5 Things That Make Your Condo Newsletter Effective

A condominium newsletter serves more than one purpose, as established in our 3 benefits of condo newsletter blog. We’ve recognized that a newsletter can act as a resource to update tenants and owners of news, establish financial transparency, and create a sense of community within a condominium building.

Now that we’ve established the benefits of a condo newsletter from both a resident and condominium management perspective, we’re going to reveal to you the secrets that go into making a useful newsletter.

According to the Globe and Mail, the approximate 300,000 Torontonians who live in condos believe that in the race to build, city planners and councillors failed to adequately consider how to create neighbourhoods and community.

While a condo newsletter can be used as a resource and key to communicating with residents, it essentially helps create a sense of community that condo residents are often aching for. It is pertinent that your newsletter provides tenants with some value. It’s easy to bombard the newsletter with images, news and updates just for the sake of releasing a newsletter, but in order to ensure that this document is engaging, corporations have to spend a little more time, thought and effort on newsletters.

That is why we have highlighted the tips and tricks of releasing an effective, engaging condo newsletter for your building.

What should my condo newsletter include?

• News, Notices and Reminders
  

  If you’ve got a condo board meeting around the corner or the annual general meeting (AGM), notify condo owners who may not reside in the building in condo newsletters. While you’re expected to send a formal notice of the AGM to all condo owners, presenting a reminder in a newsletter can also be useful. For example, the approval of Bill 106 and the changes made to the Ontario Condominium Act may not be something all residents are aware of. Updates to the Act might be something your residents could find useful, so provide newsworthy updates in your newsletter.

• Profiles of Management Staff
  

  You want to make sure tenants are aware of who they should turn to for any issues or who to talk to about their concerns within the condo community. A great way to welcome a new condo management team member and let your condo residents know of this addition to the team they’ll see in the lobby is to include a photo and short profile on new team members.This can help condo residents put a face to the new team member rather than just seeing them around and not knowing what they do or their responsibilities within the condo community.

• Features on Board and Committee Members
  

  Similarly, in order to put a face to your condo board and increase transparency within the community, you can present features on a new condo board or committee member each month so tenants and owners know who their representatives are on the condo board. Outlining a board member’s story will make them more relatable to tenants and owners, rather than having a faceless condo board that makes decisions that affect these individuals. This will humanize a group that is often regarded as protecting the corporation rather than tenants and will show that they are representatives of the condo community on the whole.

• Upcoming Events and Past Event Photos

  One of the purposes of a condo newsletter is to create a sense of condo culture. It is important that you establish a unique community to set your building apart and offer value to your residents.You can manage to establish this culture not only with articles and features in a newsletter but also by organizing opportunities for residents to mingle at socials for condo residents. If you’re organizing a pizza party in your condo party room or scheduling a monthly movie screening in your condo theatre, notify your residents of these socials. New condo owners might not know about these social events and will appreciate your management’s efforts to create a sense of community. After all, giving residents the opportunity to socialize will help create community ties and condo newsletters will inform them of these special treats. And, posting pictures of past events and get-togethers in your newsletter will encourage people to come to those social, fun events.

• Letter to the Editor
  

  While tenants and owners may see the condo newsletter as a place to find information and updates on their building, you can make sure that your condo newsletter is not just a one-way stream of information. By offering a Letter to the Editor section, you’re providing residents with a platform to discuss their concerns and issues with either the condo management or board. What this does is create dialogue and really shows that you care about your residents and the issues they face. You can abstain from printing inappropriate letters or letters that may cause legal issues, but giving residents this voice shows that you are open to communication and are open to suggestions and constructive criticism. While you can print a monthly newsletter and put it in resident mailboxes once a month, it’s much more effective if you provide some of the community-building opportunities in this letter. Since 87% of Canadians are avid internet users, it would make perfect sense to put condo newsletters online to ensure readership. You can also publish the newsletter on your condo corporation’s website, management communication software or email it out every month to ensure that it reaches everyone.

  Establishing a sense of community within a condominium unit is one of the benefits of a condo newsletter. ICC^® has assisted condo corporations to manage and create both transparency and a unique condo culture for their property since 1992. If you’re looking for a transparent, communicative condo management company in Toronto, contact ICC^® ’s property managers to help you every step of the way.