Some non-profits, including church congregations, have not yet realized the communication world has changed. Every few months they gather stories and photos, send them to a designer or fight with a publishing program to put together an attractive newsletter aimed at their members and supporters. By the time the postal service delivers the information or people retrieve it from a church mailbox, much of it is interesting but somewhat outdated. Readers put up with it because it’s always been that way. Even stories in the daily newspapers are hours old.
Meanwhile, online, people receive up-to-the-minute information.
The production of a newsletter is usually a last-minute frenzy of writing and collecting items to meet a deadline. I’ve discovered it’s much more efficient to write and collect as things happen and publish them as soon as possible. That way, when it comes to a printed piece, all you have to do is gather the stories you have sent or posted online and reformat them for print.
A newsletter likely has an established audience, usually donors or members. However, material online expands your circle of influence well beyond those who already have a stake in your organization. Why keep good news to yourself?
When you publish a story on a website or blog, send the link via e-mail to everyone for whom you have an address. If they click on the link, it takes them to even more information about you. They may even spend time exploring other material you have posted. Encourage them to forward the e-mail to others who may be interested in what you have to say.
The communication paradigm has shifted. Don’t abandon print, but expand to all the opportunities presented by using all the vehicles available to you online.
Friday, September 24, 2010
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