Newsletters are a good way to share stories about water that build connections with customers and that point out the many connections water has to the community. Making these connections are part of Louisville Water’s strategic plan, which notes that “partnerships and relationships built on trust with customers and other external stakeholders are critically important to Louisville Water’s long-term success. It’s important they understand the issues the utility faces and the value that Louisville Water provides to the community.” To help reach this goal, Louisville Water began publishing a monthly customer newsletter, NewsSplash, in 2017 as part of its email marketing efforts. Nearly 120,000 customers receive NewsSplash every month, and the average open rate is about 46%. (The industry standard for newsletter open rates is 20-25%.) We also publish a monthly newsletter for educators, H2knOw, as well as a weekly newsletter for employees, NewsLeaks. This presentation will share best practices and answers to common questions about publishing newsletters that help make customer and community connections: - Where do you get the email list and how do you get customers to sign up for your newsletter? - Where do you get the photos, text, and other content? - How many articles should you publish in each issue? - How do you format and produce the newsletter? - How do you distribute it? - How do you get customers to open your newsletter? - What's a good open rate? - What type of stories/articles get the most clicks? - How do you use newsletters to share information on specific initiatives or respond to specific events? - How do newsletters work with other communications channels such as social media and websites? Louisville Water dedicates resources to newsletters because they build support throughout the service area for such initiatives as water main installations, rate increases, service line replacements, and facility and fleet upgrades. Newsletter articles keep customers updated on projects and plans. Stories about water help the community understand its value, which can help build not only trust but even pride in the work we do. The community understands the importance of our operations and our dedication to the mission of serving more than a million people who depend on Louisville Water to provide a high-quality product.