Re: Customer Newsletter

Subject: Re: Customer Newsletter
From: Kathy10th -at- aol -dot- com
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Date: Fri, 12 May 2000 23:16:35 EDT

Scott writes:

<< my boss wants me to create a quarterly customer newsletter.
Can anyone help me with ideas or templates?
I'm not sure where to begin, but suspect I might be writing the entire
newsletter. >>

Scott,

I feel your pain! I "edit" a weekly in-house on-line newsletter that covers
the very large, very complex, constantly changing computer program we use at
work. Even though I have a list of contacts that I ask (beg) for articles
each week, I rarely get any ideas from them. Usually, I come up with my own
ideas and write the whole thing myself!

Something that has helped me enormously was getting myself added to several
of the e-mail groups set up throughout the company. Even though I only lurk,
scanning the e-mail traffic in these groups quite often gives me ideas that I
can flesh out into articles.

A couple words of warning:

First, have the newsletter reviewed before you publish it. I don't mean just
your boss reviewing the structure of what you write; also have the applicable
SMEs review the content of what you write. For instance, each week I have
three writers (the other people in my department), a business analyst and a
developer review the newsletter. Also, if an article touches on something in
Accounting, I have someone in Accounting review it. If an article touches on
Customer Service, I have someone there review it. And so on.

Second, make sure that you are given the power to make editorial decisions.
These include what will be included in each issue, the right to make changes
in an article that someone may send to you and the final say on what edits
from your reviewers you will incorporate into the articles.

Most important, be sure you are given the power to enforce the deadline! Your
reviewers are busy people. They are going to get your draft and set it to the
side to look at "later." After several firm stands with latecomers
(fortunately, I was supported 100% by my manager), my reviewers know that
when I say I need their comments by Tuesday at noon in order to publish on
time, that is exactly what I mean. I rarely have a problem anymore.

Good luck, Scott. I wish you well.

Kathy Kurth
Technical Writer II
Graebel Companies, Inc.




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