Congratulations. Your company has decided to do an e-mail newsletter, and you have been asked not only to write it but to broadcast it.
Do you realize what a rare opportunity you have been given? When you finish an issue and it has been launched on an unsuspecting world, there is no greater thrill.
But don’t think it’s easy. Sit there on some nights trying to load content after a long day of writing, and you will understand the limitations of technology and your own brain.
Just what does it entail? It means writing the stories, posting them to your Web site, placing blurbs and links into an e-mail interface, and then broadcasting it.
Each company has its own level of dysfunction, so it’s hard to generalize about the challenges you will face. But I have learned some hard truths by shipping hundreds of newsletter editions, and I will share them here.
First, always send tests to yourself and to a small internal list. Don’t just write the thing and broadcast it (as I have occasionally done in deadline extremis).
There are sound editorial reasons for this. For one thing, even the best writers and editors make mistakes. I hate to admit it, but I have generated world-class typos by failing to see that my spell check had mangled a word, or that I had dropped a zero from a number. If possible, have it checked by a second pair of eyes.
Even more critical is that the content be accurate. In most companies, a newsletter will be vetted by several people, including public relations and legal counsel. In the economy class version we’re discussing, though, that may not be possible. So what do you do?
It’s simple: You fact check.
That means you call each and every person you interviewed and verify—for the third or fourth time, if necessary—everything you learned from them. And triple check any printed or online resources you used.
I write this as a reporter who, as a matter of journalistic ethics, would never show a story in advance to a source. But there are differences between writing for an independent publication and for a company newsletter.
Yes, I am responsible for the truth of what I write, but I don’t have to adhere to a marketing agenda. And if I do make a mistake, we can run a correction, as most reputable publications do. That would not look very good in a corporate newsletter.
And don’t only scan your copy. Use the test to check ad placements (if any), and to try out all links in stories or ads. You owe your reader a seamless experience.
Can you polish your copy once you have loaded it into your e-mail interface?
Sure, but it’s not a good habit to get into. I’ve learned the hard way that every time you change anything online, you have increased your chances of making another mistake.
Here’s another tidbit. Make sure you work with an e-mail vendor who can handle regular newsletters. Years ago, we chose a vendor who was great at sending e-mail marketing blasts, but not so good at sending daily and weekly e-zines.
Our e-zines got caught in this outfit’s logjam, and they often were delayed for several hours. Worse yet, it was impossible to reach those bozos by phone or e-mail.
And that raises another point. Always finish your newsletter and schedule it well in advance of broadcast. I like to finish everything no later than the night before and then go back and compulsively check it. If possible, try to get it done during daylight hours, when your IT or new media people are there to help you.
For more vivid commentary, call me every other Tuesday night when I’m trying to ship this newsletter.
