I took over an 8-page business association print newsletter.
It had been losing circulation.
Many people didn’t pay on time or pay at all.
It sometimes didn’t get out on time.
Its busy editor, who also had a full-time job, had written most of the articles, essays, and news stories.
The first thing I did was to make sure the newsletter got out on time.
Next, I sought out news from members of the association.
I found a file of letters that had never been used. After reviewing them, I called the various individuals who had sent them and asked if I could publish their letters. Their unanimous answer — “yes indeed!”
So I got out news and got it out on time.
Then I consistently invoiced people, giving them two warning messages about their subscription expiring before cutting them off.
But rather than wait for people who were slow in responding, I called them up personally, as the writer and editor-in-chief of the newsletter.
They, for the most part, were flattered by the attention and paid up.
I continued to improve the newsletter.
Not only did I get more news in, but I did the one thing that changed the whole slant of the news stories.
Instead of creating a headline such as “Association Member Joe Jones Writes Pro-Free Trade Letter to New York Times,” I changed the focus to the specific news issue involved.
For instance, the same headline would now read “Free Trade Is Best writes Association Member in New York Times.”
So the focus of the news story was now on the news topic first and the member secondly. The member still got recognition for their activism, but the news hook was the topic itself.
I also “choreographed” or “stage-managed” the various news stories and articles. In other words, I placed them in such a way as to create the most interest and excitement, just as a movie director might do to take his audience on an exciting adventure.
I increased the page count until we got up to 24 pages.
Also, I increased the frequency. I made it into a bi-monthly, instead of a quarterly.
I increased the price as circulation began to rise.
I knew it was becoming successful when businesses began to ask if we took ads. We did.
Then I created an ad rate sheet.
The newsletter was now humming along.
The point of this is that I began to take action.
I learned how to do it better with each issue.
I created a buzz, and association members knew they had a good shot at getting published in the newsletter.
The newsletter was now of value to its subscribers.
Although this was accomplished with a print-only newsletter, its lessons can be applied to online newsletters and blogs as well.
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Ken West is the author of Your Ego: It’s Your Salvation, Not Your Original Sin, Achieve Your Purpose, Get What You Want, Your Life Zones, and Capitalism WIIFM: It’s the Key to Your Future
