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02/18/2006: "The Power of the Blog or Online Magazine and Using it to Replace Your Newsletter."

A couple of years ago I had a pretty decent, very popular newsletter. It was read by a lot of people and most of them looked forward to getting it. Then we all got hit by an inordinate amount of spam and viruses and most of us put up blocks between us and our e-mail --- often losing wanted messages in the mix. But I digress.

I started my online publication sort of on a whim. I didn't know what I'd say. I started a diary as an adolesent girl and quickly lost interest. Maybe it was because my dad unlocked it and read it. Sort of turned me off the whole idea of keeping a written record of my inner thoughts and activities. We didn't have shredders in the fifties and I've always been one to write it like it is. And dad, being a newspaper publisher, was one to sniff out the news at all costs. So there you go.

So back to my online publication. At first I didn't have much to say but I dug up some interesting news that I thought might interest the people who read my newsletter. I also wanted to include information, news and ideas for othe copywriters. But mostly I wanted to share war stories in a casual setting for other Internet entrepreneurs.

Then as time went on I wanted my publication to really tell it like it is. There is no reason to publish if you aren't going to be honest and unique. I was raised in a newspaper family and I've been a publisher myself so I know how to put out a reasonably good rag.

What I discovered as I learned about blogging and rss and all that technical stuff is that this space could nicely replace my newsletter and get a vastly increased readership. I now have it automatically sent out to those who prefer to be notified by e-mail when I post something new. The magazine is listed in many places and indexed in many places. This wouldn't happen with a newsletter.

In addition, hundreds, perhaps thousands of people have rss readers and pick up this publication along with many others.

Blogs and bloggers scare the hell out of people in Congress and the White House and in other high places. Blogs and bloggers can move things not unlike the old media.

There has always been a tremendous power of the press. That's why I attended journalism school and dropped out of law school. There's more power in the written word than knowing copyright law.

The Dynamic Power of the Written Word.

I remember reading my local newspaper one day and buried deep in the middle of the big rag was a one paragraph blurb about some bumbling burglers who broke into Democratic National Headquarters.

"Why the holy hell isn't this on the front page", I yelled out loud to no one. I called my editor and told him to hold our paper over the fold and lead with the story --- get the details and check the facts. Watergate was breaking loose and I smelled blood. So did two young guys on The Washington Post. And because they did, a president toppled and resigned in disgrace.

My little rag didn't make much difference back then. But the one in D.C.sure did.

So my advice to you is simple. If you want to continue with the ezine or newsletter, that's fine. But the online publication is where you should be if you want to enlarge your readership and get your news and ideas out fast.

"The number of blogs on the internet is doubling every five months, according to blog-tracking site Technorati. The total is now around 20 million, with around 1.3 million posts made each day. Most are no more interesting than overhearing another person's telephone call, but there are exceptions that can have a remarkable impact", says Tim Anderson in IT Week.

According to Industry Insights in the Business Courier of Cincinnati, ". . . the business world has seen the potential of blogging, both good and bad. Savvy executives see blogs as powerful marketing and research vehicles. Industry titans such as GM, Boeing, HP, Microsoft and Sun have senior executives who blog, directly interfacing with the public and often reaching huge numbers of people. Jonathan Schwartz, president of Sun, has said 30,000 people read his blog on a good day, and GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz is known for allowing negative postings in his blog."

So you can stay with the old ezine or newsletter if you want. I prefer to put my words where they'll do the most good for the biggest audience.