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How To Publish Your Own Newsletter

With the expansion and diversion of Have their local newspapers written
businesses, manufacturers, and even about public opinions about those plants,
hobbyists into more and more specialized such as pollution or high employment?
areas of endeavor, there is an
increasing need for information. And If you have a topic that requires a
newsletters are the high profit way to certain environment, how do the local
cash in on the market for specialized towns cater to the enthusiasts,
information. especially during a main event?
You can write and produce your own WRITING COPY
newsletter from home with a low overhead
and potential for high returns. Many In this publication, you are the
newsletter subscriptions range from $25 authority. Use strong, direct statements
to $100 per year, some much higher. Even with an active voice. Although you are
a thousands subscribers will bring in often offering opinion, the content
huge earnings. There are no tried and should be factual.
true methods of making a newsletter
successful, but if you investigate the Your readers are intelligent, and experts
market thoroughly, and are cautious in in the same field you are writing about.
your moves, you can make a break-even You'll need to back up statements with
profit turn into a sound income year research. A rule of thumb is that three
after year. concurring sources make fact.
You don't have to be a famous business Although you don't need to be a polished
consultant or an insider on the stock writer your copy must be easy to read and
market to produce a newsletter. There are understand, It should be exciting, filled
many that cater to all types of sports, with lots of bits of information.
crafts, health, housing or money making.
The main thrust of the newsletter is
The most important aspect of creating a enthusiasm,, Your subscribers are into
successful newsletter is the market. You the subject you are writing about.. Don't
need to research who will buy the be afraid to let them know you love the
subscription and how much they are topic as much as they do.. Go ahead--get
willing to pay. But there are sound excited...
methods of testing the market so you can
be sure to come out ahead and establish If you have chosen a technical subject,
yourself in the field. you'll need to be an expert in the
field. If you are not,have somebody you
If you have a special interest that has a can call at any time to confirm fact.
broad following, you might find that a After all, your newsletter is geared
newsletter will be readily accepted and toward the experts.. so you have to pull
flourish. through.. You don't have to do all the
writing yourself. You can employ free
What interests or hobbies have you been lancers who collect or write material
involved with that can make a lively for the newsletter. The financial
income for you? If you follow the steps arrangement is negotiable. But keep in
and carefully consider your market, mind that high quality skills and expert
there is no reason why you can't get knowledge usually cost.
into the newsletter business too.. And
you can MAKE IT WORK. The success of the newsletter lies with
the quality of information you have. Not
WHAT IS A NEWSLETTER? quality of writing-the quality of
information.. If a reader can review an
A newsletter is a special timely report entire copy and say, "i know that,"
on a single subject. It is a you're not coming through with inside
personalized, concise statement from an information or new trends.
expert or person thoroughly familiar
with a specialized field. Quality of information is the dozens of
little tidbits of information, expert
Newsletters are maintained solely by advice, and tips for success. That is the
subscriptions; there is no advertising. core of the newsletter, and should be
Most are printed within low budget means, the core of your own interests. That is
typewritten, from two to eight pages. why you have unique knowledge to offer,
and why your newsletter will be
The specialized information is successful.
newsletters is current, and usually
cannot be found elsewhere. They are a What interests you? You are the best
logical extension to trade journals and judge of lively topics, and are the best
magazines. critic of the newsletter. If you
subscribed to this publication, would
Aimed at a select group, they often this be what you'd expect? Are you
contain the inside information in the delivering the full potential of the
field, hot tips or news scoops that subject matter?
become old news in publications of the
trade. Above all, the information practical? Can
a person reading the newsletter gain
Newsletters are not distributed by from having acquired that information?
newsstands, nor are they meant for the Although you are publishing the
mass market. In fact, the average number newsletter for a select group of people,
of potential readers of newsletters in you should direct it to each individual
any one field is relatively small. person.
Because of their specific information,, The personal approach is the best
newsletters can command a high attitude to take in both gathering
subscriptions fee. Business can afford to information and in writing copy. Since
spend money to offer executives top-rate the newsletter is an informal
information.. publication, the copy should read
informally, as though you just heard the
There are hundreds of newsletters now hot news and are writing it quickly for
being published and distributed in the your best friend to profit by.
United States. But there is room for
hundreds more. Because of the GETTING READY FOR PRINTING
specialized market, there is often little
competition among newsletters, and THERE The first few newsletters you publish
IS A RISING TREND TOWARDS SUBSCRIBING. will require a lot of trial and error
with copy and layout. You'll need to
WHY ARE NEWSLETTERS POPULAR? decide how many spaces to leave between
the end of a paragraph and the beginning
With all the print media and visual of a subhead, how many spaces to indent,
communications in this country, you and how big the margins will be.
might think there is a saturated market.
And that is true when it comes to general Think about what is important to the
interest mass market publications. format. Some newsletters use italics or
However, the need for specific underlined words to emphasize the
information in specialized fields is importance. And some of these over-use
constantly increasing. How can I beat the these methods. Always let good taste
competition? How does the world news dictate the layout and style of your
affect my industry? Will a union strike publication.
on the other side of the world raise our
prices?? When a whole line is taken up by a few
words, or the last half of a hyphenated
The focus of the newsletter is success. word, it is called a widow. These look
Success in business, success in hobbies, sloppy in any type of publication, you
success in health and happiness. The may rewrite the paragraph to extend or
information contained in the newsletters shorten that sentence.
motivates readers to follow the advice.
What are the best investments? Where are Be careful about carry-overs to the next
the trade shows? How can I get an edge page. It's very awkward to hyphenate at
on winning contests? the bottom of a page, or have only one
line at the top of the next, then space
There is an endless need for specific for a subhead. As you get more adept at
knowledge in every field of endeavor. preparing copy, you'll be able to write
Since there is a high standard of to fit. And that looks good.
competition within every aspect of our
modern life, people search for ways to be The basic standard for a newsletter is
in the know, and use that information clarity. Can you read the type? Are the
effectively. ideas well presented and easy to
under-stand? Do the subhead interest and
One of the reasons subscription prices moti-vate readers?
can stay high is because people are
paying for the knowledge and what might The final typed copy is exactly what will
be gained by it. If a two hundred dollar be printed. Since photo offset is the
newsletter saves a company thousands of least expensive way to print multiple
dollars in excellent advice, then it is copies of typewritten material, the
well worth the price. pages must be clean. Any second color
should be indicated with an overlay. This
WHAT IT TAKES is a sheet of tracing paper taped to the
copy with printers instructions written
you can start a newsletter by yourself; on it and sections circled that need
you don't need a large staff. A desk at special attention. For the first year of
home, a typewriter and a telephone are publication, you won't need to put in any
all the basic tools you need to create a photos-in fact, you may never use
newsletter. Even when you get into photos.. But give yourself a long enough
computerized labels and mass mailings, time to get established before you go to
you still will not need a large space. more expensive elements.
You don't need to invest a lot of money PRINTING
to begin a simple newsletter. You may
need to put a little out for advertising The least expensive, and most practical,
for subscribers or mailings to introduce way to print your newsletter is at an
your product. And you need to spend some instant printer's, using photo offset.
money on getting the first newsletter These small local businesses can print,
printed. collate, fold, and stuff envelopes, all
for a reasonable fee.
But, if your subscription list builds
properly, you'll be able to earn back If you want to use two colors in the
your initial investments quickly-with newsletter. first have your masthead and
some left over. perhaps border designs printed in huge
quantities. All the clack type can later
WHAT TO WRITE ABOUT be printed on those two-color
pre-printed sheets.
The topic choose has got to be your major
interest. You'll be living with it day Don't go to the expense of elaborate
and day out for years, so you need to be printing until your subscription volume
devoted to the subject. Usually, it's not is high and you advance into a different
hard. You probably already have a chosen format. Almost any publication you read,
field of endeavor, or have developed a (newspapers, books, magazines) are
keen interest in a special hobby or printed on large roll presses and require
sport. Writing a newsletter is only one typesetting.
more way to demonstrate your interest.
Typesetting is expensive, but it
Read any newsletter you can find. What do certainly gives a professional finish to
they talk about? How much do they cost? publications. Consider, however, if you
How long have they been in business? You want your newsletter to be slick. It may
might want to talk to the publishers of a detract from its personal approach, and
few to find out how they started and subscribers may drop if it leans towards
what troubles they encountered. Consider a magazine.
paying them a consulting fee to help you
get on your way. But, if your subscription list is large
and the newsletter is successful, you
Take a look at all the trade magazines of can find excellent printers who will
the topic you'd like to work with. Find handle the whole job of typesetting,
out if there are any newsletters already layout, printing-all the way to mailing.
existing in that field. But don't
worry--there is usually room for more if HOW OFTEN TO PUBLISH
you keep to another aspect of the
business or endeavor. There are a lot of factors to consider
when deciding upon a publication
Keep up with the current trends in schedule. The main one is how fast can
health, money, sports, or social events you produce a newsletter.
and styles.. What's new with the young
people? Or the elderly? There are many Work backwards, You want a subscriber to
retired people actively pursuing receive the newsletter on a certain
hundreds of various interests. How can date. It needs to be in the mail a few
you tap into that market?? days before that. And before that, it
will take the printer how many days to
WHO WILL BUY? deliver the printed materials? How long
will it take a typist to finish the
The first place to test your newsletter copy, and for you to decide on the final
is with associates and colleagues. And, layout?
you don't need their subscription, just
their input. What do they think about How long will it take you to research and
your ideas? How much would they pay for write material for your newsletter? This
a newsletter delivered to their office or may be a deciding factor in the size of
home on the subjects that are vital to the publication. Perhaps you'd prefer to
them? get a four page newsletter out every
other week rather than an eight page
The target you're aiming at is simply, newsletter out every month.
anyone who will benefit from the
information you have. Not only are people If your topic is filled with today's
in a specific profession hungry for news, then you'll want to get that out
news,, but there are people in all sorts to your subscribers as fast as possible.
of related jobs and organizations seeking Other subjects can be done monthly,
specialized knowledge. Everyone is bimonthly, or even quarterly.. Be
interested in making or saving money. careful with infrequent mailings,
Although you don't have to focus on however, because the subscribers may
investments--there are many such just forget about it. And what use is a
newsletters already--you can point out small newsletter only a few times a
the benefits of your inside tips on how year?
to find the easiest, or the least
expensive, or direct-to-the-source GETTING SUBSCRIBERS
methods of attaining materials for
pursuits or sports. Think about where the people who would
want your newsletter are, and go find
Generally, you have a small audience them.
target--about thirty to fifty thousand
people. But even a small percentage of Do you have access to mailing lists
that target will make your newsletter directly related to your subject matter?
profitable. Maybe you already have a small business
selling information, or have access to a
Extremely successful topics are new customer list of people who buy similar
trends where people can't get enough information.
information. Manufacturers, advertisers
and entrepreneurs are all searching for You can purchase mailing lists that have
the new to exploit. Depending on the every demographic breakdown you can
subject you choose, tap into those imagine. What is the profile of your
potential subscribers. potential subscribers? Think about those
people, and write down their attributes.
WHAT TO CALL IT? Write down the age group, sex, education
level, income, where they live, perhaps
The title at the top of the newsletter is the type of housing accommodation. A
the most visual aspect of the good list broker can work out the best
publication. It reflects the content and lists to give you results.
it reflects you. What title is best for
your newsletter? If you are well-known in A sure way to build up a potential
your field, you can use your own name. subscriber mailing list is with a
Or, think of a few titles that indicate drawing at a trade show or convention.
the topic, or use a catch-phrase that You can have cards printed up for people
sums up the endeavor. Two-word titles to fill in their names and addresses. All
work well. attendees would be interested in the
subject matter of your newsletter.
You might use an action title if you're
going after sports, or a title that You can take out display ads in the trade
includes the word "money" if that's a magazines that cater to the topic you are
main focus of your subject. pursuing. Include the full details of
your newsletter, or use a leader to get
Make up a few titles of your own. How do inquiries, and send the details later.
they compare with the titles of other Especially with the prices of newsletter,
newsletters? Which rings true for your you may want to prepare and send out
enterprise? literature and samples rather than go
for a low response.
Check at the library to be sure your
title is original and doesn't duplicate Prepare a direct mail piece that
other publications currently on the describes the benefits and features of
market. The title is your trademark. your newsletter and pushes for
subscription.... You can offer a special
Although newsletters require very little free booklet to new subscribers, or a
graphic design, illustrations, or an art discount. You may include a sample copy
director on staff, you may want to in the direct mail piece to show how
consult a professional designer to help worthwhile the publication is.
you with the prototype.
Selling newsletters, like any other
Since the title of the newsletter is so direct mail or publishing enterprise,
important, it would be worthwhile to takes a lot of testing. You need to test
have it designed.. You'll only need to the initial response to the idea of the
pay a one-time fee, and you can use it topic;; and the response to the first few
forevermore. newsletters produced.
The logo can be very simple. If you have Pricing is always a tricky of selling
a title that doesn't use your name, you information. How high can you price your
might have a company name under or above newsletter an still keep the number of
the title in small print.. Although most subscribers to make it profitable? You'll
publications don;t place the address find through testing that there's a
under the title,, newsletters often do, plateau, and subscriptions will fall off
so potential subscribers know where to when the price gets too high.
write.
Frequency of publication is also
Another aspect of the title at the top of important. Although you may be able to
the publication is the date and the prepare and publish a weekly newsletter,
issue number. These should be considered your subscribers may not be able to keep
in the original design. Since a up with the reading, and prefer a monthly
newsletter has timely information,, the subscription.
date of the issue should be easy to find.
Any good mailing list should be used over
The newsletter will be typewritten and and over. If you know you have alist of
photo offset, so an elaborate logo may prime targets for your newsletter, don't
look out of place. Start out with one stop with one mailing. Follow through
color and keep it as homespun and fresh with subsequent offers at certain
as the news you'll publish. Avoid fancy intervals to catch those who couldn't
type styles or those that are hard to decide the first time.
read. And don't go overboard with a
clever or cute design. Something simple MAILING
and clear is what you're after.
You can use computer services in your
STYLE AND FORMAT town to have labels printed up, or, if
you're only dealing in a small quantity,
A low-budget newsletter is usually one you can have mailing lists photo copied
column., typewritten copy, with ample but onto address labels.
not wide margins. Anything with two or
more columns should be typeset, which is After your first success, and after
an extra expense you don't need. you've paid your initial investment and
you've got enough money to expand, make
The most economical way of printing the things easy on yourself.. The most
newsletter is on one or two 11 x 17 inch sophisticated, and the easiest method of
pages, printed on both sides, and folded. mailing to subscribers is by computer.
This will give you a small booklet of
four to eight pages, each the standard 8 Nowadays, computers are so commercially
1/2 x 11 inch size. popular that they are within almost
anybody's budget. And a computer that
You might consider having it three-hole would store and print out names and
punched. It doesn't cost much to have addresses need not be expensive. If the
this done at the printers, and it could mail is pre-sorted by zip code, you can
be an added feature to encourage use a bulk rate for mailing and save
subscribers to save the valuable money. If your newsletter can meet the
information. specifications, you might even be able to
get a special second class rate permit
Any graphics should be kept simple, but for educational material. Talk with
don't be afraid to use subheads to break postal workers to find out what you need
up the copy.. A few words capitalized or to do comply with these special rates.
in a larger or darker print help the
reader identify the information, and BOOKKEEPING
make it easier to read.
You can keep complete and accurate
Keep enough white space to encourage accounts of your newsletter business by
reading, but fill the pages to make the yourself. It's basically broken down into
subscriber feel the newsletter fulfills two areas: how much you spend, and how
its promises. much you make.. If you keep track of all
your expenses, you'll have an easy time
WHAT TO INCLUDE of it at tax time. Open up a business
checking account at your bank. Get to
Consider a copy format that is divided by know the bank manager, if you don't
types of information. For example, you already. Although you can start and
can have a section labeled profiles, maintain a newsletter within a low
another on upcoming events. Perhaps you budget, be sure to figure your costs and
have a calendar of shows, conventions, risks before you invest too much money,
or seminars that would concern readers. and be sure of a back up to be able to
fulfill all the subscriptions.
There might be sections on various
industry policies or unwritten rules.. Maintaining your subscription lists is a
Past events and hist