This article is by Thomson Chemmanoor, a search engine optimization (SEO) expert and webmaster, concentrates on HTML newsletter design. For further information, please follow the links in his bio paragraph headed About The Author.
Mike Alexander
Author of ‘Internet Traps, Ripoffs And Pitfalls‘

Email Newsletters

An email newsletter is a newsletter we find on the internet where readers can get to read news on the internet, just as one may read ordinary newspapers. Various online newsletters available cover many topics. We can get stories on health, technology, sports, general stories, articles, and even any alerts sounded by the people/government to read on the online newsletter.

The thing to remember when creating an email newsletter is to make the email newsletter design as attractive and interesting for a reader as possible to get them interested in reading it. To make the newsletter design attractive, one can either get the newsletter design done professionally by some newsletter design agency or by downloading newsletter design software and following tutorials to get the newsletter done.

Here, at a fixed price, they have their newsletter designers create various newsletter design samples for you to choose from. If you find a design that you like, they will make any changes to it for you, to finally get the newsletter design you require.

Templates

In case you plan to design the newsletter by yourself, there are various software applications available and email newsletter templates for you to choose from.

There are various template packs available for purchase in addition to the templates that are already in the newsletter design website. These template packs are additional email template designs packed in packs for the user. When you design a company newsletter template, remember that the newsletter format is important. You can choose the format from text, HTML or a combination of both, as there have both advantages and disadvantages in them.

Formats

It is up to you to decide which format to use for your requirements. The newsletter layout is also as important as the email newsletter design. Layout is the working of the different elements of the email newsletter in harmony, to enhance the value of the newsletter to the readers. For a reader to subscribe and unsubscribe to the online newsletter, make sure you have a reply-to email address, which has an auto-responder to let the reader know that their email has been received and is being processed.

About The Author

This article was written by Thomson Chemmanoor, a search engine optimization expert and webmaster who operates websites like http://www.articlenetworks.com. Click on HTML email design to read more about the subject.

What follows is a clearly laid out article by Lani Garner on the four different types of intellectual property recognized by law in most developed countries. Obviously, from the point of view of most readers of 101 Newsletter Answers, the section on copyright is likely to be the most relevant to their own field of endeavor. However, since most of our readers also run a business of some kind, I thought the article may prove useful as a whole.
Mike Alexander
For all your content needs go to ClipCopy Content Solutions

IP Types

Intellectual property (IP) is a list of distinct kinds of legal monopolies over the creation of ideas, both artistic and commercial, and the corresponding fields of law. Under IP law, proprietors are given particular exclusive rights to a variety of intangibles, like musical, literary, and artistic works; ideas, breakthroughs, and inventions; and words, phrases, symbols, and designs. There are four main kinds of intellectual property: trade secrets, patents, copyrights, and trademarks.

Copyrights

Copyrights safeguard original creations, either published or unpublished. They protect the owner’s rights over pieces like musical scores, poetry, movies, novels etc. They allow the owners to exclusively use several forms of their idea in different media with sole legal rights of replication, adaptation, sale etc for a prescribed span of time. The owner has an authority over his creation for more than 50 years, which is valid even after his demise and any infringement of the work within this time is actionable.

Patents

Patents are lawful and registered rights that allow inventors to prevent others from manufacturing or marketing their invention. Typically they are applicable to scientific theories, technological inventions and also biological discoveries. The legal cover offered by a patent in most nations is for a span of 20 years, after which the invention ceases to be the sole property of the patent owner.

Trade Secrets

Trade secrets are proprietary information that can be used by the firm to stand out in the industry. Trade secrets can be anything ranging from software algorithms to the recipe of a food item and even information like contact numbers of most important clients. Generally, trade secrets are not governed by any kind of state machinery but by strict internal standards and policies of the particular company. The most common means of securing trade secrets is by allowing access to only a few important executives, or by depositing it safely in a bank along with other valuable items and documents.

Trademarks

Trademarks cover words, symbols or graphics that are used in connection with a specific brand or product in order to distinguish it from the products of rivals. They identify a unique brand that enables people to recall or identify the service or manufacturer concerned. Usually trademarks hold good for 10 years after which a renewal is often required.

About The Author

Discover more about Trademark Registration Singapore and discover how does an Intellectual Property protection increase the net worth of your business very fast. Grab a totally unique version of this article from the Uber Article Directory.

The basic simplicity and effectiveness of press release marketing is given a brief airing in this piece by Brock Hamilton. If you haven’t yet tried this particular marketing method, rest assured it works well for newsletter promotions. It is always best to ease yourself into a new strategy such as this in order to make it that much easier to ’learn the ropes’ in the long run.
Mike Alexander
For all your content needs go to ClipCopy Content Solutions

Your Strategy

If I walked up to you and asked you what exactly is your press release strategy, would you know what I was talking about or would you just give me a ‘deer-in-the-headlights’ look? Chances are you would do the latter. The reason for this is because many people are lost when it comes to having a press release strategy that is proven to work.

The harsh truth is that many companies, big and small, fail to use press releases when marketing their company. This can sometimes mean the difference between make or break. If you ask many business owners, they have no idea what a press release is or how to use it in marketing. That is why I am here! To help you through this sometimes difficult process and ease you into the world of press releases.

What A Press Release Is

Many business owners may not even be aware of what exactly a press release is, let alone know how to use one to advertise their business. The following information will help you to figure out how you can use press releases as part of your marketing campaign.

The first thing that you need to know is what exactly a press release is. In short, it is a written announcement of an event that is happening at your business, or to announce a product release. A press release does not have to written by a scholar; it just needs to give basic event information, such as who, what, when and where. Many companies will decide to have a press release written ‘in house’ and will decide to do so as a cost-saving expedient.

Writing Press Releases

Now that you are familiar with press releases, you will need to actually write the release itself. If you are not comfortable with writing press releases then you will have to hire a person to write it for you. If you hire a person to write your press releases then you will also be able to get them to help in their distribution too. This will be an important aspect of getting the word out to the masses about your business.

Once you have the release written, a great idea is to take it and to post it to your website. This will help you in the fact that it will give you extra exposure to get the word about your business out and to make sure that you get an extra push in trying to promote your news or product.

Summary

This has been written as an overview of how a press release works and the many benefits that making them effective. If you really want to compete with the big boys, then you will need an out of this world press release.

About The Author

Are you ready to submit your Free Press Release visit this site today.

This article by Ben Pate is right on target as far as reviewing printer toner cartridges is concerned. The issues raised are discussed in a moderate fashion and with a degree of detachment sufficient to generate confidence in the reader that the subject being covered has been critically assessed.
Mike Alexander
For all your content needs go to ClipCopy Content Solutions

Competition

The comprehensive flexibility and capability of the ML 3050 toner cartridge is without competition. The machine really comes through on all criteria when it comes to giving the peak potency for the needs of the contemporary small office. Regardless of the job, the Samsung ml 3050 is an unrivaled dynamic small office expert when it comes to providing picturesque prints each and every time.

An excellent basic printer with a few extra options is the Samsung ML 3050 printer. This printer does not have an LCD screen but is controlled with three different buttons. It resembles a squashed cube that is grey in color. Out of the three buttons one is more for the sales pitch as the last button prints out a demo page. The other buttons can stop printing and change the printer mode to toner saving mode. It has a parallel port to connect to your computer as well as two USB ports. There are two different paper trays, one that slides form the bottom of the machine and the other fold out from the front panel.

Features

The Samsung ML 3050 cartridge comes supplied with two different interface type ports; a USB and an older-style parallel printer capability. This is more of a legacy issue, but if the network is older and hasn’t been completely upgraded as yet, it will come in handy. No Base-TX 10/100 Ethernet or 802.11 wireless interfaces are offered. This shouldn’t be a huge issue in the kinds of small workgroups it’s envisioned that this printer will serve.

The unit has good versatility when it comes to the use of various Windows and Linux operating systems, including Red Hat and Fedora. It is also operable with Mac OSs and is certified for today’s Windows Vista systems. This kind of interfacing ability is sure to please just about any IT professional seeking a small laser printer for a tightly-knit workgroup. Standard installed memory for the Samsung ML 3050 is 16MB, which can be upgraded to 272MB maximum. For just about any networked workgroup, this memory will be more than sufficient for just about any print job, including graphics-intensive and text-laden documents or files. This unit could also serve as a stand-alone printer in a home office, which is a definite plus.

The Samsung ML 3050 printer toner cartridge comes with adequate internal paper storage capacity, at 300 sheets. If other output trays are included, there are a total of 550 sheets, which puts the Samsung ML 3050 in a nice league of printers that cost double or triple what the Samsung lists for. With a monthly duty cycle of 100,000 pages, durability is one of this printer’s strong points, meaning the maintenance person will not be seen in the office too often.

The Samsung ML 3050 toner cartridge comes supplied with the printer. This standard version is good for over 4,000 pages of print output before needing to be replaced with a fresh cartridge. An optional higher capacity toner cartridge is also available. It will push print output maximums to past 8,000 pages. Again, if most of print jobs are graphics-intensive, expect that the cartridge will need replacement sooner.

Summary

The Samsung ML 3050 is an easy to control machine with an efficient and obvious user interface that makes printing like a pro quick and simple. The printer has a tiny learning curve and can suit the requirements of any user, regardless of their printer knowledge or perception. Additionally, the installation of Samsung ML 3050 toner is just as simple and convenient.

About The Author

Overwhelming your every perception, the Samsung toner is more than capable of handling the needs of any size workload. For prints that will impress and intrigue, the crisp and detailed look that comes from adding a Qtoner toner is one that you really can’t pass up.

The most popular form of distribution for newsletters nowadays is electronically, which is why most of the articles here are written from that point of view. However, we are still not quite at a stage of development where email and e-newsletters are totally dominant. Therefore, there is still a place in the scheme of things  for transferring the written word and images to paper… and will be for some time yet. This article by Augusto Tan briefly outlines the most popular everyday printing process for small business purposes.
Mike Alexander
For all your content needs go to ClipCopy Content Solutions

Why Use Offset Printing?

Most companies need a printing service on a regular basis, whether it is for marketing purposes or for internal communication. Therefore it is helpful to learn about the basic working of the commonly used printing process called offset printing.

Both users and printers like offset printing because of its cost effectiveness for the production of large numbers of prints. This is the reason good printing service providers recommend the use of offset printing for bulk prints.

Offset printing uses oil based ink, which does not mix with water. The offset printing process is so called because the designs are transferred indirectly from metal plates to the paper by means of rubber blankets as the medium.

The Offset Printing Process

The procedure begins with the development of the designs. Film negatives were employed in the past for making images and then copying them to aluminum based printing plates. But, a modern printing company would now develop the plates directly by using an image setting system. This plate is then put on a cylinder in the proper configuration. Water and ink, in that order, is spread on the image plates. While the ink gets stuck to the image, the water gets attached to that part of the plate where there is no image so that the ink does not spill beyond the image.

Finishing Up

After painting it with ink, the image is kept on a rubber blanket which is on a different cylinder, resulting in the image to be inverted. The image is then printed with its correct side looking up by cutting sheets of papers into the appropriate size and placing them on a third cylinder.

Printed sheets are stapled, glued, or arranged in any other manner as needed and the printing company delivers them after giving some finishing touches.

About The Author

Learn more about Name Card Printing tips from an energetic Printing Company in Singapore. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service.

This short article is really a collection of extremely concise reviews of programs and software that might be of interest if you are considering publishing your own newsletter.
Mike Alexander
For all your content needs go to ClipCopy Content Solutions

How To Write A Newsletter

With this complete toolkit, Michael Green promises that he’ll virtually write your newsletter for you! The kit contains hundreds of ready-to-use, professionally written articles for completing your own newsletter, together with the How To Write A Newsletter manual in ebook format. It’s intended for people who run a business or produce a newsletter for a club, school, society, voluntary organization etc. Click here to read a longer review of this product.

The Ezine Machine

A software program that generates HTML ezine issues on the fly and can make an internet publishing star out of you… or so goes the hype! Seriously though, if you want a ‘fill-in-the-blanks’ program for creating HTML ezines, then this just might be the one for you. By the way, you can get an unbeatable bargain on this software by subscribing to ClipCopy Content Solutions. It’s actually included as part of the package! Click here for more on the program.

ClipCopy Content Solutions

Content is the most important element in a successful newsletter. Apart from the ‘lead item’, supporting articles and other items that capture and hold the attention of the reader, are crucial. Unfortunately, these elements have often been hard to come by. Now though, your quest for appropriate supporting copy has been vastly simplified. The ClipCopy collection is a huge and ever-growing resource for finding content of all types.

ClipCopy provides newsletter publishers with 6000 ways to save time and money and helps cultivate readership loyalty. How? By allowing access to that number of ready-made articles, jokes, quotations, amusing facts and anecdotes, quizzes, word puzzles etc; all for copying and pasting directly into your newsletter(s). No searching through websites or libraries, no seeking ‘permission to publish’, no royalties to pay. Just hours of precious time and hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars saved. Click here to find out more.

Ezine Announcer

Ultimate Newsletter Templates

Many similarly promoted programs are often little more than a list of submission directories together with instructions that need following. Ezine Announcer’s main promise was that it actually takes the hard work out of the necessary actions. A one or two click solution, if you like. Click hereto find out what our reviewer thought.

Ultimate Newsletter Templates

Your newsletter is important and you are going to spend several hours of your valuable time each week, fortnight or month, creating the next issue for it. Are you going to overlook the importance of design? It is absolutely crucial if you are a serious newsletter publisher. That’s why we’ve included these professionally designed templates at a special price for you. Or you can join ClipCopy Content Solutions, where you will find you can get them free! Click here to read more.

© 2000 Mike Alexander (Revised 2009), All Rights Reserved

Reprint Rights

If you would like to use the above article in your own publication you must follow our Reprint Rights guidelines.

101 Newsletter Answers is not about the mechanics of newsletter publishing but we thought the inclusion of this page might be useful, especially for newcomers to the field. Every line of work has it’s own language, or jargon, and publishing (together with it’s associated fields) is no exception. In fact, like most older professions, it has more unique words and phrases than most. Now they have been joined by computers, which alone has enough to fill a whole dictionary. This selection then, only includes the most widely used terms in common use.
Mike Alexander
For all your content needs go to ClipCopy Content Solutions

The Language Of Publishing

If we’ve overlooked something that really ought to be included, please let us know. Or, if you come across a word or phrase that you are unfamiliar with but think it might be pertinent to newsletters (or publishing) in some way, and it’s not included, why not drop us a line. Use the Contact Form in the main menu.

Index

Computer Terms

Editing And Proofing Terms

Mailing List Terms

Postal Terms

Publishing Terms

Subscription Terms

Typesetting And Printing Terms

Various Other Useful Terms

Editing And Proofing Terms

BLUE PENCIL A special pencil used for marking copy that does not photograph and is therefore invisible in the finished item.

C/Ic (Caps and lowercase) Instruction to capitalize a word or phrase.

CAMERA-READY COPY Clean (ie smudge-free) text or artwork ready for the printer to photograph.

CAPS Instruction to change lowercase characters to uppercase.

CHARACTER The term for an individual letter, number, or symbol.

CONTENT EDITING Analyzing a composition and deciding what needs to be added or changed to improve it.

COPY Any text that is intended for eventual reproduction in electronic or printed form.

COPY EDITING Finding and eliminating grammatical, spelling or similar errors, and checking for style conformity.

COPY FITTING Calculating how much space a piece will need when typeset, or how much copy will be needed to fill a space.

CROPPING Cutting out (or marking out) a graphic so that the focus is on an individual part of it.

DUMMY LAYOUT A mock-up of a printed piece showing the sort of material to be included in the final product.

EDITING Analyzing and amending a manuscript, composition, audio or visual item before publishing.

FORMAT The physical characteristics of a publication such as size, shape, typefaces, margin widths, letter spacing, colors, paper stock, etc.

GRID A rectangular page pattern that facilitates precise positioning of text, illustrations and white space.

LAYOUT A sketch that shows the relative positions of headlines, body text and pictures as they should appear on the finished item.

lc (lowercase) An instruction to uncapitalize a character or phrase.

LIGHT TABLE A special table with a light underneath used for paste-ups.

MECHANICAL A cardboard backed, camera-ready paste-up of type and graphics.

PAGE PROOF Reproduction proof of a single page.

PASTE-UP A mechanical of illustrations, headlines, and copy prepared for printing.

PROOF Composed copy for editing that has already gone through one or more of the prepress procedures.

PROOFREADING The process of reading composed copy in order to identify and correct errors.

RAGGED Leaving one or both sides of a column, or the bottom of columns across a page, uneven.

REPRODUCTION PROOF A high-quality proof, for final viewing before printing.

ROUGH A rough sketch of a full-size page layout.

RULE A vertical or horizontal line on a page.

STET (Let it stand) Instruction to revert to the original after initially changing a word or phrase.

Typesetting And Printing Terms

BASELINE The (imaginary) line on which type characters rest; characters with downward strokes, such as g or p, protrude below this line.

BLEED When the ink on a printed page extends to the very edge of the paper.

BLUE (or BROWN) LINE The proof used by printers for correcting errors.

COLD TYPE Modern typesetting methods that no longer use ‘hot metal’.

FLAT A sheet of paper with negatives taped in position for making an offset printing plate.

FONT All the letters, numbers, punctuation marks and symbols required for a particular style and size of typeface.

GALLEY PROOF Long, narrow sheets of printed copy in the type size and column width of a newsletter’s format prior to page make-up.

GUTTER The inside edge of a page that allows extra space for binding.

HOT TYPE Typesetting by using molds for each character and pouring hot metal into lines of type.

KERNING Decreasing the space between certain characters to create an illusion of consistent spacing.

LEADING The space between lines of type on a page.

LETTER COUNT The average number of characters to a line.

LOWER CASE Small letters, as opposed to capitals.

OFFSET PRINTING A lithographic method that uses a flat surface (plate) chemically treated to only accept ink in image areas.

PAPER STOCK Supply of paper according to specifications such as size, type, weight, opacity etc.

PICA A printer’s unit of measure; 12 picas equal one inch.

POINT A typesetting unit of measure used for indicating font sizes.

PREPRESS The procedures that a manuscript goes through prior to printing.

PREPRINTED STOCK Paper reserved for use in a specified publication that has already been printed with recurring copy such as a masthead, O.B.C., self-mailer box, etc.

PRINT RUN The total number of finished copies of a publication that will result from a set series of individual print jobs.

SANS SERIF Typeface, such as Helvetica, that does not have a serif (crossline) decorating the main strokes of the characters.

SERIF A decorative line that crosses the main strokes of a letter in some type styles such as Times Roman.

SHORT-RUN A small-quantity print specification for a publication.

SPECS Specifications; parameters or rules for formatting a publication, application, document etc.

TYPEFACE A style of type characterized by its shape, slant, height etc.

UPPER CASE Capital letters, as distinct from lowercase and small caps.

Publishing Terms

ACCORDION FOLD Two or more parallel folds in a mailout item so that it opens like an accordion.

ALIGNMENT The lining up of text on a page or in a column (commonly ‘ragged left’, ‘justified’, or ‘centered’).

CAPTION A short description attached to an illustration.

COMPOSITION METHOD The method that was used for composing a piece for eventual reproduction.

CLIPART ‘Off-the-peg’ drawings in camera-ready format for clipping and pasting.

COLLATING To sort individual pages of a publication in a set order.

COLUMN INCH The total text that fits within each inch of a specified column.

CONTROLLED CIRCULATION Free distribution within a certain area or demographic group.

COPYRIGHT-FREE Any work that is not under copyright restriction and can be reproduced freely without permission.

DRILLING Punching holes in a publication for binding.

GATE FOLD A sheet of paper with two parallel folds that form a center panel.

HALFTONES Gradations of tone in one color that give the effect of shading.

I.S.S.N. (International Standard Serial Number) An eight-digit identifier for a periodical.

I.F.C. (Inside Front Cover) Inside Front Cover.

JUSTIFY Aligning type to the right edge of a column as well as the left.

LINE ART Illustrations composed only of solid black lines.

LOGO Short for logotype.

LOGOTYPE The identifying symbol or trademark of an organization, publication, or other concern.

MANUSCRIPT An original piece of copy as submitted by the author

MASTHEAD A panel that promulgates the essential details of a publication such as the people responsible for its production, copyright information, publication schedule, etc.

NAMEPLATE The area, usually on the first page, that prominently displays the name of a publication, usually in a stylized form such as a graphic trademark or logo.

O.B.C. (Outside Back Cover) Outside Back Cover.

PULLQUOTE A short excerpt from an article given prominence to present the ‘tone’ of the subject or topic

SIDEBAR Extra information about an article’s subject matter that is given prominence by means of a separate panel.

TEXT The main body of an article in a publication.

Mailing List Terms

ACTION DEVICE A technique used in direct mail to trigger a specific response.

C.P.I. (Cost Per Inquiry) A mathematical formula used in direct mail: total cost of a mailout divided by the number of individual recipients multiplied by the number of inquiries received.

C.P.M. (Cost Per Thousand) The total cost of a direct mail piece divided by the number of recipients multiplied by a thousand.

C.P.O. (Cost Per Order) A mathematical formula used in direct mail: total cost of a mailout divided by the number of individual recipients multiplied by the number of orders received.

C.W.O. (Cash-With-Order) Requires that full (or sometimes part) payment is received with an order.

CLUSTER SELECTION A list testing method that selects a consistent series of addresses based upon a simple mathematical formula (eg the first 10 out of every 100, the first 100 of each ZIP code, etc.

COMPILED LIST A list of names and addresses collected from various sources, usually of individuals that have something in common.

COUPON CLIPPER An individual who responds to free offers but has no serious buying interest.

DIRECT MAIL A sales and promotion method that uses the postal service as the main mode of contact and distribution.

DECOY A fictitious name with a real address placed in a mailing list for monitoring purposes (also Dummy).

DIRECT RESPONSE A promotional method that solicits an immediate and measurable response, usually by mail or phone.

DUMMY A fictitious name with a real address, placed in a mailing list for monitoring purposes (also Decoy).

HOT-LINE LIST The most up-to-date names on a mailing list, usually no older than three months, and specified as weekly or monthly.

HOUSE LIST A list of names compiled by an organization’s own staff and sourced from its own records, such as inquiries, customers, competition entrants etc.

LETTERSHOP A direct mail service that handles addressing, collating, printing, mailing, list rentals etc.

LIST CLEANING The process of correcting or removing out-of-date names from a mailing list.

LIST BROKER A go-between who has professional relationships with various mailing list owners and experience of how their lists perform etc.

LIST COMPILER A professional who puts together and owns lists from various sources.

LIST MAINTENANCE A system for upkeeping name and address records so that the list is always fresh..

LIST MANAGER The person who handles all aspects of list rentals for owners.

LIST SEQUENCE The order (alphabetical, by ZIP-code etc) that names and addresses appear on a list.

MERGE/PURGE The process of cleaning a mailing list of decoys, dead addresses etc.

SALTING Deliberate placing of decoys or dummies in a list to test delivery and/or list usage.

TEASER A promotion designed to pique interest in an upcoming offer.

UNIVERSE The total number of individuals who might be included in a mailing list.

Postal Terms

A.C.R. (Address Correction Requested) An indicator to the postal service that you are willing to pay the fee for notification of a new address if it has changed.

A.M.D. (Assigned Mailing Date) The date on which a user has to mail a specific list based on prior agreement with the list owner.

B.R.E. (Business reply envelope) An envelope overprinted to conform with the postal services requirements for a special discount.

BINGO CARD A postcard included in a mailout for responding to offers of samples etc.

CO-OP MAILING Where third party mailouts are included with the principle one to share costs.

CORNER CARD The return address, usually printed in the upper left-hand corner of an envelope.

KEY CODE An identification number or other mark used to measure the effectiveness a mailout, advertisement etc.

LETTER FOLD A sheet folded twice so that it fits in a standard business letter envelope.

S.A.S.E. (Stamped And Self-Addressed) Stamped And Self-Addressed.

SECTIONAL CENTER (SCF or SEC Center) A postal service distribution unit comprising post offices whose ZIP codes have the same first three digits.

SELF-MAILER Any publication mailed without an envelope.

WHITE MAIL Mailed responses that don’t not make use of any reply devices included with the original mailout.

Computer Terms

C.A.P. (Computer-Aided Publishing) Applies to virtually all modern publishing methods.

D.T.P. (Desktop Publishing) Using a computer and special software to produce camera-ready copy.

DISK A computer storage device such as a CD or 3.5″ floppy.

D.P.I. (Dots Per Inch) For calculating resolution.

FILE Data stored as a record on a computer or on paper.

FLOPPY DISK A removable computer device for storing data.

GRAPHIC Computer data in the form of a picture or image.

HARD COPY Paper printout of computer data.

HARDWARE The physical elements of a data-processing system, such as monitor, keyboard, soundcard etc.

INK JET Printing method that uses nozzles to spray ink droplets onto the paper.

INPUT Data entered into a computer for processing.

LASER PRINTER A computer printer using laser beam technology that produces letter-quality results.

LETTER-QUALITY Printed computer output that is superior to typewriter quality.

MAIL MERGE The transfer of data from one computer file to address and/or personalize mailing items in another.

MEMORY The part of a computer that retrieves data and instructions stored on disk so that they can manipulated and displayed on a monitor.

O.C.R. (Optical Character Recognition) Software for converting printed text into digital (computer) text so that the resulting output can be edited.

OPTICAL SCANNER An electronic device for converting hard copy into digital copy, usually in the form of an image.

OUTPUT What a computer produces in response to user input.

RESOLUTION The sharpness of a computer image measured in D.P.I.

SOFTWARE Digital instructions in the form of programs, applications, drivers etc that a data-processing system (computer) uses to make it’s hardware work.

TEXT EDITOR A computer program for manipulating and editing plain text (ASCII) files.

WORD PROCESSOR An application for entering, editing, formatting, and printing text.

WYSIWYG (What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get) Accurately representing the appearance of printed documents on the screen.

Subscription Terms

ACTIVE SUBSCRIBER A newsletter recipient who has committed to receiving regular deliveries.

ADVANCE RENEWAL Renewal of a subscription before the current one has expired.

DEADBEAT A non-payer who doesn’t bother to say why.

DELINQUENT A subscriber who has fallen behind or defaulted on payment.

EXPIRED SUBSCRIBER One who has allowed a subscription to lapse.

NO-PAY A person who has not paid, for whatever reason, for goods or services ordered.

BIWEEKLY, BIMONTHLY Twice weekly or monthly (as opposed to every 2 weeks, every 2 months etc).

Miscellaneous

A.I.D.A. (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) The essential sequence of responses that need to be generated for a sale to take place.

D.B.A. (Doing Business As) Used to identify a concern that is more commonly known by another name.

DEMOGRAPHIC A socioeconomic or similar factor that defines a certain group or area.

S.I.C. (Standard Industrial Classification) A business classification, as defined by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

TYPO Common abbreviation for a typographical error.

© 2000 Mike Alexander (Revised 2009), All Rights Reserved

Reprint Rights

If you would like to use the above article in your own publication you must follow our Reprint Rights guidelines.

Anyone who has ever thought of starting a newsletter publishing business will want to read this new ebook by Mike Alexander. Not just a book of theory, like so many you see advertised on the Internet nowadays, this one was written from practical experience by someone who has actually done it.

Mike Alexander
For all your content needs go to ClipCopy Content Solutions

Due Out Soon

The first release is scheduled for New Year and will initially go on sale for $39.95(US), but will be free to all Members of ClipCopy Content Solutions whose membership is current at the time of release. Not only that but they will get Referral (resale) Rights as well, that will enable them to earn $20.00 commission on each and every sale that results from one of their referrals. NB: This offer is only open to members who are current when the book comes out some time between now and the end of January.

About The Book

Starting A Newsletter Business! commences with a general overview of the requirements for a SOHO (Small Or Home Office) business that can be run from home, guides the reader through the different types of newsletter that are conducive to ‘start-ups’, then concentrates on ‘content’ considerations and the sales and marketing aspects so crucial to success in each newsletter type. A chapter by chapter breakdown by subheadings follows.

Chapter One—Business Basics

Business Requirements, Accounts, Business Location, Utilizing the Internet, Sales and Marketing Considerations

Chapter Two—Types of Newsletters

What is a Newsletter?, Production, Delivery, Circulation, Purpose, Funding Methods, The Marketing Focus

Chapter Three—Sponsored Newsletters

Why They Are Popular, Pros and Cons, Essential Elements, Finding Sponsors, Approaching Sponsors

Chapter Four—Advertiser-Funded Newsletters

The Cost Factor, Publishing Independence, Advertising Sales Considerations, Essential Elements, Finding Advertisers

Chapter Five—Subscription Newsletters

Recipient Funding, Appropriate Types, Advantages, Pitfalls, Finding Subscribers, Generating Interest

Chapter Six—Prospecting for Business

Finding Prospects, Qualifying Prospects, Understanding Customers, Finding the Key Decision-Maker, Unlocking the Door

Chapter Seven—Establishing Relationships

Interview Preparation, Relaxing the Prospect, Leaving your Card, Understanding Customers, Advertisements, Piquing Interest

Chapter Eight—Turning Prospects into Clients

The Sales Interview, The Sales Sequence, Stressing Benefits, Making the Sale (1st Close), Making the Sale (2nd Close), Confirming the Sale

Chapter Nine—Managing Clients

Customer Relations Management, Using Your Own Newsletter, Dealing with Problems, Nurturing the Readership

Chapter Ten—Readership Needs

Regularity, Readability, Presentation, Compelling Content

Chapter Eleven—Content Examples

Consultant’s Newsletter, Club Newsletter, Collector’s Newsletter

Chapter Twelve—Maintenance and Growth

Mailing List Maintenance, Repeat Business, New versus Referred Business, Composite Newsletters

© 2000 Mike Alexander (Revised 2009), All Rights Reserved

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Two main considerations have a bearing on whether or not color or graphics should be used in a newsletter, and if so, to what extent. The type of newsletter is one, and method of production is the other. The second of these, of course, might be dependant on what in-house devices and expertise are available. Short runs of up to 1000 copies of (let’s say) a four-page realty newsletter, might easily be produced by a small office using a moderate-sized, up-to-date desktop printer—with remarkably professional results. If color is available as an option then the cost of its inclusion might need to be taken into account and any decisions would probably depend on the budget allocation for the project concerned. On the other hand, the same office would have to employ the services of a commercial printer in order to produce 100,000 copies of a sixteen-page community newsletter. Indeed, there are so many different possibilities that each would have to be considered according to whatever variables apply. A free quarterly handout promoting a local tradesman’s business, for example, is a very different publishing proposition to a newsletter covering a specialist topic and distributed to paying subscribers.
Mike Alexander
For all your content needs go to ClipCopy Content Solutions

Other Things To Consider

Apart from these obvious factors though, what other things should be considered? The first that comes to mind is presentation, or put another way, the overall look of a publication. Most newcomers to the world of newsletter production seem to have an innate belief that inclusion of color and graphics enhances the look of all publications. In truth however, there usually have to be more practical reasons for their inclusion than just decorative effect. Improvements in presentation can be achieved by many methods, such as paper quality, choice of fonts etc. Once the decision is made to include them though, they should be used in such a way as to add to the overall attractiveness of the publication at the same time as achieving the desired objective.

Before making a decision then, about whether to have color and graphics in your newsletter it is always best to ask yourself how their inclusion might enhance it. If they improve clarity and readability then you have good reason for deciding in the affirmative. To be sure that their inclusion will help make such improvements you need to consider the purpose of the newsletter, its readership, frequency of publication etc. Graphics and color are design elements that necessitate looking at the publication as a whole. Consistency is the key to using them effectively and producing a unique style for your newsletter. It is also one of the best ways to improve clarity and readability.

Using Graphics

Graphics, of whatever sort, tend to look best on a page divided into columns. That way the copy can be more easily broken up into readable chunks, especially when the graphics are pictures that illustrate subjects within the copy itself. Captions, when used, are best placed directly underneath the pictures they refer to, to avoid any confusion.

Photographs

Due to the amount of detail, perceived authenticity, and the fact that they capture a moment in time, photographs can be a useful form of graphic to include in a newsletter. Head and shoulder views (mug shots) have enormous appeal to readers, as do group photos, candid shots (e.g. who was at the office party?), historical material (‘before and after’ pictures of a building, for example), etc. Use a photo editor to crop out any unnecessary detail and possibly to retouch for clarity. If including a number of photographs, crop them to different sizes and shapes for variety. Look carefully at your retouching and cropping results though, to make sure they are not misleading.

Clipart And Line Art

Many newsletters overuse clipart, thinking it’s an easy way to add something ‘extra’. However, there is now so much free material widely available that too much can soon appear tacky. It can be excellent though, for adding humor, particularly when the rules of consistency are observed. Black and white (line) art, on the other hand, is not so common but if you can get hold of some original material, particularly on a regular basis, it can often be made to fit into a newsletter format very well.

Cartoons

Another popular form of humor that almost always go down well. Once again, consistency, especially a theme that is consistently followed, can add hugely to a newsletter’s following. Usually one, or a strip of three is enough for any newsletter.

Puzzles

As with cartoons, puzzles such as crosswords can generate an enthusiastic following among a newsletter’s readership and are always worth trying. Don’t overdo them though. One fairly short and (depending on the reading audience) fairly simple one is usually all that is required.

Diagrams And Charts

These can be useful in most newsletters from time to time. If you layout your newsletter electronically, as most do nowadays, be sure to use a simple formatting program (such as a popular word processor) rather than an obscure format that may cause all sorts of problems in conflict with your other software.

Fonts

Not really graphics, of course, but worth mentioning since some newsletter producers are fond of using outlandish typefaces as a way of illustrating the theme of an article. This is really best avoided. Use one of the methods above, or a clever title perhaps, to make your point.

Using Color

The commonest mistake that people make when printing a newsletter in color is to overdo it. This is understandable. After all, the thinking goes, if I have it, why not flaunt it? Unfortunately, any advantage that might be gained is quickly outweighed by this strategy. Color should be used prudently or its impact is lost. In the case of full color, let photographs have prime placing and avoid competing colors nearby. With spot color, use it to add impact only to the most important elements on the page or according to a consistent style. Also, always use standard colors, rather than special mixes (e.g. plain ‘Blue’ rather than ‘Aquamarine’ or ‘Ice Blue’).

Full Color

Few newsletters use full color printing, the commonest reason being that relatively short runs (compared to most magazines, for example) make it uneconomic. However, if it is an option, it may be worth stressing again that it should always be used with restraint. Subdue any urges you may have to splash color everywhere.

Spot Color

This is best used to achieve standardization in the newsletter style. The layout should always be clean and easy to follow and color-coding can help in this regard. In other words, to make regular features (e.g. ‘Tip Of The Week’, or ‘Your Letters’) easy to locate, surround these items with a colored border, or underline the headings with a colored rule, then stick to this format even if the actual color changes from issue to issue. Avoid colored text if you can, especially in the major headlines, and never ever use it for body text.

Preprinted Color

Colored mastheads can be very effective and one of the best ways is to pre-print a supply of ‘master sheets’. Depending on the print run and configuration of your newsletter, and the amount you have to invest, you may be able to include both the outside front cover (OFC) and the OBC and make large savings at the same time. The master sheets can then be overprinted as required including the addition, if necessary, of a second color.

Paper Color

Don’t overlook this most cost effective way of all to include color in your publication. Be wary though. Make sure you use only light shades or pastel colors or the text may be hard to read. The major drawback to using colored stock is that you really cannot gain any of the advantages of ‘color coding’ mentioned above, except possibly by using a different color for each edition for identification purposes.

Putting It All Together

Stick to a consistent style by creating a template. This predetermines where regular items will be placed, what types of graphics to include, and how colors are to be used. It also establishes a standard layout that will soon become familiar to your regular readers, making them feel more ‘at home’ (at the same time as making your newsletter more readable). This advice, by the way, is equally applicable to electronic newsletters in whatever form they are distributed, except for those produced in plain text (which cannot include graphics or color).

© 2000 Mike Alexander (Revised 2009), All Rights Reserved

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If you are an independent sales agent or consultant, or a tradesman who works for himself, a regular newsletter is one of the best ways there is to promote your business. The better and more effective your business newsletter, the more your standing will grow as an expert in your field, the more trust you will generate and the more loyal will become your readers (and the more readers will therefore become customers).
Mike Alexander
For all your content needs go to ClipCopy Content Solutions

The Competitive Advantage

Despite these benefits, most self-employed people never publish one. The question then is, why not? Since newsletters are my field, this was a mystery to me at first. There are many answers, of course, but for the majority of go-ahead self-employed people, two reasons predominate. Most quote either cost, or a lack of newsletter content ideas (in other words, what to put in it)—or both. It took me a long time to realize that these were the reasons. Our online mailing lists and websites were born from that realization.

Right now though, you can turn this antipathy to your advantage. The chances are that if you start your own newsletter you will have a major competitive advantage over your peers.

Minimizing Costs And Maximizing Benefits

Let’s look at ‘cost’ first. Virtually the first thing that salespeople learn is not to mention price before they’ve had a chance to talk about benefits. When I managed a sales team I used to advise everyone to simply ignore the question “How much?” if they were asked it by a prospect. That’s right, pretend they didn’t hear the question. That they had temporarily gone deaf! In the case of a persistent price query, they were urged to respond by saying, “I’m coming to that” and then continue talking about benefits. Why? Was I encouraging some sort of devious sales ploy? The answer is that talking price without an appreciation of benefits translates into cost alone (something that appears on the debit side of a ledger) without a balance (something that counteracts it on the credit side). In other words, cost is perceived as a loss.

The truth is that, because of modern technology, there are a lot more choices than there used to be. Nobody is restricted any longer to the rigid, third party solution of taking the job to the nearest printer. Now, there are a range of choices, including using one’s own personal desktop printer. The result is that virtually anyone can afford to produce one. It’s just a matter of choosing the production method most suitable for your budget.

Newsletter Content: The Vital Ingredient

That brings us to the other most common reason why even self-employed people who understand the potential benefits of newsletters (for promotion of themselves and their business) don’t use them; because they don’t know what to put in them. Well, now we’re here to simplify things for you by providing advice and, with ClipCopy Content Solutions for example, actual material for you to use. Looking more closely at newsletter content for the self-employed let us consider some hypothetical cases as examples:

Computer Consultant. Technology is evolving at such a rapid rate that, if anything, it would probably be advisable to concentrate on a specific area. A computer consultant probably already would anyway. She might work in IT, or networking, or programming or any one of a dozen or more particular fields. For the purpose of this article, we’ll assume her specialty is application training and, to tighten the focus even further, that she only teaches Microsoft Office applications in the corporate sector. In this case her newsletter might have a similar focus though broadening on the computing angle as necessary. Those items most likely to appeal to readers would probably include any Microsoft news (but especially news of upcoming developments in MS Office) as well as a regular feature on an aspect of the suite, a ‘tips & hints’ column, a few jokes, maybe a cartoon, and even a computer-focused crossword. Some kind of ‘focus on a reader’ item is also usually very popular. This might be ‘Most Improved Student’ from her last training assignment, especially if the student was an employee of a prestigious company.

Plumber. Here the theme would necessarily be somewhat less focused but not that difficult to work out. Once again, a ‘tips & hints’ feature, this time on maintaining a plumbing system in good order and with due regard to seasonal considerations. A general household hints column would also probably prove popular. News of developments in water transport and storage and associated areas such as ‘How to install solar heating’ would also be complementary (How-to articles are always popular in the right context). Plus, of course, appropriate filler items to provide balance.

Realtor. Home improvement would be the likely choice for the overall theme of this newsletter. The possible range of appropriate articles is vast and might even include, for example, landscaping. ‘Tips from the expert’, in this case, would probably be along the lines of ‘how to add value to your home’.

Life Insurance Agent. ‘Providing for your retirement’ might be deemed a suitable title for a regular feature in this newsletter though I would advise something snappier like ‘Planning for a Great Future’ (i.e. unless the agent’s specialty is in another field such as key-man insurance). Associated topics might include anything of interest to the target market. For instance, if the target market is young families then babies, education, household budgeting etc might all be appropriate.

There are endless possibilities when it comes to providing your readers with quality newsletter content that they will appreciate. For the self-employed it is a matter of seeing beyond your field and looking at the world through the eyes of potential customers. Acquiring the necessary material is also now greatly simplified by making use of such solutions as are provided by ClipCopy Content Solutions.

© 2000 Mike Alexander (Revised 2003), All Rights Reserved

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In Part 1 of this article [The Power Of Newsletter Marketing (1)] we looked at the use of newsletters in their main PR role for small businesses in general terms, with an emphasis on local events. Before pressing on, let us review the reasoning behind PR and why it is so important. Many people misunderstand the motives behind it based on what they see large companies do. They see it as an exercise in brand recognition or ‘keeping their name before the public’. For small concerns it is much more than this. It is the fostering of goodwill within the business’s market area.
Mike Alexander
For all your content needs go to ClipCopy Content Solutions

Using Events And Good Causes

It is the small business’s job to create and sustain a congenial trading environment as if their life depends on it—because it does! It can involve many things, including, for example, such things as customer support, but if you had to find one word that sums up all forms of PR it would be communication. Speeches, talks and seminars, product displays, open days, press releases and radio announcements, participation in public events, peer networking (the list could go on) are all forms of PR—and all fit naturally under the general heading ‘communication’.

Newsletter Power

That is precisely why newsletters have such powerful potential. They are the natural communication media for small business. A case can even be made that some very small businesses, of the ‘corner store’ variety or self-employed representatives and tradesmen, could and should rely on them exclusively. When your market is in the surrounding streets what better way is there to communicate with your customers? However, it is not, in my opinion, a good idea to restrict your marketing to any one pursuit. Concentration of effort is fine but you still need to keep a look out for any fresh opportunities that might present themselves. However, this article was written to help you understand how to write a newsletter appropriate to your situation.

Event Marketing

One avenue that often presents just such opportunities is ‘Event Marketing’, i.e. how to effectively link your enterprise to pre-planned events, or even events that you might initiate. What we are mostly dealing with here are occasions like fairs, carnivals, parades, amateur sports meetings and so on but really any kind of gathering where the attendees have a focal point of common interest. It could be anything from a seasonal celebration with a purely commercial objective like a Christmas parade to a non-profit fundraising venture such as a telethon. Obviously, the more closely the common interest directly relates to the products or services that you offer, the keener you might be regarding your possible involvement. By the same token, some events, like the Christmas parade, might be so broad-based as to warrant your involvement because of sheer numbers, or the media coverage anticipated.

At one time in my career I was responsible for organizing a number of events and promotions for local retailers and other businesses. In order to focus a bit more specifically on how various businesses might relate to different kinds of events and to illustrate the basic principles involved I shall touch briefly on several real-life examples from this period to illustrate my points. I hope you can pick up one or two ideas that can be developed and adapted to suit your own situation.

A Practical Example

When I first started, I concentrated on developing events that were already established. One such case was the Christmas parade which is why it sprang to mind as an example above. The actual organizing, such as booking participants, arranging marshals, setting up a First Aid post etc, was, by tradition, taken care of by the local Rotary Club so things were considerably simplified from my point of view. All I had to do was arrange a series of activities to complement the main event.

The complementary activities that I used to support the Christmas parade took the form of 4 competitions. There was one for retailers (best Christmas display window). One was for children (they had to find hidden objects within the shop window displays). One was for children representing their schools (rate the Christmas displays on a scale of 1 to 10 and go in the draw for a prize). Finally, on parade day, there was a prize for guessing which staff member from one of the participating retailers was playing the part of Santa Claus.

Lessons Learned

Without going into further detail, what is the point of all these reminiscences?

Never hesitate to ask for volunteers; good sources are all around you (Service Clubs, schools, other children’s organizations such as Boy Scouts, churches – in fact any community-minded groups, particularly if they have something in common with the event). Provided there is some measure of ‘public good’ in your undertaking, they will often look favorably on your venture even if they can clearly see that you stand to gain from it. A pool of willing helpers can make a huge contribution to an event’s success. Volunteers tend to be enthusiastic, unstinting in effort and energy, carry out instructions to the letter and generally are a pleasure to work with. Also, the moment you involve volunteers your endeavor becomes a ‘community event’ and attracting the attention of the local media becomes a lot easier.

Use children whenever you can. If you run an event that attracts kids then be prepared for an invasion of adults. Local schools were our main means of announcing the coming Christmas parade including the competitions etc. Most schools were happy to run a series of morning announcements in the lead-up. It was very effective—and free (apart from the prize for winning school in the draw).

Don’t lose sight of the ball. In other words, make sure your promotional efforts pay off from start to finish. The shop display promotion caused a noticeable increase in foot traffic as excited children dragged their parents from shop to shop. The entry forms themselves were only available from participating shops. The entrants were easy to identify as they did a ‘face appraisal’ of staff and tried to memorize shop names in the hope of recognizing the real person behind Santa on parade day—and parents helped! The draw for the winning shops was held a week prior to the parade and was featured in the local press, complete with accompanying pictures, resulting in a further increase in foot traffic. This was followed by a press release, which was generously used to report the surge in visitors to see the shop displays. On parade day, the shopping center was packed with people and the local media were in attendance. When the mystery Father Christmas was announced that resulted in more publicity for the retailer who played the part and a photo opportunity for the winner.

Offer your own goods or services as prizes. A bicycle for the winning child, with photographs outside the retail cycle shop premises, was a major publicity occurrence after the main event, as was the local supermarket’s publicity and sales from the winner of the ‘Guess Who’s Santa’ competition.

That’s all well and good, you might say, but I have no intention of organizing a Christmas parade or anything similar and my business is completely different from those you mention. Fair enough, but what I am trying to do is encourage you into thinking about the basic principles of participating in community events.

Another Example

Let’s look at another example. I needed to come up with a plan to:

• Foster goodwill and promote a congenial environment, as mentioned above
• Raise funds to finance projects within our township
• Raise the town’s profile as a business center to a wider area

In order to do this I looked around our town for companies or organizations that might have similar objectives to the first two. After drawing up a shortlist, I soon realized that one of the outfits that exactly fitted the criteria was also a unique facility. I had discovered that, within our town borders and quite unknown to most people, was the Institute for the Blind’s Guide Dog Training Center.

‘Good Cause’ Marketing

What eventually followed was the first ‘Dogathon’ (a sponsored walk for dogs and their owners) ever held in the country. The funds raised were split 60/40 in favor of the Guide Dog School and publicized as such. Just about every business in the area took part in one form or another with lots of dog-oriented displays, competitions etc. On the day we had more fun happenings which everyone enjoyed such as ‘The person who looks most like his/her dog’, ‘Best-dressed dog’, ‘Ugliest dog’, ‘Best barker’ etc. The businesses that had profiles to match the event, as is always the case of course, fared best (like the local pet shop, local vet etc) but everyone found that, with a little thought, they could find a way to link in. For example, bookstores ran specials on dog books, butchers on dog food etc. Those that simply couldn’t think of an appropriate way to link in put up big signs announcing that they supported the cause.

More Lessons Learned

We achieved all our objectives by following the principles I spelt out earlier plus one very important extra one: we had linked in to a ‘good cause’ and generated goodwill for every business involved as a result. We genuinely wanted to help them (Institute for the Blind) whilst they wanted to be seen as an organization that played their part in the local community. They also needed the funds so we were able to succeed in several ways. We used lots of volunteers and children. We got the co-operation of schools to help us promote it. We followed through on all our promotions and got the maximum possible media involvement, including national TV coverage. And lastly, most winners of competitions went shopping in the town (the exceptions were because the country’s major dog food producer supplied many prizes).

Just Do It!

You may think I was lucky to find such a unique facility that was so easy to build an event around, and I was, but that’s only part of the story. It is something that doesn’t just happen; it has to be initiated. Someone has to do something to make an event happen. You too can put on an event to suit your own business or in co-operation with other businesses in your area but, you will find, the hard part is inspiring and keeping everyone’s enthusiasm up. Done properly though, you can reap worthwhile rewards—especially if you can link your efforts sincerely to a good cause.

What About Newsletters?

But where does the power of newsletter marketing fit in all this. Think back to where this article started and you’ll see the relationship again. Your newsletter should be the ‘communication arm’ of your PR campaigns. You will be able to gather a ton of interesting material from all your activities that will provide newsletter content fascinating to readers in your target market. And you’ll never run out of things to write about that will present your business in a favorable light and enhance your ‘sales environment’!

© 2000 Mike Alexander (Revised 2009), All Rights Reserved

(The previous article in this series can be read here.)

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To properly utilize the power of newsletter marketing, it is first necessary to understand the meaning and uses of Public Relations, since most definitions of each are interchangeable between the two. In other words, you need to think of newsletters in this context as the ‘communication arm’ of a PR campaign where it makes use of one. That’s why, in this article about the power of newsletter marketing, we talk mostly of how to use PR for promoting a small business and creating a congenial and winning sales environment.
Mike Alexander
For all your content needs go to ClipCopy Content Solutions

Using Imagination

PR is the most widely misunderstood side of marketing. It tends to be associated with spin-doctors whose job is to gloss over dubious corporate or government schemes. I prefer to think of it as representing the word PRomotions rather than an acronym for Public Relations. It sounds much more like the vital activity it should be. Few would argue against the case for promoting their business but look upon PR as an unnecessary luxury that just costs money—and one that only the larger ‘name brands’ can afford. In fact, in the case of small businesses, it means something very different.

Creative Thinking

Imaginative PR requires creative thinking, which is why some busy readers might find this site particularly useful. No-one else can do your thinking for you, of course, but hopefully it might sometimes succeed in pointing you in the right direction. Maybe sometimes it will inspire you to come up with your own original ideas whereas at other times you might find that you can adapt something suggested there to fit your own circumstances. Don’t forget though: our main concern in this article is marketing by email and using newsletter content ideas to create newsletters that will get avidly read.

Marketing Power

Why is PR so important for small businesses? PR campaigns, of course, should be part of a long-term strategy, so assuming you are in for the ‘long haul’, what advantages can be gained? And where do newsletters fit in the picture? Study the possibilities and the answer becomes clear. There are 3 ‘payoff’ factors that give well-planned newsletters incredible power as marketing tools:

• They demonstrate expertise.
• They establish credibility.
• They engender loyalty.

These are priceless assets that many big companies would kill for (as the expression goes). They spend millions trying to associate the first two of these properties with their company’s image by means of their name, their logo, their advertising jingles, etc. They want to be seen as ‘the authority’ in their field and they know that these two attributes can lead to that perception. They spend millions more trying to achieve the third item in the list by ‘good citizen’ ploys like Ronald Macdonald, supporting good causes through sponsorships, etc. They desperately want to be seen as a ‘caring corporate citizen’ because that leads to the most elusive and valuable asset of all: customer loyalty. Rarely, if ever though, do they achieve complete success.

Small Is Good

Their size works against them. People don’t credit a company with expertise if their dealings are always with the lowest and most inexperienced minions. They don’t consider hollow-sounding canned responses by Customer Service staff—which are meant to project a caring attitude—to be credible. As for winning customer loyalty, the more attempts that large corporations make to win repeat business from customers, the more cynical people become (think of Microsoft).

Contrary to most areas where small businesses compete with their larger cousins, this is one that small businesses should find easy and win every time. The irony is that they hardly ever try. Today’s ‘name brand’ companies were once small concerns like theirs. So what did they have, what was that something extra, that allowed them to grow into giants? Of course, it would be an exaggeration to say that an understanding of the importance of PR is all that singled them out but, make no mistake, it would almost always have been a major factor. Good PR, for a small business, can sometimes be the most effective promotional activity, at the same time as being the least expensive. In fact, in dollar terms, it often costs nothing at all.

Make Your Input Count

You need to look around your local community (or your ‘marketing area’, if yours is not a ‘local’ business) for whatever opportunities there are for your input. And input doesn’t mean pulling out your wallet. In fact, I would advise making it a golden rule at the outset never to make any monetary contributions at all unless you can measure a return on your investment. Such a rule makes it easier for you to respond when faced with a plea for a financial contribution. Rather than an embarrassed “Er, how much should I put in?” or something similarly weak, how much better to be able to say “Sorry, I have an unbreakable rule about giving money away but is there some other way I can help?”

Better still, suggest how you might help. If, for example, your business is electronic audio equipment and, let’s say, the event would obviously require a sound system of some sort, then suggest that they take advantage of your expertise in that area. If you considered it worthwhile you could go even further and supply the system at cost etc. You then become the official advisor or supplier or whatever and get credited accordingly.

Using Your Newsletter As A Service

If you have your own regular newsletter (and if you are a business supplying products or services within your local area, you certainly should have) then you could do the same even if your particular area of expertise is not appropriate for the event. You could offer to use your newsletter to publicize the event for them, include a ‘write-up’ about one or two of the major participants, run a background story in the coinciding edition etc. (Why not, as a community service, run a Coming Events column in every issue?) You might even suggest appointing yourself as Publicity Officer or Media Liaison Officer. On the big day, you could be the local radio co-announcer.

Linking To Events

The first thing to do is to make sure that your calendar includes all planned events in your community as far ahead as you can find out about them. These should include sporting fixtures, local clubs and associations events, charity benefits, schools and youth organizations, church festivals etc. When you know what is planned, you can look at them with an eye to your own involvement. You don’t have to embroil yourself in every one, nor do you have to sacrifice a whole day to every one you do. Think in terms of your business, how you might link it to the event and how you might generate some publicity, preferably for both the event and your business.

© 2000 Mike Alexander (Revised 2009), All Rights Reserved

[Continued... The Power Of Newsletter Marketing (2)]

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Big business, small business, non-profit business and the self-employed, could all improve their communications by running one or several business newsletters. There are so many options too. Promotional newsletters, employee newsletters, customer newsletters… the list of possibilities is practically endless.
Mike Alexander
For all your content needs go to ClipCopy Content Solutions

Weighing Up The Pros And Cons

To get to the point where an owner or manager decides on a certain course of action to promote her business, it is first necessary to ascertain the pros and cons involved. So what needs to be taken into account when evaluating business newsletters (or business ezines) as promotional tools? After all, it’s not an enterprise to be embarked upon lightly. In order to produce a newsletter that will sustain a reasonable level of readership, a lot of work is likely to be involved in the planning stage as well as on an ongoing basis. On the other hand, the potential rewards are considerable; often far outweighing the effort and costs involved.

Primary Considerations

Newsletters really come into their own as tools for communicating with members of a group. In the case of business newsletters the group concerned is invariably made up of customers and potential customers. The sorts of questions that need to be asked, therefore, are:

• Who are the members of the group (defined by age, gender, income level, religion or any other parameters)?
• What main interest do they have in common?
• What are their secondary, or peripheral, interests?

Objectives

Define the aim of the newsletter. Is it mainly to disseminate information or to generate an atmosphere of goodwill and a favorable trading environment (bearing in mind that any good business newsletter will have these objectives to a lesser or greater degree)? If the aim is to sell something, in the direct sense, then a newsletter is the wrong vehicle to choose. Disguising a brochure or catalog as a newsletter not only doesn’t work, it is usually counterproductive.

How the company or organization is perceived by the readership, and what the preferred perception is, would also be taken into account when defining the objective.

Planning

Regularity of production is a vital component of successful newsletter marketing. How often it should be produced though, depends on the particular field of endeavor, as well as on other variables such as seasonal considerations, cost etc. As regards content, sourcing suitable material needs to be undertaken in advance and the means of copy preparation decided on (e.g. is the business owner going to write all, some, or none of the newsletter content?). It would be usual also to draw up a suitable schedule or calendar of features for inclusion at this stage.

Budgeting

Decisions that need to be considered in order to properly budget for your newsletter include how it is to be distributed (hard copy or online publication), how it is to be formatted and printed, the proportion of illustrations to text, how many colors to use, anticipated circulation figures, how many pages, and many other factors.

Evaluation

Evaluating the viability of using newsletters to promote a particular business will help to determine whether it’s a course worth pursuing. For most businesses, it usually proves a very attractive means indeed of getting across a positive message about a company and its dealings. However, evaluation is an ongoing thing. There should always be ways of measuring readership responses over and above the circulation numbers. One of the most effective ways is by interactive features such as a ‘letters to the editor’ section or simple competitions and quizzes etc. It is by these means that an owner or manager can monitor the effectiveness of the newsletter’s penetration into the minds of its readers—and therefore its penetration into the market.

© 2000 Mike Alexander (Revised 2009), All Rights Reserved

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CopyRIGHT or copyWRITE? They sound the same but have profoundly different meanings; and the key is in the spelling. A copywriter is a writer, usually of advertising copy. Copyright, on the other hand, is a right of ownership, ie the law as it applies to an original work, affording protection for the owner who is usually, but not always, the author or other originator.
Mike Alexander
For all your content needs go to ClipCopy Content Solutions

Assumptive Rights

Copyright is a legal term, which means that precise interpretation varies from country to country. In general though, it is the assumption that the owner of a written work has certain rights when it comes to how it is used by others. In order to establish such rights she might choose to mark the work by appending the word ‘Copyright’ to it, or the internationally recognized symbol ©, which means the same thing (but not (c) which doesn’t) together with her name and the date (or just the year) of its creation. In most Western countries though, it is not a legal necessity; owner’s copyright is assumed regardless.

All Rights Reserved

The term All Rights Reserved is also often used. This can be a way of announcing that the owner would consider relinquishing or transferring one or more of her rights to the work, usually under a license agreement or similar arrangement, in return for certain considerations.

What Rights?

So what ‘rights’ are assumed? Well, an obvious one is the right to make copies (eg with a photocopier). If it can be performed in public, such as a theatrical work, that is another right that a copyright owner assumes exclusivity for. Displaying a work in public is another. The right to modify it to suit a purpose not originally intended (eg a screenplay based on a book) is another. These exclusive rights of reproduction don’t last forever. In most Western societies they expire 50 years after their owner’s death.

Ownership

Also, an author is not necessarily the owner of the copyright just because she created that particular piece of work. If it was commissioned or otherwise created on someone else’s behalf, chances are that they (the aforementioned ‘someone else’!) are the copyright holders.

More Copyright Information

If you need more details than appear in the brief article above then go to one of the sites outlined below:

The Copyright Website

The premiere location on the web for information on copyright.
http://www.benedict.com/

Publishing Law Center

Has legal articles that can help you create and negotiate publishing contracts as well as other helpful articles and links that can assist you in making your publishing business more profitable.
http://www.publaw.com

© 2000 Mike Alexander (Revised 2009), All Rights Reserved

Reprint Rights

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There are three main reasons why marketing newsletters, when done properly, are so effective for most businesses. Or, in the case of marketing ezines, why they can offer such a comprehensive email marketing solution. The main focus, from the owner’s point of view, is usually her products or services or the field within which she operates. If it offers quality help, advice and tips then the owner’s position as an expert in her field is the silent message communicated to readers. Therefore the primary advantage, from a marketing viewpoint, is that it demonstrates expertise. Second, because a newsletter is an unsuitable medium for a fly-by-night operator, it follows that the more firmly it becomes established, the greater the credibility of the owner. Third, quality newsletter content can engender loyalty by discussing issues that the reader identifies as important and pertinent.

To sum up: if a newsletter sticks to the The 5 Rules Of Newsletter Content then it will:

• Demonstrate expertise (of the owner/producer in her field)
• Establish credibility (of the owner/producer)
• Engender reader loyalty (through a sense of identification)

Mike Alexander
For all your content needs go to ClipCopy Content Solutions

Gaining Trust

These three things are what make marketing newsletters so powerful because they are the main factors that lead to a favorable sales climate. Expertise plus credibility plus loyalty = TRUST. Without trust, there’s no hope of a sale. But with trust—well, the sky’s the limit!

Comparing Alternatives

No other marketing tool can of any sort can offer these advantages. Dollar for dollar, no other marketing method comes near. Consider the alternatives. Advertising, for example, will cost you a lot of money but it won’t demonstrate expertise, it won’t establish credibility, and it certainly can’t engender loyalty. In fact many advertisers know that any buyers they might gain need to be offset by the number who will deliberately avoid their products because they were irritated by the ads! Sponsorships can engender loyalty but they can’t demonstrate expertise and they can be very expensive, often way beyond the bounds acceptable for a small business. Compare other alternatives and you will come to similar conclusions.

Cheap Email Marketing

For real value, and provided your market is appropriate, opt-in email marketing is the way to go. By appropriate I mean that the majority of potential readers obviously must have a computer and an Internet connection. Communications, and consequently marketing by email, is now so common though, that this won’t present a problem for most businesses in the western world.

Your newsletter content is of supreme importance. Newsletter content ideas are not difficult to come by and there are plenty of free newsletter content sites online. Don’t expect too much in the way of quality, though! However, if you look hard enough, you will find the occasional newsletter content provider that can deliver the goods you want. Don’t forget to provide enough newsletter fillers, amusing anecdotes, jokes and cartoons to balance out the ezine’s articles.

© 2000 Mike Alexander (Revised 2009), All Rights Reserved

Reprint Rights

If you would like to use the above article in your own publication you must follow our Reprint Rights guidelines.