Michael Katz's E-Newsletter On E-Newsletters
November 10, 2006
Issue #162
Stray The Course
It was foggy early yesterday morning, as I stepped out the back door to go for a run. Not just a little bit foggy either. No, Iím talking pea soup, where did my house go,
Hound of the Baskervilles, foggy.
It was very warm too, and strangely quiet, and I have to say that I found running through this dream-like stuff quite enjoyable. In fact, it was only after the second car nearly
ran me down that I realized there was a problem: They couldnít see me.
As someone on foot, and despite the heavy fog, it was easy to see the ground in front of me, thanks to a five foot bubble of clarity in all directions. But for a car going 40
miles per hour (thatís about 973 stones per hectare, for those of you on the metric system) it was a different story. They couldnít see me until they were almost on top of
me, which, I donít mind telling you, made me a bit uneasy.
As I ran, I considered my options:
- Stop running, and wait for the fog to clear.
- Remove all of my clothes, in the hope that the reflection off my pasty, white, middle-aged body would serve as a warning beacon for approaching vehicles. (Sorry,
take a minute to let that image pass.)
- Change my route, and turn off onto less heavily traveled side streets.
As Iím sure youíve guessed, I chose option three. And, Iím happy to report, after some twists and turns, and only getting lost once… I got hit by a school bus. Ha ha!, Iím
kidding. I arrived home safely.
Hereís the point. As a runner, you can cover the same route, in the same clothes, wearing the same shoes for months on end, and have great success. In a very short time
however, and though no fault of your own, the environment can change drastically, making it hard to see your way and leaving you at risk.
By the same token, as a professional firm publishing an E-Newsletter (or for that matter, as a business providing a particular service), you may find that what once worked
well, no longer does. Often – and again, through no fault of your own – itís not because youíve run off course but simply because the course itself has changed.
Itís for this reason that I recommend stepping back periodically, to take a look at your newsletter, and make sure that the world youíre writing to hasnít evolved in some
critical way. Two important questions to ask in this regard:
- Has your audience changed?
When I began this newsletter in 1999 (yes, I date back to the previous millennium), I was writing for small business owners. Over time, I realized that my particular approach
ñ one fundamentally based on useful content and strong relationships ñ was suited to a particular type of business (i.e. professional service providers), rather than
businesses of a particular size. So step one is to see if the people youíre writing to are still the right people.
- Is your topic still relevant?
Here as well, this newsletter has changed over time. While it used to focus primarily on "E-Newsletter mechanics" (e.g. Spam compliance, formatting, opt-in processes),
today, I hardly talk about these kinds of things at all.
As the e-mail world has evolved, the challenge for a professional service provider seeking to produce an effective E-Newsletter is no longer a technical one. The problem we
all face in 2006 – in a world where nobody wants any more e-mail – is to write something that other people will be eager to read. So thatís what I focus on now.
How about you? How might the interests of your audience have changed since you began publishing?
Bottom Line. In producing an E-Newsletter for your business, the place to start is always with you: Your voice, your expertise, your point of view, etc. Keep in mind
however, that this is only half the equation. Who youíre audience is and what they consider important today, is equally vital.
Enough About You, Let's Talk About Us
Thanks to Contributing Editor Mitch Bettis and his colleagues at Practical eCommerce Magazine, who interviewed me recently as part of their eCommerce Podcast series.
It was, in a word, eMazing. Follow this link and give it a listen.
About Blue Penguin Development, Inc.
Blue Penguin Development helps professional service firms get clients,
by showing them how to strengthen relationships with the people they already know.
I specialize in the development of electronic newsletters.
Click here for an overview of my services.
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