Guest Author - Pamela Blackmon

Is a newsletter really worth the effort? How do you define your target audience? Should you mention your clients in your publication? Simple questions like these receive straightforward answers in “E-Newsletters That Work: The Small Business Owner’s Guide To Creating, Writing and Managing An Effective Electronic Newsletter” by Michael J. Katz.

Organized into nearly 60 short chapters(most are less than two pages long), the slim 141-page book uses a question-and-answer format that allows readers to jump ahead to sections more applicable to their current challenge.

Katz’s easygoing style guides the uninitiated through the basics of planning, launching and publishing an ezine, distilling the task down from a seemingly mammoth one into easy-to-follow steps.

His treatment of the topic begins simply with the definition of an electronic newsletter as a “glorified email.” He builds from there dividing text into three sections: Content, Formatting & Layout and Delivery & List Management.

Under the “Content” heading, Katz demystifies the reasons businesses need an ezine, discusses production costs(he describes them as minimal) and offers tips on how to assess the success of the publication.

The Formatting and Layout section focuses on such questions as newsletter title, length and editorial format. Next, Katz examines the mechanics of newsletter distribution, walking the reader through suggestions about who to send the newsletter to, what bouncebacks are and how to handle them as well as issues a point blank answer to whether subscriber information should be rented to third-party companies.

His helpful QuickTips at the end of several chapters further illuminate tricky subjects.

Two appendices round out the book. The first one explores outsourcing with a quick look at its costs and risks, followed by tips on how to choose a vendor. The second appendix offers a helpful template for planning and launching the publication.

The book is an excellent primer for anyone pondering the production of a newsletter, whether or not they’re entrepreneurs. Although it doesn’t feature any examples of successful newsletters, the book’s timeless information lays a solid foundation from which to build for any entrepreneurial ezine publisher.

About the author: Michael J. Katz is the founder of Blue Penguin Development, Inc., which, according to his web site, “helps companies increase sales by showing them how to market to their existing relationships, and which specializes in the development of electronic newsletters.” A leading expert on E-newsletter creation and management, Katz has more than 20 years of marketing and training expertise. His web address is www.bluepenguindevelopment.com.