E-ZINES Special Course

Chapter 9
Working with Text Newsletters 

Poor Richard's E-mail Publishing by Chris Pirillo and Peter Kent

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Get ready to enter a world where the animated logo doesn't exist. Perish the thought! "You mean to tell me that I can actually get my point across without having to resort to using cheesy graphics?" Yes, Virginia, there really is a way. You can capture someone's attention quickly and easily through simple text. This low-tech solution doesn't necessarily have to be low-key, by any means.

Point Blank

E-mail is known for its speed and efficiency; you don't need to say a lot to convey a lot. A carefully crafted sentence can say more than an entire page of words. I wish my publisher thought that way—my fingertips are completely numb right now.

So, get into the mindset that you don't have to explain everything in order to be viewed as a wonderful, worthwhile resource by your subscribers. You mustn't have too little information, but you don't want too much of it either. The proper balance depends on your audience and subject matter. "Heavier" topics should be covered in "lighter" issues, and vice versa. Use your best judgment—and if all else fails, ask your readers!

I Feel Pretty

Just because you're using text-based mail doesn't mean that your publication has to look boring. While the bulk of your newsletter will be taken up by words, you shouldn't throw every paragraph or section together like they had just been run through a trash compactor. Or else, well…your newsletter will look like (for the lack of a better word) trash. I don't care if you're the smartest person in the galaxy with the "bestest" ideas around; if your publication isn't easy-to-read, you're going to disappoint more than a few existing subscribers and scare away potential ones. The formatting of an e-mail newsletter is just as important as its actual content.

Here are a couple of extremely truncated Lockergnome issues—provided only to illustrate what you should avoid when formatting your text-based e-publication. Each example has the same basic content but is (obviously) presented in a different format. Keep this analogy in mind as you read them: How do you eat a regular-sized candy bar—bite by bite or all at once?

Example #1

HERE IS TODAY'S LOCKERGNOME ISSUE!!!!!!!!!!! 
>>>>>>>> you can visit us on our web site at 
www.lockergnome.com!!! or you can e-mail me at 
chris@lockergnome.com at anytime!!!!!!!!! 
Copyright 1999. Today is March 29th, 1999.:) :) 
:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

Program: Metapad--------
http://members.tripod.com/~aadavids/metapad.zip
or you can visit the web page for it 
-------------http://welcome.to/metapad/

What!? Another NOTEPAD replacement? Okay, so what makes this one different? Well, it's smaller than 
the Windows Notepad, runs (seemingly) quicker, comes with search and replace functionality, remembers window size and position, has more keyboard shortcuts... and if those options don't win you over, Metapad was also created by a Lockergnomie! It still has a memory limit (like the Windows Notepad), but you'd only want to use this editor for simple tasks anyway. Notepad has been permanently replaced on my machine.

FAVORITE web site: CE Desktop------ http://www.cedesktop.com/ PDAs running Windows CE are all over the place (gotta love 'em). Who do you turn to for the latest CE related news, software, and tips? Springing onto the CE scene is CEDesktop.com (along with CEShopper, CEGlobe, CENewsletter, and CESearch). In this network, you'll find message boards, hardware reviews, product information, and much more. It's organized, well presented, and (most importantly) original. Oh, and don't worry--they've got downloads, too. "CE" you there!

HERE IS TODAY'S TIP----------Lockergnomie Davis Straub (co-author of the best-selling book Windows 98 Secrets) told me about a killer trick for a major Outlook 98 & Outlook Express annoyance. Have you ever seen those solid lines to the left of your reply text in HTML formatted messages? Here's Davis's way to get rid of them: "after you click 'Reply' and get the vertical line(s) on the left, move your text cursor to the spot where you want to insert a response and press 'Enter'--this will extend the line. Next, click the 'Paragraph Style' button on the OE format bar (notice that there is a dot next to normal). Click 'Normal' and the lines will DISAPPEAR! Be sure to check out www.davisstraub.com for the entire OE chapter!

Thanks for reading this issue again!

---------<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
<<<<<<<<<<<---------->>>>>>>

Example #2

The following issue contains the exact same content, but is formatted much more clearly and attractively.

<>----------------------------------------------<>

Lockergnome's Daily Windows 9x/NT Snippet http://www.lockergnome.com/ <> chris@lockergnome.com

(c)1996-99, Lockergnome LC <> ISSN: 1095-3965 <>
  

<>------<> G N O M E P R O G R A M <>---<>

<> Metapad v1.0 [18k] W9x/NT FREE

http://members.tripod.com/~aadavids/metapad.zip

http://welcome.to/metapad/  
 

What!? Another NOTEPAD replacement? Okay, so what makes this one different? Well, it's smaller than the Windows notepad, runs (seemingly) quicker, comes with search and replace functionality, remembers window size and position, has more keyboard shortcuts... and if those options don't win you over, Metapad was also created by a Lockergnomie!

It still has a memory limit (like the Windows Notepad), but you'd only want to use this editor for simple tasks anyway.

Notepad has been permanently replaced on my machine.
  

<>------<> G N O M E F A V O R I T E <>----<>
   

<> CE Desktop  
 

http://www.cedesktop.com/

PDAs running Windows CE are all over the place (gotta love 'em). Who do you turn to for the latest CE related news, software, and tips? Springing onto the CE scene is CEDesktop.com (along with CEShopper, CEGlobe, CENewsletter, and CESearch). In this network, you'll find message boards, hardware reviews, product information, and much more. It's organized, well presented, and (most importantly) original.

Oh, and don't worry--they've got downloads, too. "CE" you there!
 
 

<>------<> G N O M E T I P<>---------------<>
 

Lockergnomie Davis Straub (co-author of the best-selling book Windows 98 Secrets) told me about a killer trick for a major Outlook 98 & Outlook Express annoyance. Have you ever seen those solid lines to the left of your reply text in HTML formatted messages? Here's Davis's way to get rid of them: "after you click 'Reply' and get the vertical line(s)on the left, move your text cursor to the spot where you want to insert a response and press 'Enter'--this will extend the line. Next, click the 'Paragraph Style' button on the OE format bar (notice that there is a dot next to normal). Click 'Normal' and the lines will DISAPPEAR! Be sure to check out www.davisstraub.com for the entire OE chapter!

 <>--------------------------------------------<>
 

Night and Day

Which example would you rather receive in your Inbox: #1 or #2? I'm starting to sound like an eye doctor here, but you don't need 20/20 vision to walk away with an upset stomach after viewing the first example. And believe it or not, there are newsletters being published today that look a lot like it. Scary? Yeah. But you can't call other people's baby ugly—they have to see the ugliness themselves. Before you even start with your newsletter, I suggest you look at various other e-publications—whether they're related to your subject matter or not. Good formatting typically isn't topic-specific.

But be careful…I'm not advocating that you copy and/or emulate other e-publishers' styles. There aren't many e-mail publications that hold copyrights or trademarks (even when they say they do), but that doesn't make it any less wrong to steal. And that, in essence, is what you would be doing if you borrowed heavily from another publication. It's okay to further develop minor ideas set forth in other e-publications or be inspired from someone's great-looking newsletter, but don't lift formatting directly from someone else's design. That author/designer (most likely) had to work diligently to come up with a style that worked for his newsletter. The last thing you want to do is make an enemy instead of an ally. It's a mistake far too many novices make.

If you like the way a fellow e-publisher does something, tell him! Then, if possible, ask if he would help you create something (especially if you're not incredibly confident in your text formatting skills). The worst thing he can say is "no." By establishing contact with a compliment, you're creating a positive relationship instead of ripping the person off.
 

Some publishers might help, and others might not. Just because people choose not to help (or can't) doesn't mean that they're big meanies and shouldn't be dealt with again. Understand that you're not the only one trying to do this; it takes time, energy, and patience to publish a quality e-publication on a regular basis. Of course, you should recognize this when you first contact an e-publisher who you admire. You don't admire any e-publishers yet? Wait until you're in the field for a while; then you'll start to see certain individuals doing things that you wish you had done. Especially when it comes to formatting and style.

The Art of Formatting

I look back on my earliest Lockergnome issues and cringe. I hadn't quite mastered the art of clean and attractive e-mail formatting. I can't go back and erase the past—but I can learn from the mistakes I've made. This is where you're way ahead of the game…you can learn from my mistakes. But don't get ahead of yourself—there are plenty of mistakes just waiting to be uncovered.

If a style isn't working for you (or too many of your readers are complaining), change it! Unless you're using a really, really, really old computer, your formatting wasn't carved in stone. You'll probably change a few things over time. Your style will most likely develop and grow in direct proportion to your publication's reach. It's rather cool, actually…compared to a print publication, changing the style, layout, or format of a text-based e-mail newsletter is simple.
 

Separating Sections

You need to visibly separate the sections of your newsletter through characters or blank spaces. Spaces are okay, but somewhat mundane. Instead, consider creating lines. Dozens of keyboard characters (when placed together) will create interesting patterned lines for separating sections. Just about any keyboard symbol character works well, such as dashes or asterisks. Get creative with them!
 

You can use just about any of the 254 ASCII (extended) characters, but for maximum compatibility, I'd advise against using any symbol not found on your keyboard. Older text e-mail clients can't handle extended characters. Of course, if you're writing in a language other than English, you're going to be working with those extended characters anyway. Stay away from the Tab key, too. Each user's client will potentially interpret them differently, and you'll wind up with 43 different "versions" of the same newsletter; use the space bar, instead.

Extra lines can work wonders too to build your publication's structure. Don't be afraid to throw in an extra space or hard carriage return every once in a while to separate sections. I wouldn't suggest using too many of them, but as long as you're consistent throughout your document, your readers shouldn't mind. Moderation is the key; don't overdo any particular part of your newsletter.

Font Formats 

Depending on the e-mail program subscribers are using to read your mail, they may see your newsletter in either a monospaced font or in a variable width font. A monospace font's characters each take up the same amount of space, whereas a variable width font's character spacing is uneven. The first example below is rendered with a monospaced font; the second is done in a variable width one:

Wilbur's Wheelbarrow

Wilbur's Wheelbarrow

Note how in the monospaced font example the lowercase i takes up the same amount of space as the uppercase W does. This isn't the case in the variable width font example.

You should always format your text newsletter as though your audience will be using a monospaced font to read it. I've always used a monospaced font in my e-mail client, because it ensures that everyone, even people using old command-line e-mail programs, will be able to see my newsletter as I intended it to be seen. A newsletter formatted for a monospaced font but viewed with a variable width font looks a lot less "disgusting" than vice versa. For more information on the uses of monospaced fonts, swing by http://home.bsu.edu/prn/monofont/. As a side note, you'll have noticed that all the URLs in this book have been rendered in a monospaced font.

Those Darn URLs 

How can you think of sending out an e-mail newsletter without including at least one URL? Ya know, a Web address…those thingies that usually start with http://? They're all over the place, and you should use them wherever probable. But use them for a reason—not just to take up space. Nobody's going to be impressed with your list of 50 links if 20 percent of them don't work and 70 percent are Web sites that everybody's already seen. URL overkill could potentially be a problem. Putting too many links in an e-mail newsletter will decrease the probability of your user clicking on many of them.

Have you ever noticed when people send you a Web address in a text e-mail message that it is automatically "hot"? That is to say, you can click on it with your mouse, and the location will load up in a browser window? If not, then I strongly urge you to download a newer client that will do that for you; it is extremely helpful. Providing a hot URL does a great service for the recipient; instead of having to copy the URL from the message and into the browser, he just has to click (providing, of course, that the URL was entered correctly and the e-mail reader makes the URL "hot").

An e-mail message doesn't have to be formatted in HTML to have working hyperlinks in it. A lot depends on the client a subscriber uses, but it's safe to assume that most of your readers will have "hot" links. The only exceptions to this rule are usually found when the readers are using an e-mail program not specifically designed for the Internet. These users are typically found in a corporate environment (on a network at their workplace). Still, you should be careful as to how you present any URL to your subscribers: chuck

• If you're using the URL in a sentence, you could enclose it in angle brackets. This isn't mandatory, but it's a nice touch:
• 
  Good: <http://www.mrspatula.com/>
  Bad: http://www.mrspatula.com/>
  Bad: >http://www.mrspatula.com/<

• Never place any other character immediately before or after a URL, or it might not read properly in the subscriber's mail client. If you need to place a character alongside a URL, be sure there is at least one blank space between it and the resource. Examples of what not to do:
• 
  http://www.mrspatula.com/.
  http://www.mrspatula.com/pilot.html,
  http://www.mrspatula.com/--
  (http://www.mrspatula.com/greatamerican.html)
• Be sure to use the correct address and character conventions with URLs. Here are a few often-seen mistakes. Although some of them are subtle and difficult to see, they can still cause problems in the reader's client. Can you tell what is wrong with each of these?
• 
  htpp://www.mrspatula.com/
  http:/www.mrspatula.com/
  http;//www.mrspatula.com/
  http://ww.mrspatula.com/

• When you're referencing a Web site, be sure to include its complete header (http://, ftp://, gopher://, et al.). Without it, certain e-mail clients might not make the links "hot."
• 
  Good: http://www.mrspatula.com/
  Bad: www.mrspatula.com
• When the URL isn't referencing a specific page, you should add a trailing slash to it. The hyperlink will work either way, but it appears cleaner (formatting wise) with the slash:
• 
  Good: http://www.mrspatula.com/
  Bad: http://www.mrspatula.com
• Always double-check your URLs to make sure you have typed them correctly and that the sites being referenced are still in business at those addresses. If you don't have time to do it, then have someone else do it for you. Otherwise, you'll get flooded with people telling you that a certain link didn't work. I realize that sometimes there's nothing you can do—for example, if a site goes offline the day after you link to it—but do your best to cover your bases.

• Be careful with long URLs. If you have your e-mail program set to word wrap at a specific column number, a URL can get cut off and only the first part of the URL will be hot. This will lead the subscriber to an incorrect Web page unless he copies or pastes the entire string into his browser. One way to prevent this from happening is by turning off the automatic word wrap in your mail program (or word processor, if that's what you use to compose your newsletter). Try to keep that lengthy address on one line if you can at all help it. If your list software asks you whether you want it to word wrap for you, just say no.

Take It from the Top

While the subject line is an important part of your message, it will not be found in the actual body; a text header (like a title or a headline) will typically precede your content and contain more than one line. All magazines have covers, and all text e-zines should have headers at the top, the first thing users read when they open your message. You can put whatever kind of contact and/or publishing information you deem important up there—just not too much. The title, your name, the date, the particular issue volume and number (if any), and your Web site URL are a few pieces of information you could report. Take a look at the type of information that other e-mail newsletters are putting in this space. It's designed more for the new reader, but your "older" followers might appreciate it as well (although most of them will ignore it and get on to the "guts" of your mail).

Some users would rather read your information on the Web, so consider posting an HTML version of each issue on your Web site and including a URL for the issue toward the top. The Web version should contain the same content as the mailing.

If you're going to put a missive on the Web, be sure that you're not just uploading it as a simple text file. Downloadable utilities are available for most operating systems to translate plain text into HTML (which will also automatically make URLs "hot"). The HTML doesn't need to be fancy-schmancy, but it should be pleasant to the eye and include features such as large bold headings and a page title.
 

Depending on how much content you produce in a particular issue (and how much extra time you have on your hands), you might consider inserting a table of contents right after the obligatory header information. With the table of contents, a user can skim to see whether anything is worth looking at. That can be a double-edged sword, however; you don't want readers to decide not to read a particular issue based on the table of contents.

I used to have a table of contents for Lockergnome issues, but I found that it made users more likely to skip sections and reviews that didn't have interesting titles. By not putting a TOC in there, I'm pretty much forcing subscribers to take a look at each review to see whether they'd like to check out the resource.

Final Words

In closing, I just want to say… good luck. Oh, wait—the book isn't over yet? Well, you know it's going to end eventually. When that page comes, I'll attempt to bow out gracefully—just like you should with every issue you distribute. Any words of wisdom? Interesting tidbits of info that you want to pass along to future generations? Extended copyright and/or subscription information? They are all perfect items to put at the closing of your issue.

If you really want subscribers to read the entire newsletter, you have to give them a good reason. Toward this end, I have found that the "saving the best for last" strategy (believe it or not) really works. One of the most popular parts of my newsletter is my Tips and Tricks section. So, consequently, it's at the end. Sure, the users might scroll all the way to the bottom of every issue to read it, but at least I know they're interacting with me.

You can also use extra little items to entice readers to read certain editions or to check out the Web version. For example, I used to put a little "fortune cookie" at the bottom of every text weekly issue to give those who read that far a little treat. They don't appear in Lockergnome's Text Weekly Digest, so people have to subscribe to the daily version to get those. I also post them in the Credits section in the sidebar of Lockergnome's HTML Daily, though, so people can visit the Web site and read them if they want to. No, something this insignificant won't make or break an e-publication, but I do know that people look forward to reading those completely random maxims. Besides, I eventually plan on putting small graphic advertisements in the HTML Daily sidebar; subscribers' eyes will be looking for a saying, so the advertisement will stand a better chance of getting noticed.

I've covered this point before, but you must put unsubscribing and/or resubscribing information either at the beginning or the end of the message. Some electronic publishers place "how to subscribe" information in both places. That way, if a subscriber forwards the issue to a friend, the friend will be sure to have the subscription information included in his copy. That's a valid idea, but results will vary. First, these publishers are assuming that subscribers are passing along their stuff. (This is a nice thought, but don't bank on it.) Second, they're assuming that if a subscriber forwards their stuff along to someone else, the subscriber will forward the entire issue; this isn't likely to happen. Readers will often find one or two things that they appreciate and then copy and paste those items into a completely new e-mail—bypassing the "how to subscribe" information entirely.

For this reason, I've chosen to add a Web page link for users to recommend Lockergnome to friends; I place this link at the top and at the bottom of each Lockergnome's Weekly Text Digest. Not only am I able to track how many times my site/newsletter is recommended in a day, but I have (almost) complete control over what is sent to the potential subscriber. You don't have to take this route, but consider it as one of your options.

How Should I Say It?

While I try to stick to the standards of the English language, every once in a while I might write something completely unconventional. I willingly accepted a few failing grades in college because I refused to change my writing style to fit the teacher's criteria. Lo and behold, life went on. I hope that nobody is going to hover over your shoulder and tell you how to write your e-mail newsletter. Your style is going to come shining through every single time—as well it should.

But you need to remember that your subscribers might not appreciate (or understand) your methodologies. I've offended users by using proggie instead of program, or yr instead of your. Over time, I've had to develop a more professional presentation in my newsletters. I try to make sure that my language is very clear when I foresee potential confusion.

Since I do a lot of my editing on-the-fly, "proofreading" doesn't exist in my vocabulary. Then again, I haven't had too many complaints thus far. If there isn't a problem, nobody will complain. As long as very few of your subscribers become vocally infuriated over your writing style, don't change a thing. I'm from the "as long as you're consistent" school of thought.

Nobody's perfect.

Advertising Acceptability

When you watch television, do you find yourself changing the channel when commercials come on? It's a safe assumption that most people don't like being on the receiving end of a sales pitch. Unfortunately, if your list offers free subscriptions, you're going to need to find a way to pay for it. Sure, in the beginning when your subscriber base is relatively small, you can afford to do things for free (or cheaply). But over time, if you're consistently not bringing in money, you'll find the frustrations won't outweigh the benefits of electronic publishing.

The good news is that the number of companies willing to advertise in text-based publications is growing by the day. A few years ago, nobody would consider purchasing an advertisement if it didn't involve a graphical banner. I knew this model would eventually die (and, indeed, the traditional Web banner ad is in its death throes as you read this). Click-through rates just aren't there. Plus, as I mentioned before, nobody likes to sit and listen to advertising. So how can you make your advertisers and readers happy?

My biggest suggestion is for you to make the line between advertising and editorial content very clear. Use a header labeled "Sponsor" or "Advertisement" to set off the paid announcements from your regular content. Failing to do so will confuse your subscribers and make them lose respect for you. Imagine if I made an advertisement sound like it wasn't an advertisement and didn't place it under an "advertising" label. Your subscribers won't know the difference between what you're "telling" and what you're "selling."
 

Another potential subscriber annoyance is seeing too many advertisements in proportion to content. The biggest offenders in this area have generally been Internet marketing newsletters. Not only are most of them filled with an overabundance of "sponsors," but they also don't clearly draw that line I outlined in the preceding paragraph. The subscriber will read one (possibly two) issues filled with nothing but advertising tripe, and either unsubscribe or remain subscribed and delete the e-mail in the blink of an eye. When someone subscribes to an e-mail newsletter, it typically means that he wants to learn more about the subject matter that it promises to cover.

So, what's the magic number for ads? It depends on how extensive your issues are; the number of advertisements in an e-mail newsletter should be directly proportional to its length. Feel free to experiment in the beginning, but don't overdo it. I'd say the average e-zine should have no more than two or three advertisements in each issue. The closer to the top they are, the more you should charge for them. Remember, with text-based newsletters, the user doesn't have to wait for any graphics to load before reading the first line. I'd suggest putting the first advertisement immediately underneath your header. Let readers know who you are before you show them who's helping you keep their subscription free.

There's no universal template for the size and content of a textual advertisement. A good rule of thumb is to keep it between three and six lines and to include a URL if possible. You should always reserve the right to rewrite the text that advertisers want you to run. This way, if their wording is a little off (or if they can't write very well), you don't wind up getting stuck with a lousy-looking advertisement. Besides, you know your publication's audience better than they do (I'd hope).

Editor du Jour

You'll need to use your e-mail client (or the Web) to initiate the mailing of an issue. But this doesn't mean that you need to compose and edit your missives online (or even in your e-mail program or Web browser). If you use a word processor, be sure that you're editing and saving your work in text (ASCII) format. Word processors offer various "text" options (Text Only, Text Only with Line Breaks, MS-DOS Text, and so on). While they'll all create basic text file output, your best bet is to stick with the most basic format: Text Only. The best way to ensure that you're getting "text only" is by using a simple text editor for composition; you'll avoid any potential problems and/or incompatibilities.

Even if your editor of choice doesn't offer a spell check, be sure to run it through some sort of "checker" before you actually submit your issue for dispersion. Go over the spacing, spelling, grammar, formatting, and so on to ensure that everything is as it should be. Handing it to a knowledgeable friend always helps, too; a friend is more likely to catch mistakes than you are. Errors will always slip through the cracks, but the fewer you have, the better. The "editing stage" is important, and unfortunately a step that too many e-publishers skip.

Dump the Word Processor

Actually you’re probably better off dumping your word processor, and using a text editor. The problem is that word processors these days like to drop in special characters—curly quotation marks, special typesetting characters for ellipsis (…) and emdashes (—), and so on. These characters can mess up your e-mail message very badly. Have you ever seen e-mail messages that are littered with the characters =20? At the end of each line, for instance, you may see =20=20.

This problem is caused by an e-mail server getting a little confused when it sees some of these weird little word-processor characters. The only way to completely avoid the problem is by being absolutely sure that none of the characters creep into your newsletter.

Before you send out your newsletter, it’s a good idea to send it to yourself, and then look at the message header (remember, most e-mail programs hide much of the message header, so you may have to use some kind of "Show Header" command to view the entire header). Look for lines like these:

Content-Type: text/plain; 
                  charset=iso-8859-1

Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

You may also see something like this:

X-MIME-Autoconverted: from quoted-
printable to 8bit by bigbiz.com id UAA26184

Oops, you’ve got a problem! The charset=iso-8859-1 piece, and the 8bit on the second line, and the Autoconverted line, all indicate that the message has been converted, because it contains these weird non-ASCII characters. Rather than charset=iso-8859-1, you want to see charset="us-ascii". And rather than the Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit line, you want to either not see the line at all, or see something indicating that it’s 7bit.

Now, if you send a charset=iso-8859-1 message out, most recipients will see it just fine. But a significant portion—all your America Online subscribers, for instance—will get the bad message, the message with all the =20 characters.

So there are two things you must remember. First, it’s a good idea to stick with a plain-old text editor that doesn’t create these types of characters. But secondly, if someone sends you text to include in the newsletter, you’re going to have to check it carefully. For instance, if someone writes an article to include in your newsletter, or sends you an advertisement, make sure you replace all the quotation marks, apostrophes, ellipsis, emdashes and endashes (the endashes are shorter dashes, used between numbers in a series) with plain old text characters. You should also look carefully for such special symbols as ®, ©, and ™.
 

What if you send out your test message and it comes back as 8bit? If you were using a text editor, then perhaps you’ve copied text from elsewhere, and that text contained a special character. How, then, do you find which character is bad?

Split the message into two parts and mail again, and see which half is converted to 8bit; then split that half in two and mail those to pieces, and see which is converted to 8bit, and so on until. Eventually you’ll be able to split things down until you find the bad character.

By the way, if you look carefully you’ll find some excellent text editors, programs that have lots of the features of word processors but that save the text without word-processing characters. Peter Kent, the publisher of Poor Richard’s Web Site News (and of this book), who provided the foregoing tips, recommends a program called TextPad (http://www.textpad.com/), for instance. Macintosh users may want to try a very popular program called BBEdit (http://www.barebones.com/).

The International Archives

Once you've published a newsletter (text or HTML), you should also have an easily accessible copy of it on your Web site. You could upload your text newsletters as text, but it would be wiser for you to pick up a "text to HTML" converter and have that program automatically turn the issue into a Web page for you. Several shareware utilities of this kind are available, such as the following:

Text2Web (Windows)
http://www.virdi.demon.co.uk/

AscToHTM (Windows, OpenVMS)
http://www.yrl.co.uk/~jAF/asctohtm.html

Text2Html (Windows)
http://www.cyber-matrix.com/txt2htm.htm

ARWPC (Windows)
http://www.trah.co.uk/welcome.htm

text2html (Perl)
http://www.isys.hu/c/verhas/progs/perl/text2html/

Text to HTML Conversion Utility (Web)
http://com.org/hb/Text_to_HTML.htm

txt2html (UNIX)
http://www.thehouse.org/txt2html/

Text file to HTML converter (UNIX)
http://www.beard.demon.co.uk/software/tohtml.html

HTML Markup (Mac)
ftp://ftp.switch.ch/mirror/info-mac/text/html/

TextToHTML (Mac)
http://sunsite.doc.ic.ac.uk/Mirrors/info-mac.org
/text/_HTML/

Even if you choose not to transmogrify your text, a "past issues" archive is obligatory.

You might be able to set up your list software to enable your subscribers to retrieve any given issue by issuing certain commands via e-mail. If you don't have a Web site yet, consider this method as an alternative.

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  Published by Top Floor Publishing

© 1999 Chris Pirillo and Peter Kent
(reprinted with permission)

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