How Your Newsletter Can Reach Seniors Through Their Adult Children

Adult children of seniors often play a pivotal role in their parents’ lives. They may help senior loved ones manage their health and personal care needs, assist with household tasks, and encourage them to maintain social lives. Many times, it’s the adult child’s influence that persuades aging parents to make important decisions they might otherwise put off.

If your organization is trying to connect with seniors, it often helps to also engage their family members. When trying to capture the attention of your senior’s adult children — who are likely busy juggling careers, families, and more — an effective method of engagement is through a community newsletter. Newsletters that provide relevant, informative, and engaging content can be delivered directly to an adult child’s email inbox or printed and sent to their home where they can dive in on their own time.

Content Strategy for Connecting with Adult Children

• Focus on Relevant Topics
  Think about what types of content will be of interest to several generations of a family. A few topics you might want to consider are:
• Health and wellness: Articles offering tips for successful aging, managing chronic conditions, and promoting mental well-being might be useful. Include advice from local experts or personal stories that resonate with both seniors and their adult children. For example, showcase how a senior and their adult child attend Wednesday chair yoga or volunteer at special events together at your center.
• Spotlight community events: Another idea is to highlight upcoming events, workshops, and social gatherings the adult child and senior could enjoy together; it can be a great bonding experience. And, don’t forget to share photos of past events so they can read about those, too.
• Incorporate educational content: Offer practical articles on financial planning, legal matters, and senior transportation options. Adult children often seek advice on these topics to support their parents effectively. These pieces of content are great opportunities to invite local experts to write for your newsletter.

Be Mindful of Writing Style and Tone

What you say and how you say it is a factor in how many people will read your newsletter. A few goals to set for your project might be:

• Keep it clear and accessible: Use simple language and avoid jargon to ensure the newsletter is easy to read for all audiences.
• Express empathy and support: Adopt a compassionate tone that acknowledges the challenges and joys of aging, and the role adult children play in seniors’ lives. Offer practical solutions and resources without being overly clinical or patronizing.
• Be inclusive: Recognize the diversity within your local community. Feature stories and photos from different cultural backgrounds and family dynamics.

Create a Thoughtful Design and Layout

In a crowded inbox or mailbox, your newsletter must attract attention so it isn’t overlooked. Some tips for achieving this are:

• Use your brand: Your organization will benefit from a clear and concise brand. Your audience should quickly recognize you from the colors and fonts you choose as well as by your logo. Never underestimate the power of branding! If you need help creating a brand for your organization or even simply refreshing an old logo, we can help!
• Visual appeal: Use a clean, reader-friendly newsletter layout with readable fonts and ample white space. Incorporate images of seniors participating in activities or enjoying community events to visually connect with readers.
• Navigability: Organize content into sections with clear headings and subheadings, and include a table of contents or summary at the beginning for easy navigation. Get more tips inside our recent article: 9 Design Tips to take Your Newsletter From Good to GREAT!
• Digital accessibility: Your newsletter should be distributed as both a print newsletter and digitally.  Having both options will help you capture a more robust audience and also give your readers a chance to revisit the newsletter in whatever format is more convenient for them. Newsletters made with LPi have excellent print and digital options. Learn more about our newsletter services here.

Promote and Encourage Engagement

Adult children often worry that an aging parent is spending too much time at home alone. Your organization can be a great solution for addressing that concern. Keep in mind the following ways to encourage family members to get involved and turn them into ambassadors for your organization:

• Welcoming call to action: Make sure your content is welcoming and that it invites adult children to subscribe to the newsletter and share it with others who might benefit. Include links to social media pages or a dedicated website for additional resources.
• Feedback loop: Invite readers to submit questions, suggestions for future topics, or personal stories. Acknowledge and respond to feedback to foster a sense of community involvement.
• Recognition: In each issue, highlight people who are contributing to your organization’s success, whether they’re staff or volunteers. This can motivate others to participate.

Consider Distribution and Outreach

Reaching adult children and seniors can be a challenge. Here are a few things to consider:

• Use a multichannel approach: Besides email, consider distributing print copies in locations that may be frequented by adult children, such as coffee shops, libraries, and popular community organizations. Be sure to utilize social media platforms and websites to reach a wider audience.
• Collaborate: Partner with local businesses, healthcare providers, or service organizations to sponsor or promote the newsletter. This can help increase your budget for the project and expand your reach among adult children. In fact, LPi’s newsletter services are often FREE for our partnering organizations because they are supported by ads that are purchased by the local businesses who already champion your community.

So, if you’re ready to transform your newsletter into something readers of all ages will love, look no further! We offer a budget-friendly way to create top-notch content that informs and engages your audience while simultaneously communicates your unique mission. Let’s make your newsletters shine!