Going Green: Putting Your Newsletter On Line The Bayou Tech The Bayou Tech vs.

ACLS Roundtable Discussion July 2009 Discussion led by: Cathy Robinson, MSA, MT(ASCP), CLS-G LSCLS The Bayou Tech LSUA, ALLH Department 807 Jackson St. Alexandria, LA 71301 (W) 318-487-5504 (H) 318-442-5017 c3trrobinson@gmail.com

Objectives: After this roundtable participants will be able to: Appreciate the differences between paper and electronic newsletter formats Make an informed decision on which format is best for their state Create an editor’s support group to refer questions to for assistance

How Many of You Currently Have: Paper newsletter? Electronic Newsletter?

Paper Newsletter: Paper Newsletter Pros Cons Hard copy to refer to or cut article out of Satisfaction of finished project/product Copy for society archives Easier to create because of status quo Cons have to add 4 pages to add 1 page Allow time for printer to copy and staple Color added large expense Hours to arrange by zip code for bulk mailing / extra Kleenex for tears after talking with post office Allow ~ 2 weeks from finished copy to printer to mail to delivery Expense Expense Expense

Electronic Newsletter Pros Changes can be made instantly NO EXPENSE – email is free Color is also FREE as are animations! Email to members only takes a few minutes Cons Computer knowledge helpful! Have to set up email groups of ~ 10-12 to send newsletter (one time only) Easier to save newsletter as PDF file (members can open PDF files easier) but can’t have animations with PDF files Larger the newsletter the longer and more difficult for all members to open on home computers Cons: I think it’s more like “computer knowledge is an absolute necessity” I don’t think you really have to set up email groups of 10-12?? That is really email-type dependent isn’t it (ie: outlook versus yahoo vs. something else)? But the maintenance of the emails is a fairly big job, at least that is what we have found here. Maybe pay for a newsletter on-line software/service

Is One Form of Newsletter Better? Definitely not! Whatever works for your state is the right form!

How Do States Know If / When To Switch From Paper to Electronic Newsletter Format? Do you have trouble finding or keeping an editor? Is your budget shrinking as mailing rates are increasing? Do Bulk Mail directions change everytime you send out your newsletter You really want to save trees Your state is ready for a change If you and your state respond ‘yes’ to the above questions it may be time to consider converting your paper format to electronic! Note from an active state: “This information is helpful because we are in the middle of our very own newsletter crisis!! I am putting our newsletter together as we speak, in Word and saving as a pdf, because the person that used to create our on-line newsletter just can’t do it anymore, and no one knows how to do it in the very difficult web-based format she used. “

In The Beginning…………….. Beginning is the hardest part-you have a lot of ideas but how do you arrange articles? Where to find a template? Online Create one with Publisher Create one with Word Create your own! Changing your mindset from paper to electronic In MN we have tried to put a small group (2-3 people) together that solicit and review articles and then edit the entire newsletter – and then we send it to the person that is going to put it in the web format. I’m not sure how good that is working yet, because we have lost a few people, so it has fallen on me, hopefully we can get it going again. This small group comes from our Communications committee that looks at all things about communication, which is mostly our website right now.

Links to Template Examples www.ASCLS.org Click on Toolbox www.Campaigner.com/free-trial http://search.constantcontact.com/email-marketing/html-email-templates/basic.jsp Google ‘free newsletter templates’

Where to find your state members and their email addresses ASCLS lists members by state societies Check with your state president to get the password to access your state’s membership You can create email groups from the ASCLS list Recommend you only put 10 – 15 email addresses in each group so the newsletter will ‘send’ quickly in email be prepared to receive some newsletter emails returned (changed email addresses)

Other Comments and Hints Recruit an editor who is motivated, creative, and willing to spend time on a newsletter Start small- 1-2 pages in your newsletter Begin with two editions / year. You can always increase editions if there is more information available. Encourage your editor to try new ideas in newsletter formats Congratulate and support your editor Helps to keep an editor motivated

Other Comments and Hints Ask for short articles People are less intimidated if they only have to write 300 words Include a column dedicated to students Ask MLT/MLS/Phlebotomy students at universities in your state to submit an article, case study, crossword puzzle, etc… Ask educators to submit articles on student activities and course information

Happy Writing, Editing and Publishing