Electronic Newsletters- The Wave of the future
Many clubs continue to create newsletters to update members, guests and interested parties. Printed newsletters are too expensive and time consuming when compared to their electronic counterparts. There are many options from electronic newsletters. This lens is here to guide you through the process of picking the right tool and delivery method for your club.
The two most important things to ask yourself:
1) Do I have the time and knowledge to use this tool?
2) Will my readers read the newsletter through this tool?
Option 1: PDFs Via Email
From Snail Mail to Electronic Mail
The most common way club's create and send electronic newsletters is via email with a PDF file attached. Creating these newsletters requires two things: a word processing program (Microsoft Word for example) and a way to create the PDF from the file (this usually requires the complete Adobe Acrobat program, not just the reading software). Creating the newsletter is as easy as writing a paper or letter. Converting the newsletter typically requires buying the software.
After you create and convert the newsletter you need to get it to your readers. This requires that you have your own email address and a list of people who want the newsletter. It requires that you manage your list of readers and ensure they can all read your attachment.
After you create and convert the newsletter you need to get it to your readers. This requires that you have your own email address and a list of people who want the newsletter. It requires that you manage your list of readers and ensure they can all read your attachment.
Strenghts of PDFs via Email
- Easy to create- most people can use programs like Microsoft Word and can easily find someone to convert the file to a PDF.
- Easy for readers to read- The software to read PDF files is free and typically come pre-loaded on computers.
- The cost is low- the biggest cost will be buying the software if there is a need to buy it.
Weaknesses of PDFs via Email
- Reader Management- You have to manage the list of readers in a world where readers like to subscribe and unsubscribe on their own. You have to deal with bounced emails, changed addresses and everything else. It's time consuming to do this.
- Archiving- You need to find your own way to archive your newsletters. Do you have space on your webpage to store them?
Option 2: Hosted Newsletters
Professional Look For A Price
Hosted newsletters are an increasingly common professional tool. If you subscribe to newsletters from any company, you are probably getting emails through companies like Constant Contact, JangoMail or MyNewsletterBuilder. These tools are great because they are considered plug-and-play. The system walks you through each step from picking your look to adding your content. You just make choices and create your newsletter. These companies also manage your readers for you. People subscribe and unsubscribe when they want. You can even create the newsletter and pick a later date to send it.
Cost?
All the newsletter hosting companies cost money based on how many newsletters you send out. They are designed to manage hundreds of readers. It's less expensive than doing the mailing yourself, but does you club have a read need for this type of newsletter?
Strengths of Hosted Newsletters
- Easy to create- the plug-and-play model walks you through each step.
- Reader management- all your readers are managed by the system. They can subscribe and unsubscribe on their own; bounced emails are removed and you can add your own specific readers.
- Archiving- All your newsletters are archived in their system as long as you have an account with them.
- Easy reading- The newsletter is delivered via email to your readers, but they can view it online if they can not read it through their email. This is not an attachment, but the actual email.
Weaknesses of Hosted Newsletters
- Cost- All the systems for hosting newsletters will cost you money based on how many people are on your list. This means you need to have the money for it and watch the number of people on your list to make sure the cost does not go up until you are ready.
Hosted Newsletter Companies
Compare companies before you pick one. The cost and extras will be different.
- Constant Contact
- Probably the best known. They use to have a free service for small lists, but that has been discontinued.
- iContact
- Another option...
- JangoMail
- Another option...
- MyNewsletterBuilder
- Another option...
Option 3: Groups- Yahoo and Google
Yahoo and Google both offer Group programs. These are intended for different things. Yahoo really intends it's Group feature to be the homepage for people with common interests. It is typically used as a mailing list or bulletin board system to post messages. It can also store files, images and links. Google's Group feature is a bit different in that it is more of a take off the old newsgroups. Both can be limited to posting by one person (your newsletter editor), but there are few bells and whistles that come with these tools in terms of look and feel of text.
With Yahoo Members of the group, those who will get the emails, need to be members of Yahoo and members of the group. It can be set so anyone can read the group. Google requires the editor or club have a Google account, but none of the readers or those who get emails will need too.
Both companies manage the readers. With Yahoo, there are no font and organization options. Readers get the text newsletter in their email. With Google there are some font options. Readers are notified when a new newsletter has been posted for them to read on-line.
I prefer Google Groups to Yahoo.
With Yahoo Members of the group, those who will get the emails, need to be members of Yahoo and members of the group. It can be set so anyone can read the group. Google requires the editor or club have a Google account, but none of the readers or those who get emails will need too.
Both companies manage the readers. With Yahoo, there are no font and organization options. Readers get the text newsletter in their email. With Google there are some font options. Readers are notified when a new newsletter has been posted for them to read on-line.
I prefer Google Groups to Yahoo.
Strengths of Google Groups
I am not including Yahoo because I prefer Google.
- Easy to Create- It is like creating a Microsoft Word document. You just type and play with your font.
- Reader Management- The system manages your readers for you. You can add people to the list, but anyone can subscribe and unsubscribe when they want. Bounced emails are removed from the system.
- Easy Reading- readers get an email notifying them that the newsletter is ready, but they view the actual newsletter on the webpage for the group.
- Archiving- All pages created are archived on the group. This allows anyone to go back and read past newsletters.
- No Cost- The group will cost you nothing, but it will have a few ads on it. The ads are limited to text ads outside of the newsletter content.
Weaknesses of Google Groups
- Clunky- The system is not as easy to use as other systems. These groups were not intended to be just a newsletter, but more often the home of the group in question.
- Yahoo- Yahoo requires that readers who want updates be members of the group with Yahoo accounts. They also want this to be a club's webpage, not just a newsletter.
Option 4: Blogs
Web + Log = Blog
Blogs are the future of news on line. Powered by RSS (syndication) feeds, they push the update to the reader. There is no need for emails or for the reader to check on their own for updates. Why have a newsletter each month, quarter or whenever? You can post articles daily, weekly, hourly, or when there is news to report.
The question is: are you and your readers ready for this technology?
The question is: are you and your readers ready for this technology?
Strengths of Blogs
- Easy to create- With the free systems like Blogger these are very easy to create. Once the initial blog is set up, most of the features are plug-and-play. The entries are as easy to update as a Microsoft Word document.
- Reader Management- With RSS feeds there is no need for you to worry about reader management. Readers subscribe to your feed with a RSS reader and the reader notifies them the blog as been updated.
- Easy reading- each article can be it's own entry with the option for readers to leave comments. Layouts are typically simple and well organized. The most current article is at the top of the blog.
- Archiving- Your entries don't go away unless you specifically remove them. All systems will also allow you to create a small archive organized by date so readers can go back and see articles from any point in time since you started the blog.
- Cost- There is no cost for a blog unless you really have a desire to pay someone to do it. Free systems like Blogger and WordPress never ask you to pay. If you want to put your blog on your club's webpage there are free options for that as well.
Weaknesses of Blogs
- Technology- The RSS feed is what makes a blog the ideal tool for newsletters, but most readers are not ready to use them. Without the feed people tend to forget to check for updates.
- Your Future Editors- Will future newsletter editors be ready for this technology? Younger Toastmasters may be ready, but more mature ones may still struggle with common technologies like email.
Get Your Free Blogs Here!
- Blogger
- Blogger is part of the Google family. It is one of the oldest blog host out there. They allow tons to features that are easy to add.
- WordPress
- Once upon a time you had to load WordPress on your webpage to use it. Now they provide free blogs through them. They have tons of great features to personalize your blog.
RSS feeds in Plain English
Learn more about RSS feeds and why they make the internet awesome.
Video: RSS in Plain English
We made this video for our friends (and yours) that haven't yet felt the power of our friend the RSS reader. We want to convert people and if you know someone who would love RSS and hasn't yet tried it, point them here for 3.5 minutes.
Runtime: 3:43
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What do the blogs say?
Blogs are a good tool for sending newsletters, but many of them will talk about tips for sending newsletters. Here are the most recent blog posts that mention newsletters.
Books on Amazon to help you create newsletters
Now you have learned all your options for creating and sending your newsletters. The next question you should ask yourself is what to add to your newsletters. Here are some books from Amazon.com to help you.
Reader Feedback
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Tom_Antion
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Christy
You don't need the full version acrobatic program to make PDF. There are sites such as http://www.pdfonline.com/ and http://www.freepdfconvert.com/ that will do it for free. I've never used them but they could be useful.
Posted February 04, 2008
