Jakob Nielsen‘s latest Alertbox pointed to his June 12, 2006 issue in which he talked about e-mail newsletters. Despite in-boxes that grow ever more crowded, Nielsen says, two years after their last study of e-mail newsletter usability, “Our main conclusion remains the same. E-mail newsletters are the best way to maintain customer relationships on the Internet.”
I agree that e-newsletters are a great way to stay in touch, which makes it all the more embarrassing that I — sometimes introduced as the Newsletter Queen for all the newsletter writing that I do — have not yet launched my own e-newsletter. Oh, I’ve thought about it. Here are some of the reasons for this terrible lack:
- As Nielsen notes, “people are getting extremely choosy about which newsletters they’ll allow into their overflowing inboxes.” That means my own had better provide something of real value, and I’m still mulling over what I have to say that fits the bill.
- I already volunteer time to do a monthly e-newsletter for a networking group I belong to, which eats up time I might otherwise spend on my own e-news. This is a cheap excuse, though; you make time for what’s important to you.
- I have to “one up” Michael Katz of Blue Penguin Development, who writes the warm, witty, funny and useful E-Newsletter on E-Newsletters. A local radio station has a feature called “Damn, I wish I wrote that,” wherein the on-air personality (a musician) plays tunes he wishes were his own. I often read Michael’s newsletter and think, “Damn, I wish I wrote that.” Michael recently started a blog (It Sure Beats Working) with “advice and steadfast encouragement for the first-time, mid-life, solo professional.”
So I’m still thinking it over.
