Has the HOA newsletter gone the way of the dinosaur? Hopefully at your HOA the answer is a resounding no; newsletters are still vitally important tools for associations that wish to foster strong, clear, consistent communication with their members. You may send the newsletter electronically, you may send it on paper, or you may do a mixture of both—but regardless, the newsletter can play a big role in unifying your community.
Here are a few quick tips for getting the most out of your community association’s newsletter:
- Focus your HOA newsletter on active community building. Furnish your community members with ways to become participants, not just onlookers. Make sure your newsletter offers plenty of opportunities for people to get involved with committees, planning groups, or social events.
- Get to know your newsletter readers. Include a voluntary questionnaire. Ask folks what they like to do in their spare time, where they’re from originally, how old they are—anything that might prove helpful in facilitating further community-building events.
- Include a “Rules and Regs” section in each newsletter, simply to keep the issue of community governance in front of your readers.
- Be consistent in the layout. If you include a “Rules and Regs” section, for example, try to include it in every issue, and to position it on the same page. Also make sure you are consistent in including the names and contact details for the community manager and board members.
- Make sure you archive your newsletters and reuse or repurpose articles as needed; for example, a seasonal reminder about holiday decoration guidelines is something you may not need to retype every single year. Just keep a copy of the original article on file and reuse it as needed.
- Keep it positive! There is a time for criticism, and for reporting not-so-favorable news, but the newsletter is really more about uniting people and getting them excited about the work of the association.
