What’s right and wrong about newsletters

In the last couple of months I’ve noticed a few of my colleagues have resurrected the idea of newsletters. I may do the same at some point as I develop the model for AccMan. Companies use them all the time but it is interesting to note the difference in approach of those who are actively using social computing tools and those that come from a more traditional background.

e-conomic for instance sent me one this morning that is packed full of ‘look how great we are’ material but is less well endowed with things that invite me to explore further. Example: at the top of the newsletter, it talks about an award and then goes on to product news. Awards are great but they are only of value to the winner. Nobody else cares. Product is all about you and your functionality rather than benefits and value. It’s something many I know have come to loathe about Sage for instance. New product, more bloat. Nobody cares.

e-conomic then goes on to talk about improving service through the newsletter, its blog and planned wiki pages. All sounds good except that it says:

The next stages are the complete re-vamp of our online help in the form of a ‘Wiki’ – this is scheduled to be released in June and will replace the current PDF manuals on the Help Tab. This will be followed by the introduction of help videos and live chat. These are already being trialled in Denmark and will come to the UK later in the year. We will keep you informed as they become available.

What’s wrong with this? I don’t care about what you will deliver, I want to know how you’re listening. I don’t care if something is happening in Denmark (if I live in the UK or elsewhere) I want to be surprised and delighted now. Get the picture?

Now contrast this with a newsletter I received from Euan Semple. Actually I didn’t ‘receive’ it. Euan mentioned that he’d posted a newsletter in a Tweet message. I clicked the link.

Euan is one of the best thinkers I know on issues around the development and introduction of social computing tools in the context of business. He not only knows his stuff, he’s done it. He advises organizations like NATO. He starts:

Welcome to my May Newsletter and especially to those of you have joined the list since my last email. I am still finding my way with the frequency, format and content of the newsletter so it will almost certainly change over the coming months but I hope it will provide you with interesting news and give you the inspiration to get more involved in the world of social media.

Euan then goes on to talk about products he has found useful,explains why and invites readers to try them out. He also talks about an event at which he will be speaking, the rationale for his talk and concludes with a link to some tips on handling email. There is no obvious commercial intent although I’m sure that he would welcome consulting enquiries. It is indirect. At the end, he says:

If you have found this newsletter useful and interesting please pass it on to a friend or colleague using the forwarding link below. If you haven’t found it useful or interesting do let me know!

Can you see the difference? Euan has enticed me to include a link in this post because I already know that it is interesting and of value. I felt I should reciprocate with e-conomic in the interests of fairness. e-conomic is more about pushing messages to you where Euan is about inviting you into his world. These are subtle but vitally important differences. Euan knows he doesn’t know it all and invites his readers to help him figure it out, e-conomic doesn’t quite do the same:

If you have any comments or question, please visit our blog or e-mail info@e-conomic.co.uk. We look forward to hearing from you.

Am I being picky? Probably but I have learned that these small and sometimes imperceptible differences are enormous in terms of the way I receive the message someone is trying to convey. At one end of the spectrum they can be very annoying, at the other, they’re an embrace. Am I saying you should ignore the kind of newsletter e-conomic is sending out? Of course not. I’m simply asking that they (along with many others) try and do ‘it’ better. I don’t need to ask that question of Euan – he already knows.

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