Basic Newsletter Planning

Planning your newsletter has five basic parts: 1. Size 2. Content/Theme 3. Who will receive it 4. Budget 5. How often to publish it These five choices work together. In most cases, the larger the newsletter, the less frequently it will be distributed. Conversely, a one- or two-page piece can be produced and set out often, even daily if the need exists. Your audience may not want a big publication in their mailbox each week, but may welcome it monthly. Your content, and the type of content or the theme will affect size and frequency as well. Obviously, if your content is time-sensitive, it can't wait three months for a quarterly issue and will need to be published at least once a month. Alternatively, you could publish in-depth features that require lots of research and interviews with sources, and doing these properly may take more than a few days or weeks. Who will receive your newsletter? Will it go to residents in a geographic region, people who have signed up for a mailing list, past and current customers, or a demographic such as households with children under ten? If your list of recipients is large, you might want to restrict the size and frequency of your publication. Larger pieces are more appropriate for tightly targeted lists. Your newsletter budget includes more than just money - it also takes into consideration the expenditure of time and labor. Are you committed to putting forth the effort to create a quality piece each month? If not, could you do it every three months instead? Surprisingly, many companies find it's more efficient in terms of money, time and labor to put out a small newsletter more frequently than a large, elaborate piece every few months. Considering size, content, readership and budget will help you to determine the frequency of your publication. Getting this right is an important step, because you're going to have to stick with it for maximum results. Plan on committing to your newsletter schedule for at least a year before reviewing results and making changes.