How to Publish An Online Newsletter
Publishing an online newsletter allows you to connect with your customers directly in a way that even directed advertisement might fail to do. With a newsletter, you can get out a detailed message, sent to a select group of people who’ve shown interest in what you have to say. Once sent though, you’ll need to keep the readers interested, and in order to do so, you’ll need to plan out your newsletter every step of the way.
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Things You'll Need
- Ideas for articles
- Images or charts you may want to add
- Mailing list of recipients
- Creative out-of-the-box thinking
Instructions
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Create a mailing list of those you wish to receive your newsletter. Typically, mailing lists consist of past and present business customers who’ve shown a desire to receive the newsletter.
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Set the parameters for your newsletter before you even begin with the first issue. Decide on a primary goal for your newsletter, whether it’s to inform, market or promote your business. Set a publishing calendar that includes not only how often you intend to publish the newsletter but also the specific days you wish to publish it on. Set the type of content that you’ll be including in the newsletter based on your goal.
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Create a template for the newsletter. Set up a proof page, containing the header and the general workup of your newsletter body, such as the positioning of your articles and any added photos. Save the template and use it for each newsletter published, changing only those sections, such as the article title and body, that changes from issue to issue. Use newsletter creation or desktop publishing software to create your template, and later to fill the template sections in for newsletter publication.
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Work ahead in your content. Create enough content to remain at least one newsletter ahead of the currently published one so that you’ll never need to scramble to finish content in time for your publication date. Create an ideas file, and place article ideas in the file for use when you’re running short if ideas to work with.
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Write your content and then open your newsletter creator or desktop publisher and fill in the article template with the content you’ve created. Make certain the content is keeping within your newsletter goals. Use only original content for which you have the rights for publication, this includes any photos you use. You can use some creative commons content, but check the publication information listed along with the content to ensure that your newsletter falls under the creator’s content use guidelines. Save the finished newsletter for publication.
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Hire a list management service to release your newsletter to your mailing list. Provide the service with the mailing list and the completed newsletter along with the publication date, and then wait for them to mail your newsletter out for you. Make certain they include a method for unsubscribing to your newsletter within the mailing.
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Check with the list management service about a week after the mailing to find out the metrics concerning your newsletter. Ask how many received the letter versus how many addresses bounced it back, how many people opened the newsletter, whether there were any forwards of the newsletter and if there were any subscriptions. You can use this data to better tailor your newsletters as you send more out and discover what topics are most favorable to your readers.
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Continue to publish on a regular basis, keeping to your goal and keeping any changes you make incremental so that you can gauge their effects fully.
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Tips & Warnings
You can be as creative as you want but keep-in-mind that you will be sending more than one issue. Don't put all your ideas in the first issue of your newsletter. Write a few articles each day if possible to have a ready stream you can place when the next issue is ready to send.
References
- Photo Credit Janie Airey/Lifesize/Getty Images
