THE SITUATION:

The newsletter for the Seattle Chapter of the International Television and Video Association (ITVA) was floundering. After being successfully run by volunteers for several years, it had hit a snag and fallen behind in production. It was defaulting on its advertiser contracts and income from those sources was stalled. The layout files for the publication were no longer in existence.

Easy Writer Productions was hired to take over the production, editorial and advertising sales of the newsletter and reestablish the publication's credibility in the community.

THE SOLUTION:

The first order of business was to get the publication back on schedule. Leslie generated content and recreated the newsletter design and 30 days after assuming control, she sent the first issue in seven months to press.

The second step was to mend fences with the advertisers, many of whom had been loyal supporters for years and were questioning the value of continuing their support. Aggressive contract negotiations with the disappointed advertisers resulted in their renewed support and a schedule of “make-good” insertions into the next production year.

To make up the lost income due to the "make-goods" new advertisers were identified and contract negotiations started.

The newsletter was still seeing red ink, but a tourniquet had stopped the hemorrhaging. To stop the internal bleeding, costs were reduced with a change in paper stock and bindery,  and a reduction in the number of colors used. Negotiating a  two-year contract with a new printer garnered further savings.

With the production schedule back on track, the advertisers no longer grumbling and costs under control, it was time to address the editorial content and appearance of the newsletter.

Meetings with chapter board members established a slate of themes for the year that coincided with chapter meeting topics. This pre-planning allowed Leslie time to interview or solicit articles from outside experts, and locate and secure more photographs for the newsletter. 

THE RESULT:

With these changes in appearance, content and timeliness, the newsletter became more visually interesting, more informative and more readable. As a result, it remained on corporate desks and in lobby offices for longer periods of time and, in turn, attracted more advertisers.

Members were now proud and eager to share their newsletter with clients and to participate in providing content. It was once again a solid marketing and communication tool for the chapter.

By month 16 the newsletter was in the black and by the end of the third year it was profitable. At that time organization volunteers reassumed control of advertising sales, editorial content and production.

» Click here for writing samples from this newsletter.

Back to Top