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What comes to mind first when you think about publishing your own
newsletter or ezine?
For most of us, content enjoys top of mind status. As a professional
newsletter publisher for more than a decade, the question I hear most often
goes something like this, "What should I write about in my
newsletter?"
It's a good question, and an important one. There's no doubt content
merits your attention.
But, don't let the importance of content blind you to strategy,
especially if you're just getting started with a newsletter or ezine.
Strategy, you see, is the big newsletter secret.
It's the articulated
purpose that ensures you direct your publication to the right people, and
for the right reasons. Get the strategy right, and the rest -- including
content -- should fall into place automatically. Miss the strategy, and
you'll be forever frustrated, trying to get the parts right without knowing
what the whole looks like.
If you're not sure what strategy means, take a look at some of the many
online sites that discuss it. I found a number of them by doing a couple of
quick search engine searches, using the keyword phrase "business AND
strategy" (without the quotation marks).
Expect some confusion after reading more than a couple of articles, since
everyone has his or her own definition of strategy, and how it should be
developed. Still, after you read at least a few of them, you'll begin to
sense a common core, one you can appreciate as you develop your own
strategies.
Generally speaking, strategy means putting together the big plan. What am
I trying to accomplish? What do I have to do achieve my objectives?
For a newsletter publisher, there are three key elements to strategy:
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choice of medium
- publishing objectives, and
- reader needs.
Choice of
medium: Before starting, asking yourself this question:
"Should I use a newsletter, or would another medium (ads in newspapers
or direct mail, for example) be better? Think hard about the amount of time
and money you would invest in your newsletter, versus the amount of time and
money you would put into some other communication vehicle.
Publishing objectives: A newsletter will cost you time and money. What do
you expect to get out it? Will you get a return on this investment? The best
way to get a return, of course, is to select a few well-defined and
achievable objectives and then focus intently on achieving them
Reader needs: Readers won't look at your newsletter more than once if you
don't provide some information they find helpful, entertaining, or otherwise
relevant. And, don't forget credible; these must be subjects on which
strangers believe you have some expertise or meaningful experience.
Once you've worked out a strategy, then you can turn to tactics. In the
case of newsletters, this involves: * selecting subjects (content) * how you
will present that content * how often to publish * how many words or pages
to publish
If you've done a good job on your strategy, you'll find it much easier to
make these tactical decisions. Much easier to make the right decisions, too!
Finally, a word of warning: Developing a strategy, especially one that's
well thought out, can be time consuming and difficult. But, it's always
worthwhile. And, you may find it as enjoyable a creative challenge as
writing and designing.
About the Author
Robert F. Abbott shows you how to
create and publish a professional-quality newsletter or ezine in his book, A
Manager's Guide to Newsletters: Communicating for Results. Read more about
this breakthrough book at http://www.managersguide.com/info.html
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