The other day I met with the owner of a small business. She is a very together business woman — talented in her core skill, professional, organized and eager to try new tools to improve her profitability. One of the new tools she has embraced is an electronic newsletter.
She bashfully admitted that the next edition of the newsletter wasn’t quite ready to launch, even though her self-imposed deadline is very soon. The first thing I did was reassure her that she is not alone. As we talked I realized she is far from alone and struggling with this basic communication tool like so many small business owners whose talent and skills are at the core of their business and often, understandably, do not encompass public relations.
One of my recommendations — besides, hiring me to edit and manage her newsletter, of course — was that she develop an editorial calendar. In other words, invest some time planning the lead topic or theme for the next 12 months of newsletters rather than struggling month-to-month up to the last minute with each edition. My other suggestion is to develop standard departments, just like you see in major magazines and newspapers. That way if you know you are always going to recommend a book or include an interesting quote or feature a how-to tip you can start collecting them as you go about your regular business. You may actually find you can fill out almost a year’s worth of certain departments in a short time, once you are organized with a filing system and start thinking in those terms.
The key is to develop strategies and tactics for managing your newsletter so it doesn’t manage you. Do you have a tip worth sharing?
