I’m working with a new client who wants to introduce a newsletter for his customers, and I thought the discussions we’ve been having might be of interest to other people. So here are just some of the points to ponder if you’re thinking of a newsletter (either print or electronic): Purpose: What do you want [...]
Tag Archives: Newsletters
Watch out for jargon 2
Among the many sports my family watched during the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics was one that vividly reminded me to watch out for jargon. I’m talking about curling. I’ve never curled, so I found the unfamiliar lingo quite confusing. The commentators talked about a runback double, draws and takeouts, a shot rock and a hammer, [...]
Newsletter memories
While cleaning out my files this week, I came upon a stack of back issues of a four-page print publication I used to write and produce as a volunteer for one of my networking groups for entrepreneurs. Before recycling the pile, I went through it and kept a copy of each issue, filing them neatly [...]
Watch out for jargon
When interviewing someone for an employee newsletter article, I always ask the meaning of unusual terms, acronyms (a word, like OPEC, formed from the initial letters of other words) and initialisms (a group of initial letters pronounced individually, like CBC). People often reply, “Everyone knows what it means” because they are insiders familiar with the [...]
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Newsletters rock
In his recent Alertbox newsletter discussing how non-profit web sites can attract new donors (you’d think it would go without saying, but obviously not: it’s be clear about what you are trying to achieve, and tell potential donors how you are going to spend the money), Jakob Nielsen comments: “For encouraging customer (or donor) loyalty, [...]
More ammo for print
Companies are always looking at print publications with a critical eye, and wondering why they don’t just put the newsletter online and save money. There are plenty of reasons (studies show people retain more after reading print vs. online; it’s harder to read online; not everyone has access to computers on the job) and measurement [...]
E-news news
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 [...]
Fighting the bull
What a coincidence! The latest issue of Daphne Gray-Grant‘s weekly Power Writing Tips newsletter (for people “who want to write better, faster”) also talks about the pompous way people sometimes want to be quoted, similar to my last post: “But the real difficulty is that the people who write this way are usually proud of [...]
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Blogs and newsletters – separated at birth
In the latest issue of Nick Usborne’s bi-weekly Excess Voice e-newsletter (about writing online; subscribe here), he talks about the similarity between e-newsletters and blogs: 1. Good newsletters and blogs seek to engage your attention at a personal level. 2. Good newsletters and blogs both deliver timely information. 3. Good newsletters and blogs expand their [...]
Another benefit of wine
You just never know what you’re going to learn from reading. Today I found this interesting tidbit in Natalie MacLean’s well-researched, informative and often quite funny e-newsletter: Researchers at Glasgow University have discovered that if you consume two glasses of wine, members of the opposite sex appear more attractive by about 25%. (From Nat Decants, [...]