A new look for our newsletter
St Ann’s publishes a newsletter, called Friends, three times a year. It’s a great way to let our supporters know what’s going on at the hospice, and all the different ways you can get involved and help us to raise money.
A newsletter is a very traditional way of communicating with supporters. With technology and social media so widely used there is a strong focus on online communications, which of course St Ann’s uses and finds very beneficial. But we’re also very aware of our supporter base and their communication preferences and needs. A newsletter is very important to us, because it’s important to our supporters.
Recently, we’ve given our newsletter a complete overhaul, and the Summer 2017 edition has a brand new look and feel. There were lots of reasons for this and we wanted to let you know why we’ve decided to make the changes.
Firstly, we wanted to review the costs involved in producing Friends. For many years, the newsletter has been A4 size. By reducing it to A5 size we’ve been able to save money not only on printing it, but on mailing it, too. As we’re a charity, being conscious of what we’re spending is very important to us. Friends contains lots of information about how supporters can make a donation or take part in a campaign or appeal, which all generates income for St Ann’s. The less we can spend on printing and mailing, the more of that income goes towards patient care.
We also wanted to refresh the way the newsletter looks. Friends has had a very similar look and feel for many years and had begun to feel a little dated, which means it has less impact – and we really want you to want to read it! By giving it a makeover, we hope we’ve made it more modern, more appealing and more in-line with what you’ve come to expect from St Ann’s.
Another part of the review was looking at the content itself, and considering whether we were giving you the information you want and need. You know we’re a charity and that we need your support – but you may not always be aware of how your generous donations are spent and why we need your continued support. Our services are constantly developing in line with the needs of our patients, and we want to tell you more about what we do and how we help people in your local communities.
We really hope you like the new-look newsletter, and we’d love to hear your feedback. You can get in touch on 0161 437 8136 or email communications@sah.org.uk
Happy reading!