Comments on: Cutting Out Media? What About Newsletters?

By: Karin

Karin — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 23:25:16 +0000

Jessica, what a lovely way to get a discussion going!
I am a reader, and read the Sunday paper, magazines,
books from the library, AND see the news at tele. But
lately I feel overwhelmed with information (visual)
and move more towards listening to cd’s and radio.
My newsletter to my clients I keep as short as possible.
I keep it very to the point and try not to confuse or
overwhelm them.
Thanks, Karin

By: Christine Doering

Christine Doering — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 13:11:50 +0000

Jessica,
While reading through your “Newsletters in Focus” I have a few gaps that the words are not visible. I appreciate the comments made, with your responses. I still feel that contact with our customers between visits and calls needs to be made keeping your name in front of your customers. Also updating your cusotmers what changes you are making and how you are always looking for a better way to do business. If it is true people are reading less newspapers, media, your name is not getting to your clients. Even if your cusotmer does not read your newsletter it is a point of contact. I have been trying to keep the front of the newsletter with information your customer will find interesting.

By: Jessica Albon

Jessica Albon — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 15:06:11 +0000

That’s really intriguing that people are listing to more radio in the UK these days, Richard. It’s interesting how much delivery preferences are growing and shifting.

By: Richard

Richard — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 17:59:06 +0000

Just a quick note to add to everything that’s been said. A report in the UK news this week suggested that more and more people are listening to radio broadcasts, but not always on a radio. Increasingly, radio programming is accessed via the internet or mobile phones (cell phones).

I’ll leave my comment at that, and leave you to make your own deductions from it.

By: Jessica Albon

Jessica Albon — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 21:07:30 +0000

Thank you all for the comments! Y’all put me to shame with your eloquence , and it’s been such a pleasure reading what you had to say.

Chris–I hadn’t thought about this until just now, but if you haven’t, you might want to check out Ferriss’s book–it’s more about defining success on your own terms (and questioning the notion of working 9-5, M-F until retirement) and might be an intriguing springboard for you for your own toolkit . But I agree with you–I like what I do much too much to take the sort of hands-off approach that a 4-hour workweek would require.

Terri–That’s wonderful to hear that you’re bringing your readers what they want–in the format that most appeals to them. As readers become more savvy, the delivery medium is definitely gaining importance at breakneck speeds. (It’s simply not enough any more just to get the message right–although that’s still crucial.)

Anne–I’m so glad to hear you got WordPress integrated in! How do you like it so far? And you make a good point about like-minded consumers–although not all companies can rely on their customers having the same preferences as the company runners, that’s often a great place to start the decision-making process.

Meryl–Awesome point about the newsletter having a start and finish point, although I whenever I sit down with a paper, I always find myself jotting down something or other that I want to look up later .

Julie–What do you say I just scrap my post and replace it with yours ? Because you did a much, much better job than I could have, and you did it with a sense of humor. (Seriously, where *is* that newsletter of yours? You’ve got your new computer now… It’s time to start publishing!)

Karin–I’m delighted you enjoyed it–thank you for mentioning that . You make a great point about upgrading what you let in. Much like so much of the paring down of life–as there are more options we can either let ourselves get completely swept out to sea or we can be more selective.

Charlene–Sorry your first response got lost–I wish we didn’t need that confirmation number for comments, but otherwise the site gets overloaded with spam. I’m so glad you shared your thoughts about clone newsletters–you’re absolutely right. Differentiation is fundamental to retaining readers.

Thank you for continuing this conversation with me!

Jes