The Newsletter coming to a close

Asaf · Post by **Asaf** » March 30th, 2010, 5:05 pm

I have been doing the newsletter for a while now, making sure that the most comprehensive listing possible is sent out to the AIC mailing list. Well, the work of it is getting overwhelming and now I have another new improv space to factor in to the mix. In addition, I have no idea what affect I am even having. Whether people are reading it and using it. (I tend to only hear from people when I get information wrong.)

The biggest part of the job is frankly chasing people down for information, blurbs, ticket info, images, etc. And then many times trying to help make shows stand out from one another.

If there is anyone who can help me do this, I would appreciate it. Otherwise, frankly, I am just going to burn out on all of this, close up the shop and leave the keys in the door for whoever.

nick · Post by **nick** » March 30th, 2010, 5:12 pm

Having all of that information in a single email is appreciated, but I find it overwhelming. Why not just stick to a couple of spotlighted shows? Or maybe one or two for each night of the weekend? That way it's easier to compile and more meaningful to the reader.

Post by **bradisntclever** » March 30th, 2010, 5:31 pm

nick wrote:Having all of that information in a single email is appreciated, but I find it overwhelming. Why not just stick to a couple of spotlighted shows? Or maybe one or two for each night of the weekend? That way it's easier to compile and more meaningful to the reader.

Agreed. I think the spotlight is a nice feature. To combat fatigue, pick a show or two each week you're interested in and ask to gather that info. OR, you could even have people solicit you to get featured in the newsletter. I know that formula hasn't worked great in the past, but maybe if there's one story, people will be more inclined to ask for it.

Jeff · Post by **Jeff** » March 30th, 2010, 5:33 pm

nick wrote:Having all of that information in a single email is appreciated, but I find it overwhelming. Why not just stick to a couple of spotlighted shows? Or maybe one or two for each night of the weekend? That way it's easier to compile and more meaningful to the reader.

It's an AIC newsletter, so it's hard to justify why it wouldn't be fairly comprehensive for everything going on in the collective. It's also hard to determine which shows should be spotlighted in a smaller version of the newsletter-- that kind of game could get messy, I imagine.

kaci_beeler · Post by **kaci_beeler** » March 30th, 2010, 5:37 pm

I love that newsletter and read it every time in comes into my inbox. That said, I imagine it is a lot of work.

smerlin · Post by **smerlin** » March 30th, 2010, 6:07 pm

kaci_beeler wrote:I love that newsletter and read it every time in comes into my inbox. That said, I imagine it is a lot of work.

Ditto. It's a great way to build community and find out what everyone is doing around town.

Brian Boyko · Post by **Brian Boyko** » March 30th, 2010, 6:25 pm

I set up a blog at improv.blogphilo.com - just something temporary.

I can set it up so that theatre schedulers can write out a quick e-mail as to what shows are going on where, send it, and it'll automatically post without any intervention.

If you run a theatre, or at least do booking for one, let me know and I'll set up an account and e-mail for you.

Asaf · Post by **Asaf** » March 30th, 2010, 7:44 pm

Jeff wrote:
nick wrote:Having all of that information in a single email is appreciated, but I find it overwhelming. Why not just stick to a couple of spotlighted shows? Or maybe one or two for each night of the weekend? That way it's easier to compile and more meaningful to the reader.
It's an AIC newsletter, so it's hard to justify why it wouldn't be fairly comprehensive for everything going on in the collective. It's also hard to determine which shows should be spotlighted in a smaller version of the newsletter-- that kind of game could get messy, I imagine.

Yeah, as is there are lots of politics that go into things. Trying to keep a balance between all the theaters. Making sure they are all represented. Yada yada yada.

If the newsletter becomes a thing of just a few spotlights and just that, it would make things easier, but I don't want to be that guy who makes those picks.

kbadr · Post by **kbadr** » March 30th, 2010, 7:50 pm

Brian Boyko wrote:I set up a blog at improv.blogphilo.com - just something temporary.

I can set it up so that theatre schedulers can write out a quick e-mail as to what shows are going on where, send it, and it'll automatically post without any intervention.

If you run a theatre, or at least do booking for one, let me know and I'll set up an account and e-mail for you.

Actually, this is a really interesting indea. What if there was some kind of automatic way that the newsletter was constructed (at least partially, to minimize the effort required), and then it would be up to the theaters to deliver the information via a web page or something. Personally, I've never been completely clear on what the deadlines are for submitting to the newsletter.

Then, maybe each theater gets one highlight spot for each newsletter? It would be up to the theater to decide which event they most want to pimp.

sara farr · Post by **sara farr** » March 30th, 2010, 8:26 pm

smerlin wrote:
kaci_beeler wrote:I love that newsletter and read it every time in comes into my inbox. That said, I imagine it is a lot of work.
Ditto. It's a great way to build community and find out what everyone is doing around town.

Double Ditto. I love being able to see at a glance what's going on each weekend. The AIC website is no longer accurate.

Love the newsletter.

I would be happy if there was an easy way to keep it going -- some kind of automated "drop your text in here, and the newsletter comes out there". But the automation itself takes work. If Brian's solution works, cool! Otherwise, what about a GOOGLE APP??

I have this image of Asaf as the little red hen, "Who will help me make the newsletter" with all the AIC ppl answering "Not I, but I sure love to read the newsletter". Also, I'm sure there are more ppl who read the newsletter who quite possibly do NOT log onto and read the forums.

Post by **bradisntclever** » March 31st, 2010, 12:32 am

sara_anm8r wrote:
smerlin wrote:
kaci_beeler wrote:I love that newsletter and read it every time in comes into my inbox. That said, I imagine it is a lot of work.
Ditto. It's a great way to build community and find out what everyone is doing around town.
Double Ditto. I love being able to see at a glance what's going on each weekend. The AIC website is no longer accurate.

Love the newsletter.

I would be happy if there was an easy way to keep it going -- some kind of automated "drop your text in here, and the newsletter comes out there". But the automation itself takes work. If Brian's solution works, cool! Otherwise, what about a GOOGLE APP??

I have this image of Asaf as the little red hen, "Who will help me make the newsletter" with all the AIC ppl answering "Not I, but I sure love to read the newsletter". Also, I'm sure there are more ppl who read the newsletter who quite possibly do NOT log onto and read the forums.

I do like the idea of community submission, but the newsletter would still require a curator to go through and moderate content. Not for the sake of politics, but to prevent potential abuse of the newsletter (random people submitting offensive content, 2000 word press releases, etc.).

If we can figure that out, then I think a newsletter based on submissions is a good idea - less work for someone like Asaf as those who don't contribute don't get coverage. It's a resource open to all in the AIC and something we would hope everyone would use.

Brian Boyko · Post by **Brian Boyko** » March 31st, 2010, 5:46 am

bradisntclever wrote:
sara_anm8r wrote:
smerlin wrote: Ditto. It's a great way to build community and find out what everyone is doing around town.
Double Ditto. I love being able to see at a glance what's going on each weekend. The AIC website is no longer accurate.

Love the newsletter.

I would be happy if there was an easy way to keep it going -- some kind of automated "drop your text in here, and the newsletter comes out there". But the automation itself takes work. If Brian's solution works, cool! Otherwise, what about a GOOGLE APP??

I have this image of Asaf as the little red hen, "Who will help me make the newsletter" with all the AIC ppl answering "Not I, but I sure love to read the newsletter". Also, I'm sure there are more ppl who read the newsletter who quite possibly do NOT log onto and read the forums.
I do like the idea of community submission, but the newsletter would still require a curator to go through and moderate content. Not for the sake of politics, but to prevent potential abuse of the newsletter (random people submitting offensive content, 2000 word press releases, etc.).

If we can figure that out, then I think a newsletter based on submissions is a good idea - less work for someone like Asaf as those who don't contribute don't get coverage. It's a resource open to all in the AIC and something we would hope everyone would use.

Sorry about the time zone differences.

My automated blog solution isn't as good as a fully edited newsletter, but the way it would work is this:

Each theatre gets ONE and only one WordPress account. Each theatre director then publishes their own theatre's weekly newsletters by either logging in and posting the information, or by e-mailing the information to a specialized e-mail address.

If you don't contribute, you don't get coverage.

If you abuse the account, you lose the account.

So, for example, the template might be:

Theatre Name

Title of a Special Event, if applicable.
Place & Time
(Photo/Flyer/Poster, no more than 400 px wide)
--150 word description of Special Event

Title of Theatre's Main Show
Place & Time
(Photo/Flyer/Poster)
--100 word description of main show

Title of Theatre's Secondary Show
Place & Time
(Photo/Flyer/Poster)
--75 word description of secondary show.

Title of other show at Theater
Place & Time
--50 word description of show

Title of other show at Theater
Place & Time
--50 word description of show

Title of other show at Theater
Place & Time
--50 word description of show

Title of other show at Theater
Place & Time
--50 word description of show

Full Schedule

Thursday
Time, Place, Title Only.
Time, Place, Title Only.
Time, Place, Title Only.

Friday
Time, Place, Title Only.
Time, Place, Title Only.
Time, Place, Title Only.

Saturday
Time, Place, Title Only.
Time, Place, Title Only.
Time, Place, Title Only.

Aden · Post by **Aden** » March 31st, 2010, 10:36 am

smerlin wrote:
kaci_beeler wrote:I love that newsletter and read it every time in comes into my inbox. That said, I imagine it is a lot of work.
Ditto. It's a great way to build community and find out what everyone is doing around town.

I also saw people at our Jerzey Shorez shows that I never emailed. I asked how they heard about the shows and they said they saw it in the AIC newsletter.

Maybe it could be a monthly newsletter instead of weekly and feature mainstage shows at all of the theaters...

I appreciate all of the work you've been doing on it.

Justin D. · Post by **Justin D.** » March 31st, 2010, 2:29 pm

Asaf has done a great job and the newsletter definitely looks better than it has in the past, but with all the different shows at all the theaters, it looks like the newsletter has gotten overloaded lately.

The "above the fold" notices are great, and the listing of shows under "This Week's Shows" is a good move. Virtually everything below that seems like it might be extraneous if there was a "Visit the website of any of the theaters mentioned in the sidebar for information on any of the shows listed above ". Maybe make the the list under "This Week's Shows" into links to help lead people to any missing info from removing everything under it.

It puts a lot of onus back on the theaters to "mind their own store" so to say and could make the newsletter a smaller, easier thing to handle.

However, there is something to be said about a reader generally wanting all their information in one spot without having to click on multiple other links and go to multiple pages to get all the information.

Just a couple ideas. Take them or toss them as you like.

Post by **bradisntclever** » March 31st, 2010, 3:01 pm

Another idea: Have each theater highlight one show in particular for the upcoming week with a very brief synopsis. If a theater is worried about building a crowd for a new slot or new format, it could probably help to limit their focus in the newsletter to just that item. It's like a curated menu of the improvisational offerings in town. Less clutter, direct links to theaters, and people can skim through the newsletter rather than find themselves drowning in information overload.