Follower/Member Newsletter

Utilized by most nonprofit organizations, including charitable nonprofits, trade associations, and political interest groups, the follower/member newsletter is an extremely popular public relations tool for fulfilling the information needs of a specific audience. This type of newsletter reaches out to members, alumni, volunteers, consumers/clients, boards of trustees, staff, and allied organizations of a particular organization in which audience members have a valid interest or formal membership.

Follower/member newsletters serve as the “voice” of the organization. Their audiences are made up of internal and external publics. Members, who pay dues, generally are defined as internal publics because they can be viewed as having an investment in the organization, similar to that of a stockholder. Followers often are viewed as external because their expected outcome deals more with information seeking—finding out about issue positions rather than using the organization as an extension of one's own voice in public policy discussions. Usually they do not have as strong an investment in an organization as members do, nor do they receive the special benefits that are accorded to members.

These newsletters, like other directed newsletters, strategically execute the public relations and marketing plans of an organization. The goals of follower/member newsletters can vary, but generally they are used to communicate newsworthy information about the sponsoring organization. In addition, newsletters are a valuable tool for fundraising: motivating existing donors, increasing gifts, recognizing the service contributions of volunteers, and demonstrating that the organization is a good steward of funds—an important responsibility for nonprofits. Some organizations also use these newsletters to market their services. Supplementing these common goals, follower/member newsletters seek to remind readers about the purpose of the organization, as well as to justify the existence of the organization in the community at large.

The follower/member newsletter is valuable to constituents who care about the mission of an organization. For instance, Health Plus, a New York City–based nonprofit whose mission includes improving access to health care for uninsured and underserved families, publishes a member newsletter that is available online. The newsletter is designed to provide Health Plus members with information about various health topics and health care providers. Professional associations, such as the National Futures Association, rely heavily on newsletters to keep their dues-paying members informed. Advocacy groups dedicated to particular issues provide a good example of organizations that use follower newsletters to their advantage. Citizens interested in certain social, economic, and political issues—for example, civil rights, abortion rights, economic reforms, or a particular piece of legislation—can subscribe to many of the available nonpartisan newsletters, which will allow them to follow the latest developments relating to the issue or legislation without actually being a member of the group.

The form and content of these newsletters varies from organization to organization. Some newsletters consist of one or two stories with little or no regard for design, whereas others are elaborate showpieces of color and flair. Depending on their content, they represent all four models of public relations practice. Newsletters from many human services charities, for example, are based on the press agentry model. Their pages are filled with propaganda and stories designed to stir readers' emotions. On the other hand, nonprofits categorized as business leagues, such as chambers of commerce, usually produce newsletters representative of the public information model.

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