7 Essential eNewsletter Groups
After publishing last week's article about having at least 2 eNewsletter groups (one for internal constituents and one for external constituents) with an optimum of 4 eNewsletters groups (to correspond with the elements of the DREAM framework), I received several emails from individuals saying that they have MORE than four groups of individuals - and do each of those groups really need their own, personalized, individually-targeted eNewsletter?
The short answer is, "Yes!"
Newsletters used to be time-consuming. They were publications that had to be created by advertising agencies, proofed, proofed, and proofed again by experienced proofreaders, taken to paste-up and layout departments, printed with correct ink colors and no bleeds into the margins or other color areas.
It's a whole new world today.
Microsoft Publisher and other software made it possible to make professional-looking presentations right from your printer. Then you only had to print them and mail them to your constituents. Could you do two newsletters a month? Sure - but that's still a lot of mailings, eating up lots of postage, paper and printing.
About 20 or so years ago, magazine publishers started creating regionalized publications. Most of the stories were the same, but the advertising was regionalized so that not only national advertisers could place ads, but more regionalized retailers could also advertise, creating more exposure for their products and services, as well as more revenues for the magazine.
Today, you can customize your personal Web page, adding widgets and apps to let you know what's happening halfway around the world as well as right outside your front door. Therefore, it came as no surprise when I received emails that said 4 groups are not enough.
And, because of today's technology, it's not difficult to create several specifically targeted eNewsletters every month.
You have to remember three things, though:
1) It will take time
2) There is a specific style of writing for the Internet
3) You need a Web site.
First, all things worthwhile take time. Make the time to do it right. "Quick and dirty" doesn't work anymore - your audiences are WAY too savvy for that.
Second, paragraphs are no longer than three sentences or lines. If you have more than than, use bullet points. If Internet readers see a lot of text, they won't read it. White space, periods and breaks catch the reader's eye.
Third, your Web site is the repository for all information. My Marketing Matters articles are posted to the SchoolAdvancement.com Web site...but I'll only have a few lines of an article in the eNewsletter, with a link to the full article. Research shows that today's leaders need a lot of information - top-line data; then, they like to have the opportunity to go deeper if the topic captures their interest.
Next week, I'll provide a few more tips for writing for the Internet - but back to the 7 Essential eNewsletter Groups - they are:
+ Board Members - Need to be apprised of all communications as a courtesy. Do they need a copy of all 6 other eNewsletters? No...but you might want to create a compendium of every article sent to the other groups just so they're not blindsided if someone asks them about what you've sent to a particular group.
+ Alumni
+ Businesses & Members of the Community
+ Prospective Parents
+ Current Parents
- The four above groups are those that that correspond to the DREAM elements.
+ Friends - Those that don't fit into any of the above groups.
+ Donors - This may be a group created from the aforementioned 6 groups. Since the goal of Development is building relationships, you'll want to communicate with Donors in a different way than you do with potential donors since they've taken the step beyond volunteering their time and talent.
- And, there is an 8th group that no one mentioned...so I'll mention it:
+ Unsubscribed - Never delete someone from your list...they may want to come back. Think of this group as the "Recycle Bin" on your computer that you never empty. Send them a personalized greeting from time to time, saying "We Miss You," or "Are you sure you want to remain on our 'Unsubscribed' list. Of course, if they request "Do Not Contact," then don't contact them...but don't delete them, either.
What about "Deceased?" Is it a category? Should they be deleted? You may want to create a 9th category where simply tracking internal relationships can be significantly beneficial. Family members may want to memorialize their loved one through a bequest to your school because they knew your school was an important part of their loved one's life.
So how do you keep all these groups organized? More about that next week, too!
© Michael V. Ziemski, SchoolAdvancement, 2010 (Original Publication Date: 20101129)
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