Print

[Rheametrous]

I could write for it as well.

[Rocangus]

I doubt I have the time nor the will to write a newsletter, so I am not up for it.

[Rheametrous]

Here are the content ideas so far with a few of my own.

New Members
Competitions

Maybe we could have an article on what draconity means to different people?

Movie Nights - Movie, date/time

Now maybe this might be a bit "kid newsy", but you could maybe have a section where you ask a question, e.g. "Question of the month:  What does being a dragon mean to you?", have people send you (or set aside a part of the forum for) an answer to the question, then put some of the better answers in the next newsletter with a new question.

Weekly polls
Interviews with members
Upcoming Birthdays
Site News/Announcements

Now for a couple of other questions.

What format should the newsletter be in? Word document possibly? I would say PDF but the adobe software is insanely expensive.

Also with the format, how would you want it to look? Paragraphs written as a whole, or columns on a page like a newspaper? Perhaps a combination of both.

Due to the amount of material, would a once a month release be enough?

As soon as I know more about the newsletter I can start creating templates to make putting together the newsletter easier. \


EDIT:     I found this. http://www.patternhead.com/found-freebies/100-free-html-email-newsletter-templates
Could find a good template there.

[Fledgling]

That all sounds good to me. I like the idea of making it look like a newspaper.

[Rocangus]

Sounds good to me. Format doesn't matter for me, really.

[Aurelia]

Here are the content ideas so far with a few of my own.

New Members
CompetitionsMovie Nights - Movie, date/timeWeekly polls
Interviews with members
Upcoming Birthdays
Site News/Announcements

Now for a couple of other questions.

What format should the newsletter be in? Word document possibly? I would say PDF but the adobe software is insanely expensive.

Also with the format, how would you want it to look? Paragraphs written as a whole, or columns on a page like a newspaper? Perhaps a combination of both.

Due to the amount of material, would a once a month release be enough?

As soon as I know more about the newsletter I can start creating templates to make putting together the newsletter easier. \


EDIT:     I found this. http://www.patternhead.com/found-freebies/100-free-html-email-newsletter-templates
Could find a good template there.

I'd always envisoned it newspaper style but not just all columns - papers have all sorts going on to break the columny monotony hehe.  As for the format, I can do PDFs but was wondering if a jpg may be a better option.  Obviously if we're having bits of the newsletter written by different members in the community then all of those different parts will need to be sent to me and/or Sel who can then compile them into the finished newsletter, so don't worry about the format and layout too because we can play around with that when we see what pieces we get from everyone and their dimensions, images involved, etc etc 

As you have done, I wondered about if once a month could be possibly once a fortnight but how about we start with once a month, see what input we get from everyone and play it by ear?  We don't have to have a set schedule at all - if there's a lot of things being sent in one month we could do one big newsletter or break it into a couple of fortnightly ones, and on the other hand if we don't get very much being sent in another month then we could do a smaller newsletter with a longer break between that and the next one.

It is all about community news after all, not just things everyone wants to tell the whole community - that's what the forum is for hehe.

[Rheametrous]

Whatever the format may be if there is anything I can do to make compiling it easier let me know.  I've made a lot of templates in Microsoft Word and Excel.  If there is one thing I've learned over the years of school it's that a good template can save hours of work later.

[Fledgling]

I could probably write some articles for it. Maybe I'll do the member interviews hehe

[Selroth]

Where do we start?  I got the email server set up, and the emails for everyone on the site. 

Shouldn't the newsletter simply be an HTML email?  Attachments are less likely to make it through to people/can be suspicious, and a link to an online jpg or pdf doesn't quite have the delivery I'd like.

[Aurelia]

Where do we start?  I got the email server set up, and the emails for everyone on the site. 

Shouldn't the newsletter simply be an HTML email?  Attachments are less likely to make it through to people/can be suspicious, and a link to an online jpg or pdf doesn't quite have the delivery I'd like.

Good point!  That makes formatting a bit easier too I guess.

[Saq]

So what kind of things do you need us to write?

[Selroth]

I'd like to send out a newsletter on the 5th of August.  Lets get some ideas going and maybe draft something up!

[Rocangus]

I'd like to send out a newsletter on the 5th of August.  Lets get some ideas going and maybe draft something up!

That's just two days from now! How's that to be done so quickly?

[Aurelia]

I was thinking the same thing as Sel but with the date a few days later hehe but that's mainly because I'd like to be part of the first news letter and with that date I can't be (today I'm doing all last minute shopping and packing, tomorrow I spend the whole day traveling to Italy).

What format is it going to be in too?  Also what layout?

[Rocangus]

I was thinking the same thing as Sel but with the date a few days later hehe but that's mainly because I'd like to be part of the first news letter and with that date I can't be (today I'm doing all last minute shopping and packing, tomorrow I spend the whole day traveling to Italy).

What format is it going to be in too?  Also what layout?

Ah, okay. And I second that question.