Email newsletters: Getting started
A visitor to the Manager’s Guide to Newsletters site asked about starting an email newsletter that would go to parents of students at a school. Specifically, the visitor wanted to know about the logistics of getting set up, and about the software that would be needed.
In this article and follow up pieces, we look at a couple of major issues you will confront if you plan to start an email newsletter.
Word processor or email program?
This can be one of the simpler issues, at least if your mailing list is not too large at start-up. You can write your newsletter in any e-mail program, or any word processor that allows you to save your work as plain text (ASCII). Many writers prefer to use a word processing program for at least the first draft, since it provides text manipulation features not available in email programs.
Among email programs, you can use just about any of them, including Microsoft Outlook and Thunderbird (from the Open Source folks who brought us the Firefox browser).
However, there are many other choices among email programs that will handle a start-up or small online newsletter. Go to any search engine and type in “compare email programs” (without the quotation marks, to get a broad variety of responses). Most will offer a free trial, so you can experiment a bit before making your final choice.
In considering email programs, review the strengths and weaknesses of their address books as well as their message composition capabilities. You’ll quickly develop a set of likes and dislikes, and by trying a number of them, you should end up with something that fits your needs.
[more to follow]
Wednesday, March 12th, 2008