RE: [epub] Publishing Multiple Newsletters....

["The Life in Africa Foundation" <mzungu@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

From: "The Life in Africa Foundation" <mzungu@lifeinafrica.com>

Hi Bobbi,

I publish two newsletters -- related but different -- and am starting a third in
early December and, believe it or not, a 4th one in February!  The advantage for the
Life in Africa Foundation is simply more eyeballs. More than trying to make money,
we're trying to spread a message, so   achieving a broad outreach is part and parcel
to our mission.  Also, for us it just makes sense to publish more than one, since
Africa is a big continent and each newsletter focuses on a different country or
region.  Yes we have many who subscribe to both (or even all four!).  There is some
crossover in the subjects (and occasionally on a bit of content), but it doesn't seem
to bother the folks who are multiple subscribers.  That said, we strive to make the
content of each very good.

I guess from a management point of view, you just have to be very scheduled and NEVER
put things off to the last minute.  Our existing 2 are biweekly, and I have them
staggered so that I can focus on one each week.  The third will be weekly (on a
different day), a different target audience and much shorter. I've been lining up
content already for months now to avoid any last minute hassles, and we're already
starting to plan for the one to be launched in February.

With regard to promotion, you need to strategize a bit in dividing your time.  I've
got one which is reaching the magic 1,000 subscriber number (Letters from Uganda), so
promotion efforts at the moment are primarily focused on that one, to be able to at
least consider selling ads in the near future. Then we'll slow down a bit on that one
and give a bigger promotion push to the others.  For promoting subscriptions to
multiple publications, I've found it really cost/time effective to use a couple of
other methods in addition to the typical directory/announcement listings -- getting
our site mentioned in other newsletters drives in a lot of traffic, and it seems
those people tend to sign up for everything!  Also, I've been on the radio talking
about our organization and what we do and got tons of multi-pub subscribers.  We're
currently sending flyers out to universities, which I think (hope?!) should also be
quite effective.

So yes, it's manageable if you plan wisely -- and why not have more than one?  I find
that once the learning curve starts to smooth out, you get into a rhythm.  If I
didn't have so many other organizational aspects to manage, I think I could do it on
my own -- as it is, I have a volunteer who helps out part-time.  The idea of having a
fourth one now doesn't even phase me.  But it certainly does take a lot of time, so
make sure that time management in integral to your plans.

Good luck!

Christina Jordan
The Life in Africa Foundation
http://www.lifeinafrica.com
Letters from Uganda
Letters from West Africa
Letters from Egypt (Feb. 2000)
Lasting Impact (Dec. 1999)

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