May I interject some strategic thots/questions, re:
I wonder who the target audience for the newsletter is. Is it the
community,
the press or even a third group?
and also:
And the people interested in this kind of information are more likely the
people we want to convince to use OOo (or to contribute to the project)
than the others knowing about the advantages of text mail.
By strict marketing standards, these are the key questions to be answered
before the format-fate of the newsletter is decided. Especially when
resources (such as time) are limited, it is most critical to clearly define
the 'target audience', ie: Who do we (as the OOo community) most want to be
using OOo...? Where do we believe OOo would 'do the most good and deliver
the most immediate benefit to all involved'?
Then, after clearly 'seeing the face' of the customer/client/co-contributor
we wish to ingratiate into the fold, all cooperative efforts may be focused
to saturate that targeted marketplace. And when that marketplace is fully
saturated, credibility is leveraged to saturate of others.
I don't think that HTML mail per se is necessarily dangerous - we don't
need to include any such code IMHO. And the people interested in this
format will probably get other HTML mail that might contain these
threats - whether we provide a HTML mail or not.
and also
Honestly, I find the newsletter boring. The text based form is fine inside
the community, but if the target is to reach new users or the press I
think
it needs to be shined up. People are expecting some more marketing like.
Some glitter and gold. The fine stories could be wrapped up in some nicer
paper I think.
As to newsletters in general... no matter who the 'target audience' is,
given the state of technology I still support the idea of a plain text email
newsletter with a direct link to an html page. This method simply 'works' as
there is absolutely no other method which guarantees that the recipient will
see what the sender sends. However, the editorial slant and organization of
newsletter content has as much to do with overall 'appeal' as does visual
attractiveness.
This is why (with plain text, especailly) it is critical to lead with a hook
and make every word an imperative for delivering 'new' information. Still,
it is the sizzle (glamor & glitz) that sells the steak, however one must
'know' what the 'customer' thinks of as sizzle and tailor newsletter
materials to caputre the attention and provoke curiosity in that particular
demographic of people...
I do not have a public accessible web page to present the HTML newsletter.
and also
the current newsletter is more a press review but having an editorial part
would definitely improve the newsletter.
This would imply that we need a team which writes and reviews the articles.
Regarding images and screenshots, they are fine for magazines but a
newsletter should be slim as possible.
How about posting the newsletter on a wordpress blog...? This would allow
pretty formatting and the inclusion of images if desired. The newsletter
could be created as plain text, emailed as such (including a link to the
blog), and posted to the blog with only a few extra clicks. Also, photos &
graphics could be added to the blog post. Plus this would take care of the
'filing' system of archived documents, allow readers to interact, and if
each member of the editoral panel was authorized as a blog moderator, it
might better spread the work-load.
As a point of reference and illustration, this is the last newsletter I
posted for my former employer (a manufacturer of doors):
http://www.unipulllc.com/news/index.htm Our target market was 'decision
makers in the industrial building construction and maintenance industry,
with a special emphasis on water and watewater treatment facilitiy
superintendents. Note that our newsletter said little about our doors, but
offered a cavalcade of topics which we knew were relavent to the 'decision
makers' we desired to serve. This same newsletter was delivered as a plain
text document to a list of about 4000... and we used to routinely get
compliments about it and thanks for sending it.
Anyway lastly, re:
What's with all the trolls to the OOo projects of late?
Could someone please tell me what is meant by this...? Thanks!
~Christine
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