When starting out with your newsletter it’s best to begin with a long range plan so that you’re better organized and you know what your goals are from the beginning. That doesn’t mean you can’t change your goals as you go along because it’s inevitable changes will occur. It’s also a good idea to go over your goals once and a while to know where you are and where you are going. This keeps you focused.
The best way to do your newsletter for each issue is to bring up the template you’ve saved before you added the information for the first issue. Copy and paste it into a new document and fill in the sections and don’t forget to save each issue.
Most newsletters are titled by Volume and Issue number. The Volume refers to the year of its publication, for instance if it’s the first year of publishing then it would be Volume 1, second year would be Volume 2, etc. The issue number refers to what issue you’re currently publishing. For instance if it’s the first newsletter it’s issue 1, second issue it’s issue 2, and so on. You also need to give the date of the publication.
Remember too, you can always make changes to your template and also make room for advertising space and ad swaps. You can intersperse them throughout the newsletter or have a special area for the different types of ads. Paid advertising is usually placed at the top of the newsletter and ad swaps are usually near the bottom or sprinkled throughout. Be careful to avoid too many ads and a good ratio is 80% information and 20% for ad space.
In time and with good growth this could become another source of income. If you own your Web site you can offer advertising space there as well. Just check around other sites in your niche and see what guidelines others offer. When you’re ready to get paid advertising sit down and figure out a plan of your own.
I was publishing my SWO Newsletter eight months before I started marketing for paid advertising. It depends on the traffic to your Web site and your subscriber base. The higher numbers in either case means better prospects for gaining advertisers.
Choosing Newsletter Frequency:
If you’re not a particularly organized, disciplined person, give this considerable thought.
I’ve always done my newsletters on a weekly basis but then I don’t go out into the working world, nor do I have children to run after, etc. so my time is more readily available. You have to consider all aspects of your life when choosing how often you’re going to send it out. Keep it consistent.
I had to change mine from a weekly to every other week, also called bi-weekly because I became too busy with other Website projects. Know that this is bound to happen to you as well and in order to keep a quality newsletter, filled with quantity you’ll need time to accomplish all your tasks. You don’t want it to become a burden because anything you undertake should bring you enjoyment not stress.
You have to be careful too in choosing to send it out too much, such as daily or not quite enough such as monthly. Sending it out too often can become annoying to people because you have to remember they have lives too and you don’t want to overwhelm them. And sending it out too infrequently leaves room for people to forget about you or forget they even signed up to receive it.
Newsletters are usually sent out on a daily, weekly, bi-weekly or monthly schedule. Consider what would work best for you and your life. If you’re unsure you could always choose monthly and if you find you’d like to increase the issues, just change it when it fits your life. Subscribers will accept that better than starting off once a week and then slowing down production. People automatically assume you’re not giving it your all anymore and will be more inclined to unsubscribe.
Unless you have a very good reason for doing so as I found when I had to extend the time in between each issue of the SWO Newsletter. In this case, although many subscribers were upset they were also very forgiving and encouraged me to do what was best for everyone in the long run.
Now if you’re hyped and would like to do a daily newsletter, do choose wisely. Very few newsletters succeed at this frequency unless it’s daily jokes, trivia, news or quotes. So unless you fall into one of those categories I’d suggest you not do a daily.
But whatever you decide it’s important you stick to the schedule. So re-evaluate your life and decide how much time you can feasibly put into your newsletter. You’ll also spend time each week marketing your newsletter so that time has to be taken into account too. We’ll discuss marketing in my next article, but for now get your newsletter started and set your long-range goals. And don’t forget to have fun!
2003 Dallas Hodder Franklin
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