There are many differences between school marketing and other types of marketing. Still, one distinction sets apart industrial markets from schools, universities, and educational institutions: the need for continuous communication. School managers, teachers, community members, and parents need to stay connected.
While phone calls, flyers, and permission slips may still be relevant in many schools, digital communication has become the dominant form of connection in the education industry. Email, for example, is a very common communication channel between parents, students, and teachers. But as school websites rise, we’ve come upon more efficient tactics.
School newsletters have proven to be one of the most effective virtual strategies for communication. Newsletters have the potential to become an engaging, informative tool for optimizing school life and building a tight-knit community.
At the same time, understanding the true purpose of school newsletters and finding the best practices to apply can be challenging. That’s why we created a comprehensive guide to help you make the best out of the school newsletter. Let’s begin.
What Is a School Newsletter?
A school newsletter is a digital communication channel to inform parents, students, teaching staff, and faculty members about the things happening in the school. Newsletters can be published on paper by the school’s publication or shared online as school email newsletters and website newsletters.
Although, with the ongoing consequences of the pandemic and the widespread use of social media platforms and websites, most schools prefer digital newsletters.
The newsletter publication and update differ depending on the time of the semester, the school organization, and other factors. It can be at the end of each semester, weekly, or monthly. Newsletter content may include school news, special events, announcements,volunteer opportunities, extracurricular activities, and school trips.
What Is the Purpose of a School Newsletter?
The main purpose of a school newsletter is to provide reliable and updated information about the institution’s activities and events. Many notable school newsletter examples also use this opportunity to connect with stakeholders, donors, and charities for fundraising purposes.
But a successful school newsletter is, first and foremost, an educational tool for students who need help learning about a particular subject and who need to stay informed and active in school events. All in all, the newsletter serves three primary objectives: informing, reminding, and connecting.
School Newsletter Ideas
Now that you know the great potential of newsletters, it’s time to look at some of the brilliant school newsletter examples and find the most innovative ideas and sections to include. As a rule of thumb, remember that the school newsletter should be simple, informative, and engaging.
Here are the five best ideas for your school newsletter:
Hall of Fame
Appreciation is a rewarding feeling. Students, in particular, feel motivated to see that other students will value their efforts. Your school newsletter can be an inspiring place to celebrate student achievements.
Design a section for student awards and success. You can highlight students of the week, star athletes, and other recognizable moments. But more importantly, make sure to recognize the value of all efforts, from academic achievements to athletic and artistic works.
Upcoming Events & Activities
Newsletters were originally designed to broadcast news and happenings. So, covering upcoming events and activities should be one of the primary sections in your school newsletter. This way, parents and students can set their schedules so they don’t miss any important dates.
This way, you can showcase your school spirit and the fun events taking place at your school, such as field trips, assemblies, and school parties. The point here is to let parents and students know that school is much more than education; school is a social and personal experience toward the development of contributing adults and global citizens.
Counseling Insights
As much as we try to make education an exciting time for students, we cannot deny that at some point, students and parents may need help to overcome certain concerns and challenges. The school newsletter is a good place to provide useful tips on student wellbeing.
As a school administrator, you have experience working with plenty of students and parents. Plus, you can get some help from teachers and professional counselors, therapists, and psychologists to ensure the validity and credibility of the information you share with your audience.
So, when you see exams coming up, make sure to add a few tips on stress management and the importance of prioritizing mental health in your newsletter.
Educational Tips and Articles
The school newsletter is a great opportunity to share useful educational tips on specific topics. This is a huge plus for establishing your institution as an authority on the subject and helping students become more comfortable with the learning process.
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Before posting any article in the newsletter, ensure its scientific validity has been proven. Students can greatly benefit from tried-and-true time management skills, schedule-building techniques, and any other essential information that gives them a balanced perspective on education.
An Introduction to Your School
Most digital and printed publications devote a section to the editor’s notes. You can do the same with the school newsletter and include a principal’s note and a brief review of the school’s mission and vision for the future. The principal’s note allows prospective parents and students to get first-hand information from your school.
Moreover, school administrators are in charge of establishing an effective communication channel between stakeholders, donors, parents, and students. You can mention different topics or pressing matters that require a collective effort from the school community. This way, you let everyone share the responsibility and feel accountable for the future success of the organization.
Staff Interviews
Professional Q&As and interviews can significantly increase engagement. So, be sure to include a section for brief interviews with teachers and school administrators. Interviews are quite different from other types of content that come in your newsletter because they are more or less informal.
This allows prospective students to get an “inside look” into your school and see how they can benefit from studying there. Interviews also showcase teachers’ expertise and authority on different subjects and help your school gain credibility.
Tips for Creating an Effective School Newsletter
We can go on and on about the benefits of creating newsletters for schools, but first, we need to face the truth: newsletters often take a great deal of time and effort to create and to maintain them. And the worst part is they don’t usually receive the desired attention. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
You can turn your newsletters into a powerful communication tool by planning their creation and publication in great detail. Here are some of the best practices to apply for an effective school newsletter:
#1 Create a Publication Schedule
Of course, you may not be able to predict all school events and announcements in advance. Still, most of the content in your school newsletters, such as interviews, Q&As, or educational articles and tips, can be prepared ahead of time. This way, you can maintain a steady audience engagement rate and keep the newsletter relevant.
You can consult your writers, editors, and website admins and create a content calendar or publication schedule to let writers have time to prepare, create, and edit their content. It’s best to keep some elements consistent in every issue; for example, sections devoted to classroom spotlights, faculty member features, or sports updates.
#2 Add Visual Elements
Text-heavy content rarely has any admirers, especially when it comes to social media channels and digital platforms. So, it is absolutely essential to include images, infographics, videos, charts, and graphs in newsletter content to increase the probability of audience engagement.
Moreover, there is a good chance that the newsletter is the first place people visit your when they land on your website. Therefore, optimizing your “first impression” should be at the top of all your priorities. Integrating content components and optimizing visual elements such as colors, images, and layout play a significant role in impressing viewers.
#3 Quality Content
Content marketing is an inseparable part of all brand promotion campaigns. Well-written, research-backed, and engaging content helps you get more visitors and conversions and lowers the bounce rate. Here are two principles for writing quality content.
First, content is for the readers, not writers. Students, parents, and teachers should be able to communicate with the writing style, paraphrasing, content layout, and format. Plus, the newsletter should at least partly address their questions. So, ask yourself what interests they have and what “problems” they are solving.
Authenticity is the second pillar of quality content. Everybody in the school community expects to receive reliable, research-backed, and data-supported information in a clear and user-oriented way.
#4 Compelling Headlines
School newsletters are not that different from business newsletters and digital news feeds. They all need magnetic headlines to attract their audience. Captions and headlines give visitors an outline of what they are going to read and help with content findability. But that’s not all. Nearly eight out of 10 people will read the headline copy, but only two out of 10 will read the rest.
So, if you succeed in gaining their attention with perfect headlines, your audience engagement will skyrocket. The best practice for creating magnetic headlines is finding intriguing aspects and topics that raise the audience’s curiosity.
#5 Pick an Elegant Template
If you are putting the newsletter on your website, you will also need an eye-appealing template. Usually, every page within a website is similar, but you can create a page with a different template if you are covering different topics or content types.
Keep in mind that the school newsletter template should match the content of your web pages. In other words, page templates display your site’s dynamic content on a page. So, take your time and find a customizable template that works best on your website.
#6 Making the Newsletter Search Engine Friendly
Some of the content in your newsletter will be published only for a limited audience like your students. Clearly, you don’t need very high online exposure for school events or exam announcements. But for other articles, interviews, and Q&As, your website can benefit from a high-quality SEO service.
Ranking high on Google’s search results page may be challenging, but it is definitely worth the effort. Standing on top of the SERPs indicates the trustworthiness and credibility of your school. It also helps broaden your audience segments and reach viewers interested in working with your organization.
#7 Device Responsiveness
Probably most of your audience are members of the younger generation. They don’t necessarily use the web version to view your newsletter. In fact, according to an IBM study, 75% of Gen Zers selected mobile devices as their device of choice.
So, don’t underestimate the power of a mobile friendly website. Make sure to adjust the website content for smartphone users. You can type your website URL in Google’s responsiveness testing tool and evaluate your newsletter page SEO-wise.
#8 Adding Relevant Links
Students, teachers, and staff can benefit by accessing useful resources in the school newsletter. Links may lead to pages you design, informing students of such things as the requirements for signing up for school events or accessing a list of course materials or other resources. Just make sure that the links are active—and delete dead links.
Bottom Line
The digital school newsletter is a highly efficient communication tool for connecting with your audience. The truth is, most people do not enjoy reading newsletters because they are either poorly organized, text-heavy, or don’t have an aesthetically appealing design.
But that doesn’t have to be the case with your school newsletter. You can apply the best school newsletter ideas we discussed here and enjoy an extraordinary engagement rate. And don’t worry about the rest of your online marketing campaign. We’ve got you covered!
Here at School Webmasters, we can help you face all the challenges of school marketing. We offer you the ultimate school marketing solution, from school website design to social media management, website maintenance, logo and design services, and more.
You can easily get a quote right now or just contact us (call 888.750.4556 and speak with Jim) and let us point you in the right direction.