Digital Workshop

Ray/Fred

I'm not offering to write a newsletter, just pointing out that many major software companies use them very successfully as part of their online marketing strategies. I just pose the question that if they think it's worth it why don't DW?

You're right Fred, we probably have done this subject to death and I think that we have to agree to disagree on the role of newsletters in software marketing. I also regularly read some small circulation newsletters and pass them onto people I know might be interested in a particular item. That way the word spreads magnetically!

A final word of thanks to both Fred and Ray for all their help and support in the forum over the years. I have used many of your solutions and never properly expressed my appreciation until now. Thank you.

Paul
OPUS Obsessed!

Final words -- I promise

Before I hung up my boots and retired from the workforce, I spent several years as the sales manager and the marketing manager (yes, they are different) for a significant (but not major) software developer with tens of thousands of sites worldwide.

We produced an electronic newsletter on a monthly basis. We did this for several years before we undertook research into its value as a sales/marketing tool.

If I remember correctly, almost no one said that the newsletter was a major factor in their decision to buy any of our products. A small number (fewer than 3% if my memory serves me correctly) found it useful on a regular on-going basis.

Maybe it was not a good example of a newsletter, but it cost us several thousands of $$$ per year to produce it, maintain the mailing list, and distribute it. These $$$ impacted on our bottom line -- which determined whether or not we stayed in business -- so we dropped the newsletter. I don't recall any wails of distress.

Final words -- I promise