Monday, April 3
Weblog Post #13 - The E-Newsletter Review
I have been a satisfied subscriber of the "Home Plate Tribune" for two years now. The e-newsletter gives scores, updates and news to the fans of the Somerset Patriots. The Patriots are a minor league baseball team in the independent Atlantic League. The Patriots are three time Atlantic League Champions (01,03,05).
I am going to use the e-newsletter that announced the 2005 Championship as an example in my review. It can be viewed here.
Some people may find it annoying to get a newsletter in their inbox every morning in the summer updating them about the previous night's game but I think it does a terrific job in keeping its subscribers abreast of the team's success without being overbearing.
The graphics in the newsletter are simple. There is no overboard animation or huge graphics sprawled throughout the document causing slow downloading to your inbox. Instead there is a simple heading that includes the team's Web site., a picture of their home stadium (Commerce Bank Ball Park) and an action photo of team captain Emiliano Escandon.
Underneath the masthead are links that direct you to a page where you can buy game tickets and team merchandise. I think it would be better if these links were put along the side of the page and not in between the masthead and the story of the newsletter. It's important for those links/advertisements to be included, but the fact that it interrupts the path to the story is slightly annoying.
In journalism and writing, you hear a lot about the "busy reader" - the guy or gal you are writing for that doesn't have all the time in the world to read every story...So as a writer you work for that reader's attention. As a busy e-mail reader, I find the quick and "to-the-point" style of these newsletters helpful. Highlights and final scores are in the lead or near the top and further action and stats are spread throughout the story.
As a busy reader, I am not going to be able to take 5-10 minutes out of every morning to read every detail. Instead, I can open the link and see that the game went into extra innings, Ryan Radmanovich had a 2-run homer in the 13th inning and the Patriots won. If I am interested and have extra time, I can keep reading and read about the rain delays, the batting averages and the post-game entertainment. This is a constant that I really like about this newsletter.
Other important information that the e-newsletter provides is contact information at the bottom of the page. There is also an option to unsubscribe from the e-newsletter (which can't be seen on the page I linked above). Other neat options are being able to see the newsletter in your choice of HTML or text formats.
If I was getting a monthly newsletter maybe I'd want a more elaborate e-mail, but in the case of getting an e-mail for every game (and some about the team in the offseason), simpler is better.
I am going to use the e-newsletter that announced the 2005 Championship as an example in my review. It can be viewed here.
Some people may find it annoying to get a newsletter in their inbox every morning in the summer updating them about the previous night's game but I think it does a terrific job in keeping its subscribers abreast of the team's success without being overbearing.
The graphics in the newsletter are simple. There is no overboard animation or huge graphics sprawled throughout the document causing slow downloading to your inbox. Instead there is a simple heading that includes the team's Web site., a picture of their home stadium (Commerce Bank Ball Park) and an action photo of team captain Emiliano Escandon.
Underneath the masthead are links that direct you to a page where you can buy game tickets and team merchandise. I think it would be better if these links were put along the side of the page and not in between the masthead and the story of the newsletter. It's important for those links/advertisements to be included, but the fact that it interrupts the path to the story is slightly annoying.
In journalism and writing, you hear a lot about the "busy reader" - the guy or gal you are writing for that doesn't have all the time in the world to read every story...So as a writer you work for that reader's attention. As a busy e-mail reader, I find the quick and "to-the-point" style of these newsletters helpful. Highlights and final scores are in the lead or near the top and further action and stats are spread throughout the story.
As a busy reader, I am not going to be able to take 5-10 minutes out of every morning to read every detail. Instead, I can open the link and see that the game went into extra innings, Ryan Radmanovich had a 2-run homer in the 13th inning and the Patriots won. If I am interested and have extra time, I can keep reading and read about the rain delays, the batting averages and the post-game entertainment. This is a constant that I really like about this newsletter.
Other important information that the e-newsletter provides is contact information at the bottom of the page. There is also an option to unsubscribe from the e-newsletter (which can't be seen on the page I linked above). Other neat options are being able to see the newsletter in your choice of HTML or text formats.
If I was getting a monthly newsletter maybe I'd want a more elaborate e-mail, but in the case of getting an e-mail for every game (and some about the team in the offseason), simpler is better.
# posted by Jonathan : 8:36 PM
