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Read Meryl's Review

Here in the U.S., we're smack dab in the middle of summer, and I am reminded almost daily as temperatures reach 100 degrees here in Plano, Texas. Like the line from the famous song in Porgy and Bess, "Summertime, and the livin' is easy ..." People take it easy in the summer.

We might think certain times of the year like summer and winter holidays are not good times for email newsletters. Yet, businesses often slow down (by their standards) during these times, freeing people to do more reading and paying closer attention to emails and newsletters. Since the sun is energizing, I thought a feature from Chris Scott of Hodge Communications, Inc. would be appropriate. He gives you five ways to energize a newsletter and keep readers engaged.

In this issue, the answers to the reader's question about newsletter formats are posted. However, I have a rant of my own on the topic and plan to write about it for a future issue. Meanwhile, you can quickly chime in with your thoughts on the topic by taking our reader poll.

Facing a challenge related to writing or online marketing? Share it and it might be the next one to challenge our readers with diverse backgrounds. If you ask or respond to a question, your name gets entered into a virtual drawing for a pair of Garmin Rino 100 MP3 GPS. W00T!

How we doin' with this newsletter? We have a suggestion / complaint box, so please go all out telling us how we can ensure you look forward to receiving this every month.

In the meantime, thank goodness for swimming pools, BBQ, baseball and all the other fun summer stuff. Enjoy.

Best,
Meryl K. Evans
Editor, eNJ

P.S. If you forward the newsletter (see top) to friends and colleagues, you receive a complimentary copy of the e-book that has received many compliments, A Marketer's Guide to e-Newsletter Publishing, a $24.95 value.

Pickin’ the right newsletter format

I'm developing a fee-based e-newsletter designed to be paid for/sponsored by larger organizations on behalf of their members/employees/clients. I intend to have each issue distributed — not by me through a master database — but by this collection of sponsoring organizations. I'm assuming they'd prefer to retain control of distribution and addresses, and spam-blockers won't be as much of an issue when the e-newsletter issue is sent internally. What would be the ideal format for such a newsletter (i.e., HTML email with article links to a Web site, PDF attachment or send a link to readers for the online newsletter)?

— Christine H., Parenting Solutions

I create questionnaires for clients to learn about their customers’ needs and worries. When customers complete the survey, they are entered into a drawing for a prize that we mention prior to their completing the survey. However, a disappointing three in 100 usually complete the survey. What can I do to entice more people to complete surveys and improve those numbers?