Newsletters

[5bird7]

Ok, I need some feedback. I'm throwing out some thoughts and ramblings:

Jeannie's newsletters were quite good and I miss them. I know they are time consuming as I already do 2 for a couple of other clubs (half my month is essentially gone because of them and because I can't concentrate on as much like I used to).

There has never been a consistent newsletter for all retrobird owners since day one (I didn't want to take on that resposiblility either while building my site (and my site needs some updating now)) but I think we need one that can be read and is available to even those not on the internet.

That means building one with a subscriber base. pdf format works fine for those with internet access but not those without, so mailing and printing costs come into play.

Is there an interest?

I will be talking with some members "behind the scenes" here including the TBN staff. at this time I don't know if this is just a whim of mine or if I (we) will actually be able to pull it off.

I'm thinking of a quarterly newsletter to start off with.

Will this be interfereing with the VTCI and the ITC club magazines?

Should it be under the jurisdiction of TBN?

or thru my site only --- it may have to go as a "business" like other magazines - thus this thread would have to get moved to the "classifieds".

Should it just be a continuation of what Jeannie started and see how it evolves again?

We discuss alot on this site and it would be nice to have a format where we can go to find information that has been discussed. Right now some particular searches pull up too much info that has to be sifted thru when someone is asking about a particular topic so new threads get started about the same topic, compounding the problem. Topics are easily generated for a newsletter just from what "newbies" ask here or even "old timers" come up with.

It would be nice to have some human interest stories such as how newbies acquired their cars (or even the original owners wait stories). I can recall some love stories involved with a purchase. I'm thinking that in any 3 months time period, there'd be plenty of stuff to pull from that would interest readers.


(btw - I know y'all well enough to know that I won't accept "do it" answers from y'all - I want some active, thoughtful input because if I(we) run with this I will be asking for help in different areas and others may (will is a better word) be able to handle many parts of this venture better than me)

[BirdWings]

Re: Newsletters

Jeannie's newsletters were an asset to TBN.

I feel that the newsletters should be done through TBN and posted for the members to read. If it is for the members then there will be no subscription or fees. I do not think that TBN newsletter would interfere with ITC or VTCI.

Dot needs your help to get this project going.

[FritsB]

Re: Newsletters

Dot count me in on it. I too liked Jeannies initiative and miss them.
I would love to help out putting it/input together. fi for a EU section.

Should be great to have a base grid with regular topics that have something interesting for all. Like 'new owners', 'events', 'technical info', 'collectors items', 'great stories', 'maintenance', 'Mods'...etc.
With all the enthusiastic members on TBN It should not be that hard to make a list long enough to fill a number of pages.

[David M 7173]

Re: Newsletters

Dot

I think the news letters are very important in helping to keep up with events and important info about our cars. They should be set up in such a way that they can be used as refferance to things that we may need to refer back to. Maybe a dictionary of sorts for information on our cars.
David

[steelblue5505]

Re: Newsletters

I too think the newsletter is one of the best assets to TBN.

Having said that:

Please tell me what I can do to help keep the newsletter going. I have never done a newsletter for any organization, but I am willing to give whomever gets one restarted all the help I can.

[LuvOurBird]

Re: Newsletters

I enjoyed doing the newsletter very much but as Dot said, it takes time and a lot of it even if you get other people to do the articles it still has to be put together. I still have the format in Publisher if anyone is interested. I would love to do it again but with the upcoming wedding plans and my full time job all I can offer is help at this point.

Let me know what I can do to help.

[ThunderBubba]

Re: Newsletters

I put together a newsletter for the SE region of the VTCI when I was the regional director. And as Dot says, it takes time and commitment to do it right. I do not think it would conflict with VTCI or CTCI nor do I think it would matter. Owners of the "New Bird" have every right to create a publication to serve them just as VTCI & CTCI have done to serve their members and cars. I recieve both of these magazines and can attest to the lack of attention paid to the "New birds" and their owners.

Dot -- I would suggest that if you decide to do a newsletter you pull together a "staff" to help you. We may be able to put together an area here at TBN for your "staff" to work on the newsletter to make it a little more convient.

[yelobird2002]

Re: Newsletters

Dot I feel a quarterly newsletter would be good enough. When I was President of the High Plains Thunderbirds in Amarillo, TX, our newsletter Editors husband passed away unexpectedly and she resigned as Editor for a year. I took up the slack for the monthly newsletter for that year plus the Presidential duties. I can atest as to how much work is involved in a monthly newsletter. Quarterly will even be a big job.

[5bird7]

Re: Newsletters

Thanks for all your input. I still have some contacts to make and things will be slow for the next two weeks because of my other newsletter committments but I think we can either have one ready for the start of the 3rd quarter - July -- or it may come out for the end of the 3rd quarter - Sept. It would seem fitting to have it ready in July as that's the start of TBN's 7th year.

Frits - thanks for your input as to sections (I already had some of those in mind) - one of the first things will be to get some volunteers to do those sections.

Marty - I might take you up on that. "Staff" positions sound like a little more "meat" to get volunteers.

David - I'm thinking that there will be a position for someone to "index" the newsletters - past and new newsletters. That will be a project to be handled after each newsletter comes out along with reviewing previous newsletters for their topics.

Mike, and others who have been reading this thread. I will be asking for help in the different areas. That will come out in a thread(s) of it's own - and it'll be in the Thunderbird Chat forum to reach as many members as possible.

Jeannie, thanks for your support of getting the newsletters off the ground again. Don't know if you got my email but I do have MS Publisher and would certainly welcome your layout file.

[Will]

Re: Newsletters

I'd be in favor of your proposed newsletter for the obvious reason that I like reading--anything!--about the Retro Bird. This site & another one, run by someone named Dot, fill the bill for me at this time, which is my polite way of raising the question of duplication, redundancy, repetition, overkill, problems like that. I came to TBN too late, I guess, to have read the previous newsletter discussed above (joined 9/07) but if I had known about it I would certainly have read it. If the newsletter does return, I'd like to contribute material. My questions about past & future newsletters: Mailed (Postal Service) or posted on the 'net? Paid subscriptions? Supported by ads? Photos or just text?

On the whole, it sounds good to me!

[5bird7]

Re: Newsletters

Will, I don't know if that was tongue in cheek or not, but I am the Dot from PHA you referred to. :)

Right now, the newsletter will be in pdf format - photos and text. The old newsletters by Jeannie are still on this site, just visit this "newsletters" forum (link at top of this page) and click on the newsletter archive thread that is stickied at the top.

as for redundancy - that will happen, hopefully with a different slant than what you will read on the threads - more likely a summary that incorporates the info that a person needs to use the tech articles to their best advantage. I also have plenty of my own files that I've collected over the years to draw info from.

Subscriptions for mailing? - that may or may not happen - will have to work that out. AT the least, the newsletters will be available to the TBN members in pdf format so members may print on their own.

[migace]

Re: Newsletters

i just enjoy hanging out with people that like t-birds

[Vegas Retrobird]

Re: Newsletters

Did this effort ever get off the ground? I'd be willing to help, as I think this is a great idea.

[5bird7]

Re: Newsletters

great idea but I just didn't have the time for it.

[MATBird]

Re: Newsletters

These things do take a lot of time and effort, and as time goes by, getting material is tough as well. I've seen it happen many times