How We Do It: Jan. 2000, Creating a Custom Newsletter

For many years after establishing our design/build landscape architecture firm on Chicago’s affluent North Shore, we refrained from engaging in strategic public relations and promotional activities. Confident that our high quality work would, over time, speak for itself, we believed our business would grow along with our reputation.

A few years ago, however, we contracted with a local public relations firm to see what might be achieved by sharing information about our company, our employees and our accomplishments. One key element of our PR campaign is a four-page, full-color newsletter, mailed twice a year (in spring and fall, before and after the growing season). We print 1,000 copies of the newsletter and mail it to approximately 600 customers, and then distribute the rest to community leaders and the green industry trade and consumer media.

Our newsletter is designed to provide information homeowners will find useful planning and maintaining their landscape. Articles range from explaining gardening techniques to the challenges of growing in a Midwestern climate. In most cases, these articles are illustrated with color photos taken during various growing seasons at properties we developed.

From start to finish, the newsletter takes about 30 days to produce. To have a public relations firm write, produce and print 1,000 copies of one issue, the cost is about $2,500, not including photography.

To create the framework for each newsletter we first meet with a freelance writer to talk about the questions our clients are asking most frequently, as well as issues related to the Midwest’s growing season. Then we identify the best resources to explain each topic – usually people on our staff – and schedule interviews. Additional research is done on the Internet or by interviewing clients who have solved a specific problem. Each article is sent in draft form to the respective "experts" for review and editing. When all of the copy has been approved by the appropriate staff member, a final draft is reviewed by our senior management and approved or revised as necessary.

For the first issue, we weren’t sure about the balance between visual and textual information. After receiving good feedback on the visual portion of the newsletter, we added more photography. This year, we used nine photos in each newsletter.

The availability of professional photography also allows our company to remain "top of mind" among the editors at local newspapers, as well as many garden, shelter and lifestyle publications. And an expanded photo library provides our sales staff with images to show prospective clients and use to support applications for regional and national competitions.

Since the debut of our newsletter in 1997, our business has grown by more than 30 percent. Clients tell us they anticipate its arrival, and many go out of their way to mention an aspect of the newsletter that they found of particular interest or to suggest topics for us to address in a future newsletter.