Back in 1995 when Larry Chase launched his e-mail newsletter Web Digest for Marketers, being novel and different was easy.
Why? Because he was the only one publishing an e-mail newsletter about marketing.
Chase celebrated his 14th anniversary of publishing Web Digest for Marketers yesterday.
E-Centric contacted Chase to ask him about what it was like to be the first publisher of an online-marketing-related e-mail newsletter, and to see what advice he had for online publishers today.
“Web Digest for Marketers was a long name, but I knew even then that eventually the marketplace was going to get really crowded with content,” Chase said. “Web Digest was the first e-mail newsletter on Internet marketing, but I understood that there were going to be many to follow. There was going to be many of everything to follow.”
Indeed, Ralph Wilson launched Web Marketing Today in 1995 and ClickZ launched in 1998.
Realizing there would be competition, Chase said, he decided he had to make his newsletter’s name self explanatory.
“Even though it’s not the most creative name, once you hear it, you know exactly what its mission is,” he said.
Today, said Chase, e-mail newsletters must have at least one differentiating factor from all others in order to succeed.
“There are a zillion newsletters out there now and what a lot of newsletters don’t have is that unique selling proposition, either in the name or in the content,” he said. “There’s a lot of what I call ‘reverb’ news out there. You have to be very specific about what you cover and what you don’t cover. For example, we don’t cover news.”
One of Chase’s main differentiating factors, he said, is that he tailors his copy to high-level marketers. “It’s marketing 501, not marketing 101,” he said. “If you’re new [to Internet marketing], some of this stuff, you’re not going to get.”
Chase said that when launching a new property, it’s important to assess competing publications and come up with a differentiator that elevates the new offering above them.
“If you’re going to take them [would-be competitors] on you, have to figure out how you’re going to be better, and not subtly better, obviously better,” he said.
Chase also said that when creating content, publishers and editors should ask themselves if they think people will forward it, and the answer better be “yes.”
“One of the many plusses of e-mail over print and even the Web is it takes one stroke to forward it,” he said. “It’s a great pass-along medium. So you have to decide what inside a particular issue: ‘Is it going to get them to forward it?’ And usually it’s going to be some factoid or resource.”
He added: “One of the great things about this medium is it’s informational and it’s also the medium of execution, so you can read it and forward it without budging.”
And, of course, people will forward material they find entertaining.
“Funny definitely travels,” said Chase. However, he said, one of the best ways to craft content that will be forwarded is to be useful.
“Utility is important, especially now,” he said. “If I’m a consultant on retainer or someone who’s wondering if he’s going to have a job next month, things that offer immediate payback are extremely important.”
One of the biggest challenges in online publishing is finding decent editorial talent, said Chase. But finding editorial talent requires investing in it, he added.
“Finding writers who will pop the hood, who will go underneath, kick a Web site around and see what it’s worth having in the issue is really difficult. They’re hard birds to find,” he said. Chase specializes in reviewing Web sites.
“The good news is if you provide software or some service, you can have your own publication. You don’t have to be Ad Age to have validity,” he said. “But instead of spending a lot of money on marketing, take a good chunk of it, spend it on editorial and let the pass-along propagate.”
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