Newsletters
and Blogs
Writing, Editing, and Development
Freedman helps firms develop, write, and edit newsletters and journalism-level blogs. The purpose of such publications is to (a) showcase your expertise and knowledge; and (b) reinforce relationships with clients, prospects, referral sources, and the media.
Newsletters
A client newsletter's four main goals are to (a) increase your
visibility and build name recognition, (b) make people aware of your practice
areas, (c) demonstrate your high level of expertise, and (d) generate inquiries from
prospective clients.
A client newsletter is not commercial, i.e., you provide it as a
free service. Even though you don't have to sell your newsletter,
however, you still must compel
people to read it. Your newsletter is competing for the reader's attention with
a multitude of other media, including other promotional newsletters. Therefore
an effective newsletter requires careful planning, creativity, and
thoughtfulness to give readers information that they need and value—in an
appealing format that projects a professional, authoritative image.
Dave
Freedman has 31 years of experience as a writer and editor of newsletters and
other periodicals, including online
publications. He is the winner of an Apex
Award for publication excellence, for his work in developing and editing a
newsletter called Goldman's Critical
Support. Dave's strategic partners include graphic designers, desktop
publishers, website developers, and marketing professionals.
Complete
range of services
Dave Freedman can help you with any or all of the following phases of publishing
a promotional newsletter:
- Set marketing objectives, identify target audiences
- Develop an editorial concept; create a title, banner, and masthead
- Costing and budgeting
- Graphic design; establish a template and/or logo
- Long-term issue planning; brainstorming story ideas
- Researching, writing, and editing articles
- Illustration, photography, layout, print management or electronic formatting
- Copyfitting and proofreading
- Build and maintain distribution lists; bulk mail and BRC permits, and e-mail service providers
- Coordinate hard-copy and online versions of each newsletter
- Search engine optimization and "hyper-syndication" (social media optimization)
- Tracking, reporting, evaluating, and measuring effectiveness
- Conduct readership surveys and improve the editorial concept
A
newsletter can be a cost-effective marketing strategy for many firms, but not
necessarily in every case. Also, a newsletter cannot take the place of the two
most important practice-development strategies, which are: (a) providing
excellent service and (b) face-to-face meetings with prospects and referral
sources. But a newsletter can reinforce those activities very nicely.
Blogs and other Social Media
Web 2.0 is the new prime-time. It's a world of social networking, user-generated
content, and hyper-syndicated digital media.
Blogging includes not only posting regularly to your own blog, but commenting on
others' as well. The latter increases traffic to your blog and and website, and
helps to improve search engine ranking of your website.
Freedman builds blogs using the WordPress and TypePad CMS platforms.
He also creates custom WordPress themes.
Visit Freedman's blogs (based on WordPress):
4YRP: For Your Reading Pleasure
Freedman's blogs feature reviews of books, DVDs, and other
media.
4YRP-Law
Law & Justice
4YRP-GLB Great Lakes
Basin
Please call Dave Freedman at 847-204-6848 (mobile) if you would like to evaluate whether a newsletter or blog would help you accomplish your business goals. Or you can e-mail Freedman. Thank you.
ARTICLES
9 Ways to Motivate Contributors
Getting staff professionals and consultants to write articles for your
newsletter—on deadline—can be maddening. Here are some great tips for
motivating them.
Published in Association Publishing magazine
3
Keys to a Great Client Newsletter. Create a good impression,
provide extremely valuable information, and compel readers to take action.
Based on a TV interview
with Dave Freedman
