Admittedly I’m a bit obsessed about putting out a quality neighborhood newsletter — and other things. It manifests in sleepless nights when my brain just won’t quit. The front cover of the newsletter is one of those things about which I can’t stop noodling.
You may have noticed we’ve been playing with the front page. I wanted to pop up the size of the photo. So, we did, for just two issues. While some of our newsletter team members (myself included), loved the new cover, others were concerned or relayed reader concern that it looked too much like a home improvement magazine. NOT what I was going for!
So, don’t be surprised if you see various renditions of the cover this year; there’s no rule that says it has to be the same every time, but we want it to be eye-catching and engaging. Let me know if we hit that mark.
Some Survey Details
Due to limited space, we’re able to report on only some of the results of our recent survey on page 6. With respect to the newsletter, not much info is included in that article, so I’ll touch on a few things here.
- What Readers Like. Folks indicated they are most interested in reading articles about new businesses, upcoming events, our News Bits section, and neighborhood history-related articles. We’ll keep that in mind!
- What Readers Want More Of. While the majority of survey respondents read the newsletter cover to cover or regularly (combined, a total of nearly 94%), there’s room for improvement. Folks are interested in more transportation and land use info. BWNA Transportation Committee Chair Colin O’Neill has taken that desire to heart and will be providing regular updates in the newsletter. We’ll be working on a solution to land-use reporting.
- Not Everyone’s a Fan. One reader stated a dislike of photos, especially those that “are pretty to look at but don’t inform.” Another said there is not much of interest to them in the newsletter. And another wrote “it looks like a business ad magazine.” We can’t, it seems, please everyone.
- Another Way of Looking at the Ads. Those advertisers provide us the funds not just to produce the newsletter — advertising revenue also helps cover the cost of neighborhood events such as Movie-in-the-Park and the Skidmore Block Party. And on that note, a big THANK YOU to our advertisers on behalf of BWNA!
Susan Trabucco is a BWNA board member and the volunteer editor of this newsletter. She was the founder, editor and publisher of a regional business journal. Since 2012, Susan and her husband have called B-W home, where she practices zonal denial in her tropical-ish garden. Reach her by emailing Editor@BWNApdx.org.