ive finally decided to start my own newsletter. im curious as to what people think is the best solution for newsletters? the more input the better! thanks everyone

Do you have a Mac? I'm using the Pages program that came with my Macbook Pro and it's great. Very customizable, converts to PDF in seconds, and you can drag-and-drop photos into it with ease.

thanks hope, but im all PC

Luke Check out PSD templates I have set up. You get 11 newsletter templates as well as some montage templates as well. Also I just got through with the PDF tutorial, which I am sure you are well versed in Photoshop. The templates have been used by many PC users. For everyone reading this Kara my assistant will be emailing the PDF tutorial to all that ordered the PC version. I will be conducting a video this weekend on the Mac version. The link is on my blog and below in my signature.

I use Constant Contact for $20/month (I add $5 more per month in order to have unlimited image upload). My return on my investment is huge every month. I sent my June letter out June 1, and booked a shoot within a half hour....It's awesome! Like Charles, I highly encourage folks to use one. Best of luck to you!

Sign me up!

luke, if you're going to design your own, you should check out campaign monitor for the delivery service. it's pretty sweet and you only pay when you use it. constant contact and icontact are cool as well, but they have a monthly subscription, so if you don't plan to send one each month you'll end up paying for something you don't use. icontact has a nice interface and it's pretty easy to create your own layouts.

i'm just starting my first newsletter using Pages... it's sweet. should have gotten a mac bro!

The only thing about using the email services newsletters is that they are HTML. This can pose problems within the newsletter especially with photograph compatability. As phootgraphers our images on the newsletter are most important. I urge everyone to use pdf's. They are compatible with every computer Mac or PC.

i use constant contact and i think it's great!

i sent out a newlsetter to my lists yesterday with a special - i always put a little special at the bottom - and recieved 2 calls for appointments for weddings, and a few more email addresses signed up. i also received an email from a bride's dad about what image processing software he should buy and lots of traffic to my site and blog.

it has really exceeded my expectations.

$15/mo.

I have used constant contact before also. I just signed up for intellicontact http://www.icontact.com/pricing/ last week. It is $9.95/month for 500 contacts.

I second the PDF thing. With PDFs you can control the way your readers see your content.

By the way, if you haven't seen Charles' awesome newsletter idea (the spill the beans/Three Ps thing), then you're really missing out.

The PDF newsletter + Constant Contact (or other similar services) sounds like a really slick idea -- especially for portrait-centric businesses.

This is totally unsolicited, BTW.

Thanks Damon,

The other thing is printing the newsletters. I have instructed my brides that they can forward the pdf to any printer. A couple of my brides have asked how they can get some printed and framed. I also used my templates for a inner city church I am doing Charity for and they are printing 100's of them for a summer camp they are promoting. So professional printing is another element.

this is going to sound dumb - but as I have been researching what program to use for my newsletters, I've come up with a question. If I use the pages/pdf method, it is an attatchment that has to be opened, correct? If I am using constant contact, or icontact, it is the e-mail body itself, right??

I think I am in way over my head.....

I am making mine in Microsoft Publisher for you PC people. Charles' templates are much slicker than what I'm using though, I will probably end up getting his.

I personally think that the html email newsletter is a good way to go. Not every client is going to accept PDF attachments or take the time to open them. You could argue that someone won't read the html email either, but at least when they open the email the info is there, they don't have to open an attachment as well. Personally, I like to browse through html newsletters I get and if something catches my eye, I'll go back to it. I'm less likely to open or even reopen an attachment to read it. I'm even less likely to print something out because I get enough of that in the mail and don't sort through it.

Of course, that's just my .02. I'm going to start a newsletter after my bridal fair event next month in hopes to keep my name out there and keep people updated with info on my blog, specials, etc. And it's going to be html format.

If I can ask...do you send your newsletter to anyone and everyone that you have an email for? So, anyone who has visited a gallery, etc?

Ksenia

Yep. Look up a few posts and find the link to Charles' "Three Ps" thread.

PDF is such a universal format that, in my opinion, is a much better method than HTML. You control the layout and can build in clickable links...

I don't have Pictage, etc. to get email addresses, so I send it to the bride and groom and let them send it to everyone they know. I'm letting the bride and the best man write an article for the newsletter, so (for this wedding at least, I don't think it'd be something every b&g would be interested in) they have a vested interest in the content.

I just mailed my first one out today with constant contact. Within 5 minutes I had a client inquire about a special and also wants to order more prints from a shoot. Another client wants to book a shoot. For me, the newsletter route is going to be huge with my business in my home. I'm all word of mouth and now will be word of "mouse!"

I did a trial period with intellicontact last month, and the day that my trial period was ending, they sent me an email every 5 minutes for an hour trying to get me to commit to using them. I was so turned off that I'm not using them. It was completely obnoxious, I thought. As to their service, I'm sure they're much like constant contact.

Good luck with whatever newsletter you end up using. The newsletter is huge!

Claire

Although the idea to be able to print out a PDF newsletter is cool--my main thing in searching for a newsletter program over a year ago was for the recipient to be able to open an awesome-looking email complete with color, photos, etc. without having to do a thing--like open an attachment--it's all there! That's what I love about my program, Constant Contact.

I also love how they manage my subscribers. CC allows you to copy and paste a "join my newsletter" button to your site or blog. The person enters their email address, and it goes straight to your subscriber list at CC, and they'er on! No work from you at all.

I have a Mac now, but when I had a PC with Outlook email, CC has for that set-up a feature that allows you to upload multiple contacts quickly and easily right within Outlook. They don't offer that for Mac users No problem, I just add them one at a time...

With CC being online, I can log in and work on my newsletter from any computer.

These are all pluses for me! Figure out what you're looking for in a newsletter and what you want it be for you. Best of luck!

Subscribe to mine on my blog if you wish.

+1 for Campaign Monitor.

I use it for all my clients at my 'day job' and they turn out really nice. I think you do need to know a bit of html, but once you have a good template, replacing the content inside is easy. I've done a ton of them and would be glad to help if you need it.

Damon-

I really like the idea of PDF. I love PDF's in general. However...... when it comes to doing emails like this, I'm afraid to use them. As stated.

Most email editors are going to require people to actually double click it to open it, right?

I like Constant Contact because it's nicely formatted right there in the body of the email. Okay, not perfectly so, but close. If you build it correctly, it still looks good.

The idea with a newsletter is to get people to scan over it. It's just a way to flash your brand in front of them again. Almost every email editor has a "preview pane" enabled so even if they click over the message in thier list of other email, the content of that body will pop up and make an impression.

If I just got a string of text that said "Click here to view the newsletter", I don't think you'd get as much response.

I get newsletters from several people who use Constant Contact and in all of Outlook Express (PC), Outlook PC, and Apple Mail on the Mac - every single one shows clearly in my preview pane.



.... and a tip if you you Constant Contact - test fire your email to yourself a few times to make sure it's formatted correctly. Don't go shoot your first draft off to 1000 people without testing it first.

hey everyone! i wanted to let you know that i decided to use constant contact as they just seem to have the package i am looking for. i had a couple different options, but in the end constant contact was good for me.

if you want to sign up just click THIS LINK or give me your email. thanks again all!

Ok, so, I hadn't considered doing this before. It sounds like a great idea.

Quick Question though: How do you get the emails/contacts for your newsletter? Is it on your website? People at weddings you shoot? Or a mailing list you pay for?

Thanks!!!

lots of companies just have you embed a newsletter link and/or button on your site and blog. for example if you go to my blog you will see a box to sign up in on the left. you can also click on this link to go straight to the sign up.

id suggest only sending out to people who sign up for it and want it. buying lists or putting people on your mailer without them signing up is probably not the kind of vibe you want surrounding your brand. just my 2 cents.

add me to the list

Don't forget to send her one to.

But only if you are selling something!

i dont have much to sell...... how about i sell out jim cook? that should make my newsletter subscriptions go through the roof!

AMEN!

That's what I'm saying. And if it doesn't properly come through their email program my email has a link that they can click to see the same newsletter as a web page.

But honestly the best part about using a service like Contant Contact to send your newsletter is that you can track your statistics which is the important information. Most of the time you won't hear back from people, but if you can see that they are opening their email and then what links they are clicking and what time, then you can better gear your business to those people that are reading about your work.
And it also helps teach you what information the readers are attracted to.

But most of all it confirms to me that it is actually worth doing a newsletter.

Yes, yours is sweet JT.

You know I'm in Yuke

Am I the only one on the planet that turns off display of internet content in Entourage (Mac) and Outlook (PC)? I don't want ANYONE knowing when I open their email. Any user that has their email client configured like mine is transparent to the stats from those services. I'm sure they mention that way down in the fine print somewhere.

There are even services out there that allow individuals to embed images (web bugs) into every outgoing email that lets them know when the recipient has opened their email. It also means that the third party service is getting the email addresses of every person they email. That database is just one acquisition away from being sold and harvested.

I can certainly make a business case for using iContact or Intellicontact but people are always talking out of one side of their mouth about how great it is being hyper-connected to the rest of the world and out of the other side of their mouth they're wining about how much spam they get.

Uh.. hello!

In any case, Luke you can add me to your list (actually, I'd very much like that) but you may not ever know if I read them or not.

Actually I just signed up. Thanks!

Ben

thanks ben!

frank, sorry bro but you didnt have an option... you were receiving this whether you wanted it or not.

i get JT's newsletter, it's definitely worth signing up for

I use CC and it's great. Very easy and the tracking tool is so awesome...I do a newsletter about every 8 weeks or so....

i finally set up the newsletter tonight... gotta say it's a pretty easy process but leave ample time for creating the first one! took me several hours to get it just right, but that's only because it was the first one. the people from CC have called about 4 times during the old trial period to see if there was anything they could do or help me with. i think that's called good customer service, but i thought that was an oxy-moron in our society now. i guess not!

anyway, the first newsletter is going out thursday night. id love to share it with anyone who wants to check it out, here is the sign up link - SIGN ME UP!

all the best!

Ditto on what everyone is saying about using a constant contact type service. Easy and great ROI.

SIGN me up !!! (just did Luke - can't wait to see it!)

Plus, we legally HAVE to have an opt-out option on the email and CC manages that for you so you don't get bogged down with it.

Which reminds me, I really need to get another newsletter out....