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Adam is joined by Penny Moran, the Head of Competitive Intelligence at Zuora, to talk about how her experience building a best in class competitive intel digest. Here are her three biggest tips for

1️⃣ Make it sound conversational 1️⃣

A career in the enterprise has given Penny a distinct corporate tone to her business comms.

No shade thrown at corporate speak, but if you REALLY want to connect with your audience, you need to make your writing sound conversational, not measured. 

Now, if your brand’s tone is very corporate, you won’t want to step too far out of line in your Competitive Intel Newsletter.

But if you work for a company like Zuora, where laid back and fun is part of their brand voice, you should relish the opportunity and put a little pizzazz in your newsletter.

“Add some humour, sound like a real person, just to give it a little spice.”

No matter the brand voice, making your newsletter sound conversational should be a priority. Even if you have to strike a more formal tone in your writing, a well-timed pop culture reference or pun can help loosen it up. 

So save textbook writing for textbooks and legal writing for legal documents.

Make your competitive intel newsletter FUN.

Check out more great tips from experts like James and others in our Competitive Intel Newsletter Guide & Template

2️⃣ Build a brand 2️⃣

Your compete program needs a brand — an identity to help it stand out in your organization. 

This won’t happen right away. It takes time to build and maintain a positive reputation among your peers. 

But you can create a really strong first impression for your entire compete program with a few key tricks in your competitive intel newsletter. 

Start by giving it a catchy name. “This Week in Compete,” “Competitive Market Minute,” or “Competitive Watch” (as Penny’s is named) are all tried and true options.

“I keep that consistent brand with every issue that I send out. And also I use the same sections in my intro so they know what to expect every time.”

A fun name you include in the subject line of every edition is a great start. But beyond that is where you’ll start building a deeper identity. 

Above all you want to be seen as a reliable purveyor of intel and insights. Once way you can start to flex that muscle is by being consistent in the formatting of your intel newsletter. 

Similar sections, and similar amount of intel every time helps build your brand as a trustworthy and reliable partner.

When people start knowing what to expect from you, that’s when your brand identity reaches a new level. 

Watch Matt Tyrer break down his best tips for building a competitive intel newsletter

3️⃣ Shout out your sellers 3️⃣

A little recognition goes a long way in building a culture of compete. Same goes for your newsletter.

Without fail, make sure you’re acknowledging your reps and colleagues who take the time to share intel with you. And do it every single time.

“They love the recognition and I’m trying to especially recognize those that are crowdsourcing and proactively sharing intel.”

The best part of this new age of compete is that no longer are CI pros related to the back office. As Chris Agnoli of Juniper Networks puts it, compete is now a two-way street between intel being collected, shared and implemented. 

But in order to get there, you need to engage your stakeholders and get them excited about your compete program. Giving intel sharers the recognition they deserve is a sure-fire way of getting there.

Every single newsletter writer in our series believes in giving colleagues shoutouts.

It’s a light touch that builds a flywheel of success.