An investor newsletter updates equity, debt and grant investors on company performance and developments. When fully utilized, a monthly newsletter demonstrates accountability, builds trust, and creates strong relationships for future fundraising.
Five Investor Update Best Practices
Investor newsletters add context to key metrics to provide insights that go above and beyond the typical investor update. This is essential to making sure your value is understood. These five principles will differentiate your scaleup and build strong investor relations that carry you on the journey to exit.
1. Regular
An effective newsletter requires consistency in cadence and quality. A rushed update will be scattered and difficult to follow. Commit to a monthly schedule to avoid scrambling at the final hour.
‘Regular’ does not have to mean bland. A schedule creates the foundation that gives you the time to craft compelling messages that stand out. Prompt delivery of a well-structured newsletter creates a rhythm of engagement that invites two-way communication.
2. Honest
Building investor trust requires you report the good news and the bad. No one wants to be the bearer of bad news and its human nature to sugarcoat hard truths.
You must fight this temptation as your investors require transparency, not surprises. It’s a long journey to exit and venture capital investors expect headwinds. They will appreciate leaders that communicate problems and take action.
Don’t minimize your victories either. Make sure the newsletter fully reflects company achievements. Seize the opportunity to continue forward momentum – good news ensures your value is understood and keeps investors engaged.
3. Precise
Private equity investors are busy, so you need to emphasize what’s most important. Writing detailed information in a short format is deceptively time-consuming. Take time to reflect and make the most out of the opportunity.
Sorry for the long letter, I didn’t have time to write a short one
Blaise Pascal, French mathematician
Precision also means delivering high-quality information. Have your data organized and contacts integrated before starting your newsletter. Don’t copy-paste information from disparate sources – build a coherent and scalable approach.
4. Easy to Follow
Your newsletter should follow a logical order. Each section should have a distinct purpose and each newsletter build on the last. Investors should be able to track important topics, performance and liquidity across periods.
An easy-to-read newsletter will demonstrate your company relates to investor needs and complies with terms of its shareholder and other agreements.
5. Bigger Picture
Newsletters don’t exist in a vacuum. They’re part of your roadmap to exit and operate within the context of company goals and corporate governance.
Your newsletter should connect the past month to the company’s future. Pull together key developments to build investor confidence. Consider augmenting your newsletter with a webinar or call, investors will welcome the opportunity to engage and this provides you invaluable data points.
Create your Investor Newsletter Today
Rel8’s Newsletter helps scale-ups communicate with their equity, debt and grant investors.
A range of ready-to-go features make it easy to engage today and build a data-driven approach to investor relations over time:
- Customisable template that is easy to use and meets the needs of your investors.
- Integrated contacts to report to the right people in real-time from a single location.
- Document library makes it easy to access information and attach files to your newsletter.
- Engagement analytics that provide deep insights on reach and investor engagement.
- Digital Events that augment your newsletter and build two-way engagement.
Contact sales to get more information on Rel8.