Arthur,
Ron Conrad suggested I respond to your e-mail. I am the newsletter editor
for our region, Fort Wayne Region, in northeast Indiana. Yes, we can
understand the challenges of newsletter editing because Ron and I have done
it more than once over the years, too.
In the years I've been involved with our region, I don't know of any
outsourcing for production, mailing, etc. We've always coerced someone into
taking it on, I guess! Anyway, now I must confess that because I do
communications/PR for a living, last year I volunteered to take it over
because I could apply years of work/business experience to the process.
That means that maybe for me it's a bit easier (I spend about 8 hours on
the layout/proofing per monthly issue) than for others who see it as such a
big challenge.
But, there are ways to make it easy on the editor.
The printing is done by a printer/copy center here in town and I quoted it
around to get the best pricing, one year at a time. We print monthly issues
February through November and a combined December-January issue. When I
took the newsletter over at the first of last year, I solicited articles
and people send them to me via e-mail in many cases or give them to me at a
meeting on disk and that really helps because I don't have to type anything
in.
Also, as soon as our members realized that if they submit it, it will be
printed (I developed a few basic guidelines for submission, i.e. no
anonymous, editor won't change content, and by 20th of every month for
example) they started submitting more and after just a few months we had
articles and photos pouring in (well, pouring in might be a bit of a
stretch...). I'd be more than happy to send you those guidelines if you
want them.
And, as soon as they realized that if I didn't get the info from them by
the 20th and it wasn't in the issue they wanted it in, because I didn't
then do it for them, they caught on that it was their responsibility to get
the info into the newsletter.
For example, the flyers for our Solo program events, 8 throughout the
summer, are most often developed by the Solo Director or the specific
event's coordinator. That also can make the difference for a newsletter
editor. If you make people within the region responsible for submitting
information, event flyers, and such, the editor then can only have to spend
time putting it all together.
And, if that editor has a program like Publisher (comes in most Microsoft
bundles with Word, Excel, etc) (as a professional, I use Pagemaker but
that's not a general-user friendly program), or if the editor knows how to
do such in Word (which can do it but isn't as easy as Publisher, which is
designed for non-professionals to create newsletters and flyers), it can be
easier than they think. Of course, the first issue is the hardest, then
after that often you can just insert new things and update old things.
For the mailing, we spent $50 on a program called My Mail List (available
at Office Depot/Office Max) and my husband Pat and I developed the database
for our membership and interested persons. In minutes, it then prepares the
labels for the bulk mailing process (we mail anywhere from 250-400 copies,
depending on the time of year and racing seasons) so we just have to label
and band, plus keep the database current with return mail addresses and
participant additions after solo events. It's a great program for us, and
because it's a user-friendly program, is easy to operate.
Because our mailing list is small, many months my hubby and I spend an hour
(2 man hours) on the living room floor putting on labels and getting the
newsletter ready for the post office. That mailing program means you don't
have to do much to figure out the oft-confusing bulk mail sorting. But, we
do have offers of help from others which makes our work easier sometimes
when we do get too busy.
Personally, I think if the expectations on the editor start small, it is
easier to get something out. Maybe at first you can have someone simply
commit to putting out a newsletter on regular 8 1/2 x 11 paper on two sides
they can copy at Office Depot/Office Max and just fold in half and mail.
They could just put in a few paragraphs of info regarding what's coming up,
what's happened, etc., without any art or flyers. And, maybe try for
something every other month to give time to get info, etc. and maybe then
the person won't feel so overwhelmed by the responsibility.
Anyway, I don't know if this helps you or if you have other questions I can
answer, but don't hesitate to call or e-mail again and ask more questions
or see what more I can help you with. While I am not interested in taking
on the work of another region's newsletter even as a new client (one as a
volunteer is plenty), I would be willing to help you create a basic
template/format that someone could use in Word or Publisher, for example,
if you aren't in a two-weeks-later-rush and we can negotiate the costs, etc.
If you want a copy of our newsletter, let me know where to mail it (as long
as you don't use it as a standard for your potential editors because, as I
say, I do this for a living and am willing to volunteer the time for our
region).
Val McCammon
(219) 637-0500 (home and work)
Pyramid Communications, Inc.
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