Mastering email publishing is like growing corn, to use an Iowa analogy. There are different kinds of each, different ways to "grow" them, various methods of determining the success of each and ways to produce hybrids to get better results. Making the e-mail publishing business work for you can be done two ways. You can go it alone and suffer the torture of trial and error, or you can avoid the stupid way and listen to everything our small-statured friend, Chris Pirillo has to say.
Poor Richard's E-mail Publishing is THE book that speaks to the subject of producing an e-zine, newsletter or whatever else you plan to put out via internet e-mail. Taking someone else's advice and experiences to heart doesn't make you a copycat, it makes you smart. After all, taking a doctor's advice when you've hacked off a limb while harvesting the corn is a smart idea, right?
When you open the front cover of this book, a bright shining light will emit from the pages. That's the Lockergnome's wisdom glowing from the pages within. Soak up the light of the first 4 chapters that cover the basics and guide you through what e-mail publishing is all about and what you need to get started right without offending your readers.
The book next goes into the guts of e-publishing, covering topics such as managing a website alongside your newsletter, setting up your internet domain, how to handle subscriptions and the details of actually getting your newsletter out the door. The level of detail Chris provides is suitable for virtually anyone already familiar with how to simply send an email. That's nearly everybody these days!
Once you're off the ground, you'll still need a little hand-holding to avoid the costly mistakes that many others have learned the brute-force way. Specifically, how to handle the various types of e-zines. Should you use plain text, HTML, a discussion group, etc.? These questions are answered, giving the pros and cons of each and into which situation each best fits.
Ok, so you've learned everything there is about how to create a fantastic e-zine. Time to learn how you can benefit from all of this. If you do this simply to edify a particular topic, then you're done... happy e-mailing! Many, however, want to make a little cash on the side, or even start a new career in the e-mail publishing business. To do this, you'll need the help of professional list services and probably some advertising in your publication as well. Chris deftly dodges the flying bullets there too, showing you where to look, what to look for, and when to duck so bad practices, or crummy service offerings don't put you out of the game.
The most engaging part of the book is the last 1/3 that is chock full of detailed experiences and advice from other successful e-mail publishers that Chris knows. Reading about how various operations have implemented what Chris explains throughout the book is invaluable. There are some fantastic ideas in there that are all meant to help you become the next Lockergnome!
Is that all? Nope! The Appendices cover yet another 80 pages that list various service providers, software packages, e-mail applications, lists of other electronic publications and even fifty great e-publishing tips.
The completeness and depth of the knowledge that Chris displays via Poor Richard's E-mail Publishing far outweighs what you could learn on your own, so buy this book if you're even half-serious about putting out an e-mail publication of some sort. You won't be sorry you did!
-Furo
