Small Business Newsletters – Create And Control You Own!

If you are reading this you have already committed – at least mentally – to producing your own company newsletter.
Now set a reasonable budget. As a small business you will be happy to know that there are ways you can do some of the legwork yourself to save a substantial amount of money. Here a things you can do RIGHT NOW that will help you not only save money but maintain more control over the finished publication:
1. Consider producing the entire newsletter in-house and just hiring an outside service bureau to print (and personalize) your newsletter. If you have someone on board who can write well and has an eye for layouts and graphics, use them. Your customers KNOW you are a small business. As long as the finished newsletter looks clean and professional with NO TYPOS they will not be expecting a glamor magazine! Two or three colors will work fine.
Concentrate on the content and, again, WATCH FOR TYPOS. A single misspelled word can be the only thing that is remembered.
2. Consider purchasing your own commercial electronic printer. Four color electronic printers allow you to print with speed and accuracy and you can set yourself up for less than $1,500 including a full set of replacement ink colors.
3. Consider the final size before you print. A newsletter with a final size of 5-1/2″ x 8-1/2″ can be mailed as a self mailer or placed into a 6″x9″ envelope. As long as it is within regular first class weight it mails for regular first class postage rates. Can you produce your newsletter as an 8-1/2″ x 11″ piece and fold it to a finished size of 5-1/2″ x 11″? If so, do it and save money!
4. Consider purchasing a staple binder for spine binding. If a single 8-1/2″ x 11″ page folded to 5-1/2″ x 8-1/2″ will not allow you enough space, use two collated pages folded together and staple bound at the spine. It’s very inexpensive and eliminates the need for outside services.
5. Consider an outside service bureau to simply print and mail. If you have a large enough database you can still design the entire newsletter and send it to a direct mail house for printing. They have software which can put your database in best postal order to get the maximum postal discounts – and they also have the ability to PERSONALIZE your newsletters to your receivers anywhere in the text.
Using an outside service bureau to print and personalize your newsletters actually becomes less expensive at a certain quantity than if you did the printing, binding and mailing yourself. And you saved not only money, but time. Find that break even quantity!
6. Consider using software you already have – Word. It is fairly easy to learn enough about Word to create a very professional newsletter, and you don’t have to purchase additional software. There are many books which will walk you through the process of creating newsletters in Word, and you will find you can do more than you thought possible, such as personalizing each newsletter using your database.
7. Consider selecting and purchasing your stock at a paper wholesaler. If you buy slightly heavier stock for your newsletter at an office supply store you are paying a premium. Paper wholesalers not only offer you a larger selection but better prices. Determine how much stock you will need for a year and buy in bulk.
8. Consider purchasing a quality scanner. You can get a good quality scanner for under $100 – good enough for most purposes. This will give you the option to scan and use graphics other than clip art. It will also give you the option to scan signatures to be placed at the end of articles. A good scanner will be used more than you thought possible when you need to get a little creative.
9. Consider calling companies that produce newsletters and talking to the person responsible for production. They will be more than happy to talk with you and share ideas on how to control production and lower costs – as well as give you names for contacts they use for printing and other services.
10. Consider offering an electronic version to those who would rather view your newsletter online. For every newsletter you email (or post to your sit) you will save the cost of ink, paper, envelopes and postage – and the time it takes to produce each copy.
It is always easier, faster and less expensive to produce images and post them to your site than to print and send each copy. Don’t commit only to online newsletters, however, as tempting as it may be. Some people still like hard copies, so oblige those who prefer printed newsletters. If you try to force them online you will find that no amount of quality information will make them read your newsletter in a format they do not want.