I must tell you that I'm enjoying using the new blogging style to publish
my writings. I’d like to share my reasons for changing from email to
blogging.
Problems with email:
1. When I send email to my list of about 6,000, I get hundreds of
immediate bounce-backs: “Not in the office”; “No longer at this
company”; “Deleted as suspected spam” - etc.
2. I’m not sure how many of the 6,000 recipients actually read my eNews;
I don’t know how many simply ignore or delete. I get lots of good email
feedback (I respond to each one). But, many simply “delete” and I never
know. In any case, it’s a time-consuming and arduous process for me.
3. The “old” eNews had 5 main items and 3 feedback – became the usual. The
problem was each item could not be very long (target 300-500 words).
I had to edit out a lot of very good stuff.
Blogging is better:
1. My columns can be longer – target 1,000 words. I can write without
undue length limitations.
2. I can focus on just one topic at a time. This will allow me to publish
about one a week.
3. Inserting into the blog is easy-breezy: I write in Word (or any other
text program) and simply cut-and-paste into the blog.
4. Feedback comments can be inserted by readers immediately. If the
comment is not appropriate, I can contact the blogger, or simply
delete. I don’t really expect to delete or edit anything.
5. I won't get the flurry of hundreds “out of the office” and other
messages.
6. I get a ton of immediate statistics via the blog, run by Google:
Page views; traffic sources; referring URLs; number of views per
country - and a plethora of other stuff.
7. My email within the Blog is: jimpinto111@gmail.com
My email: Jim@jimpinto.com is still valid.
Problems – which YOU can help resolve:
1. Some have asked,“How do I know you have published a new article
on the blog? Will I be informed?”
2. Solutions: The latest couple of articles will be be on my homepage:
http://JimPinto.com (bookmark it). Earlier items will be listed
in the index: http://jimpinto.com/writings.html There will be links
to the blog everywhere. You can go directly:
http://JimPintoBlog.blogspot.com Make it easy by bookmarking.
3. Sign up for RSS. RSS allows you to easily get the latest content
directly. You save time by not needing an email newsletter.
The number of sites offering RSS feeds is growing rapidly:
Apple iTunes, Yahoo News and many others. Several people have
already been reading eNews via RSS.
I NEED YOUR HELP
I’d like YOU to help me with your feedback and comments directly
via the blog: Go the the blog via http://JimPintoBlog.blogspot.com
and insert your feedback comments. DO IT NOW – it’s easy-breezy!
Of course, you can always do it the old way: send me an email!
Stay in touch. Happy blogging!
Jim
--------/
Jim Pinto
Carlsbad, California, USA
email: jim@jimpinto.com
web: www.JimPinto.com
--------/
Good.
ReplyDeleteI was getting lost in your test emails. This is much better.
Oren
Hooray! That's one for the Blog!
ReplyDeleteThis is great! I always felt pressurised by the newsletter, to read or risk loosing it below the flood of daily emails. Now I can read the articles of particular interest and catch up on the rest later. Really good change for me as well as you. Colin
ReplyDeleteHappy to hear that, Colin. And thanks for your immediate feedback - which will help others to do the same.
DeleteHi Jim,
ReplyDeleteBlogging gives you the possibility to make one blog for one item.
What I use in my blog is the possibility for readers to get an e-mail notification, when a new post is published. (On www.ary.nl top left, just below the banner).
Just add the gadget "Folow via E-mail" on you blog page. Gadget is number 5 in the list.
Then it is up to the reader if they want to receive a e-mail notification.
And by the way, I certainly would sign in to get a notification.
Keep up your good work.
"Follow via E-mail" is the solution !
ReplyDeleteThe best of both worlds.
No “Not in the office”; “No longer at this
company”; “Deleted as suspected spam” - etc. This is all handled by Google.
BUT : people waiting for a new article get the info immediately.
Hi Jim,
ReplyDeleteI really like the blog. I was disappointed when you announced you were ending the newsletter, but I agree that this is a better approach.
When an email arrives in my inbox, it takes some psychological energy – I feel the need to do something with it, either handle or create a task to handle it later (I try to keep my inbox at 0 on daily basis). This is fine when the email requires my immediate attention. But it still takes energy even when it does not need immediate attention.
I follow about a dozen blogs. The process works great, because I read them on my schedule – no mental energy expended till I am ready to read them. So thanks for returning a little energy that I was not even aware I was expending.
Another advantage to the blog is we don’t have to wait a month or so to read what you are thinking about.
Thanks for your insights and for respecting my mental energy.
All the best,
John
John:
DeleteThanks for the insightful comments - about emails using psychological energy.
I too like my Inbox to be empty (answer all emails the same day, if possible).
Stay in topuch - and happy blogging!
Smiles:
Jim Pinto
Jim,
ReplyDeleteI think doing the newsletter in a blog format will work fine. I enjoy reading it very much.
Cheers,
Franklin Smith
Nicely Done Jimbo.... always look forward to your pontificating:)
ReplyDeleteBlog posts can also be share with your connections in LinkedIn, Twitter, and other social networks where you're active on a professional basis.
ReplyDeleteFor those that use Microsoft Outlook as their email client, subscribing via RSS is nice because it creates a separate folder in the "RSS Subscriptions" area. You can read the posts when you have time and not have them land in the typically overloaded inbox.
Keep those great posts coming!
Jim:
DeleteThanks for the feedback and suggestions regarding RSS.
Stay in touch.
Jim,
ReplyDeletebeats email every time
Rob
2nd try at feedback. Just a little learning curve. I am sure it will become easier as time goes on.
ReplyDelete