Creating a big splash in a passing moment

Paul Swift, Editor and Publisher of The Newsletter on Newsletters,
speaks with Tamara Halbritter of InternetVIZ

Q. What is difference between e-mail and print newsletters?

A. Back in the 1920s, on a partly-sunny day, you may have looked into the blue sky and saw the first sky-writing message from Major Jack Savage, “Hello, U.S.A.”

While most of us are too young to remember the hey-day of skywriting, from Jell-O to AC Spark Plug ads, we all have received another form of communication with an equally short half-life, online newsletters.

How do you make a big splash online, get your point across quickly, and be even more concise than in traditional print newsletters? Paul Swift, Editor and Publisher of The Newsletter on Newsletters, says, “A lot of people write promotional copy for their newsletters, which focuses on features such as ‘my newsletter is the oldest, does this and does that,’ rather than editorial copy. They don’t focus on the benefits of the newsletter for the customers, as in the saying, ‘Don’t tell me about your grass seed; tell me about my lawn.’ With online newsletters, you’ve got to find a way to do all that and make a lasting impression in a short amount of time.”

Rent or Grow Email List?

I know that email newsletters are a good idea, but I only have a handful of email addresses and need more. People tell me to 'rent a list' and others say grow your own list. Do your readers have any suggestions for building a list?