To me, newsletters are marmite. When they are full of information that is relevant to me about things I care about, I love them. When they are full of mindless, corporate guff, they go straight to the bin.

In past roles, I knew the newsletter belonged to marketing and I should stay clear. All I needed to worry about was if someone clicked on a link somewhere and if they were someone I could sell to. So I knocked on marketing's door and occasionally got a lead. Fast forward to now and I see the humble newsletter in a new light. What was missing from them in the first place was my voice. I never contributed to it, I had no involvement in who it went to and to be honest, I don't know if I even read them!

Instead, I now look at them as a business development tool. Gone are the days when it was sent to thousands of people and success was measured by the bounce rate. Gone are the days when success was an increase of 1% in open rates. The newsletter is my way of communicating with the small network of people I want to influence.  

Therefore I would recommended taking much more of an interest in your company newsletter. If you can try the following three things:

1. Contribute. Write something authentic to feature. 

2. Audience. Make sure it goes to the people that you want to talk to (just make sure you are GDPR compliant!) 

3. Measure. Get that feedback. See who has opened it and engaged. If they have, you've got the result you need. You're forefront of mind and have a touch point in your BD process. 

And finally make sure you keep doing it. If you keep providing your prospects and clients with valuable information, they will reciprocate the act.