Top 10 Questions on Starting Your Newsletter

1. How do I develop a newsletter mailing list?

Start with your personal network: friends, family, colleagues. If you belong to a professional association or social group you may be able to use its mailing list. Use good judgement so that your mailings are not consigned to the junk mail heap. Be especially careful with email newsletters to avoid a reputation for spamming.

Print extra copies of every issue and distribute them at networking events, professional luncheons, speaking engagements. Get permission to leave copies with "natural partners," businesses whose clients may enjoy and benefit from your newsletter. Print a subscription form or information about how to subscribe in every issue.

Encourage your readers to pass their copy along to friends and colleagues.

2. How much does it cost to design, write, produce and mail a newsletter?

This year I will spend $1400 on my quarterly newsletter.

Here's a breakdown for my printed newsletter, which I send quarterly to 850-900 subscribers. Your costs will vary based on such factors as the frequency of your mailings, the number of copies you print and mail, the number of colors of ink you use and the paper you select. Your postage costs will also vary depending on where you live and what rate classifications are available to you.

Layout:* 4 x $50 = $200

Printing:
Mastheads: 4,000, two color, 11x17 sheets, printed once a year $400 Each issue, black only, 1000 sheets, $100 per issue x 4 $400

Mailing:
Bulk Mail permit (annual fee) $85
Permit indicia (one time fee for using an imprint instead of a stamp) $85

Mail preparation** $200

Incidentals:
Mailing labels $15

Total annual costs $1385

Notes:
Writing: I write my own copy. It takes two to four hours to write the text for my four-page newsletter.

Layout: I used to do my own layout and I did my final edit as I flowed the text into my page layout program. Now I email the copy to my virtual assistant, Debbie Buxton. Debbie does the layout and returns it to me for review before it is finalized. 2 hours @ $25/hour = $50

**Mail processing: I used to do this myself; it took about 4 hours to label, sort , package and calculate rates for an 850-9800 piece bulk mailing. Now I turn this over to Debbie Buxton. She has a software program that streamlines the arcane United States Postal service process and I anticipate that my costs for mail preparation will be about $50 per issue.

3. Where can I get help designing and writing my newsletter?

Design help is available from a wide range of graphics professionals. Here are some things to keep in mind:

• Ask for a template on disk so that you can create the newsletter yourself once the initial design is complete. Make sure you have the rights to the artwork for your newsletter.
• Interview several designers and ask to see samples of their work.
• Before you interview designers, make yourself a short list of the what you want your newsletter design to say about you.
• If you are not comfortable writing, choose another way to promote your business or plan on hiring help to put your ideas into written form.

4. How long will it take for a newsletter to generate increases in my client list?

This depends on your business, however I recommend that you NOT invest in a newsletter unless you are prepared to pay for it for at least one year before you see financial return. Another way to say this is: Manage your newsletter costs so that you can afford to publish and distribute it for at least a year before getting a direct financial return. Today, almost three years after starting my practice and two years after mailing my first coaching newsletter, 30% of my client list can be traced directly to the effect of my newsletter. However, this has only been true for about the last six months. A newsletter (especially a print version) is a long term investment, not a quick sales gimmick.

5. How do I budget for my (printed) newsletter?

There are several important factors to consider:

• What can I afford to spend if I assume it will be at least twelve months before I generate a return?
• How big is my mailing list?
  (In the US, you need to mail at least 1000 pieces per year just to break even on bulk mail fees.)
• What image do I intend to project? How does this affect paper and ink choices and design costs?
• How often do I need to get my newsletter in front of my audience?
• How much can I do myself vs. how much do I need to hire out?
• What other methods of marketing are available to me and how do they compare to the newsletter in terms of:
  • Cost?
  • Appropriateness to me style and niche?
  • Ease of implementation?
  • Availability?
  • Effectiveness?

6. How can I tell if a newsletter is right for me and for my business?

(Four point checklist; if you can affirm each of these statements with a resounding, "Yes!," then a newsletter is an ideal marketing tool for you.)

• Writing comes easily to me; I like to show up in the written word.
• I can afford to print and distribute my newsletter for at least one year before realizing a financial return.
• I have ten things, right now, that I am excited about which are great topics for a newsletter.
• I can set and keep to a production and distribution schedule.

7. What's the minimum frequency for an effective newsletter?

Quarterly. If you mail your newsletter any less often you will not be able to create the sense of continuity and connection which are vital to the effectiveness of this tool.

A newsletter is a relationship builder; don't bother with it if you are not committed to showing up regularly and on time.

NOTE: email newsletters must be sent more frequently. There is a delicate balance between the level of relationship which folks expect in cyberspace and the degree of respect and privacy they demand. This means you communicate more often and with even more care to get permission from subscribers.

8. Should I do an email or a hard copy newsletter?

Both. I recommend a quarterly print newsletter that cements your relationship with folks, that can be passed from hand to hand, and that can turn up on bathroom walls in coffee shops where your next clients find you. (Yes, this has happened to me.)

Use an email newsletter to increase the frequency of contact with folks without increasing your hard costs.

9. How do I find a good name for my newsletter?

Keep it simple. Once you have a solid name you may wish to trademark it. This will cost $500-$2000 (in the US), so you probably will not wish to do this until you have a track record of success.

10. What can I write about?

Here are fifteen topics you can harvest for every newsletter:

• What are you learning now? (More interesting than what you know.)
• What are you reading? (Why does it excite you?)
• What classes or workshops are you offering?
• What classes or workshops do you recommend (regardless of who is offering them)?
• What important events are happening in your community (actual or virtual)?
• What's the latest news in/about your profession? (Results of a coaching client
• What new content have you added to your web site?
• What innovation, practice or insight has made your life easier lately?
• What new products or services are you offering?
• What projects am I working on now? What's the most challenging or innovative aspect of them?
• What, exactly, do you do and how do people benefit from it?
• What personal appearances or special events are coming up for you?
• What inspired my best work recently?
• How am I recharging these days?
• What question have I been asked most about what I do? (Answer it!)

BONUS: Sample Schedule for print newsletter production

• Received by bulk mail subscribers: October 1-8
• Mailing date: September 30
• Printed issue ready to label and sort: September 27
• Mailing list updated, labels printed: September 26
• Mailing list updates to VA: September 20
• Final layout to printer: September 20
• Edited layout for review: September 16
• Draft copy due to VA: September 13
• Start drafting copy: September 6