there’s limited or not great coverage, the HM client press releases will be on our wire, so that can be used as the link).

HM content

• Add a note to confirm to Gregor MacKenzie what the original content and HM house ads or items are (guest interview with A, promo for webinar B, etc). These will already have been published on site, which means they have their pictures, headlines, summaries etc in place, and they don’t need to be repeated.
• Process: Compile word file above (try and get this done by c.11.30 on a Thursday morning: if it’s going to be later or different, let Gregor MacKenzie know so he can organise his day).

Send the file into MS Teams, HM Team, HCRU as a new conversation and tag in Gregor MacKenzie so he knows it’s there. Add any explanatory notes re content, pics etc at the same time.

This is put into Mail Chimp format and returned to the writer for checking by email (as that’s the format through which readers get it): proof, check links, and let Gregor MacKenzie know if there are any corrections.

He will issue a revised newsletter (although normally this doesn’t happen, as we’ve got pretty slick at doing things right first time) and then sends a link for social media promotion via the same Teams conversation used at the start of the process.

• Social media (minimum): Tweet: Friday, newsletter is out.

Tweet: Saturday, promotion of news items (NHS).

Tweet, Friday/Saturday, this week’s original content (if applicable).

Tweet, Sunday: promotion of news items (IT).

LinkedIn: Friday promotional post for the newsletter, tagging in clients, prospects or companies mentioned.