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How do You Edit a Newsletter?
by Mike Banks Valentine
This week I was asked what is involved in editing a
newsletter and thought I'd pass it along to this list
since I advocate EVERY webmaster have a regular e-mail
newsletter to keep in touch with potential clients and
create a sense of community within their audience of
web site visitors.
Editing involves proofreading articles for spelling,
punctuation, grammar and readablility. There is also
formatting the newsletters so that all mail clients
from Eudora to Netscape Messenger to Outlook Express
can see a properly displayed page with word wrap set
at a maximum 65 characters per line. Use a fixed-
width font such as courier new to view your work as
it will be seen in mail clients that require them.
Then any stylistic concerns like indenting paragraphs,
double spacing between sentences and using specific
"spacer characters" such as asterisks or dashes used to
create a specific look for each ezine.
Gathering and editing material or writing original
material for each issue is also an important task.
Understanding list management software commands and/or
list host user interface. Knowing how your work will
perform (mailto and hypertext links) in AOL mail
clients. Setting up advertiser links to track responses
and determine "ROI" for their ad dollars. (Here's a good
one to try http://www.roibot.com/w.cgi?R263_ROIbot for
free trial)
Dealing with advertisers by phone fax and email for ad
supported lists is critical for businesses that
value their subscriber lists as traffic generators and
advertising vehicles. (Love those machinery metaphors!)
So, there you have a job description for an editor/ list
manager. This is a position every webmaster should strive
to fill with either a qualified editor or learn to handle
themselves. An editor and list manager can make or break
your list and dramatically affect your online business!
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WebSite101 "Reading List" Weekly Netrepreneur Tip Sheet
Weekly Ezine emphasizing small business on the Internet
http://website101.com/arch/
e-tutorial online at: http://website101.com/shortcourse.html
By week's end you're ready expand your business to the web!
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