30 Apr
2003
30 Apr
'03
10:33 p.m.
As the "leader" of the newsletter content over the last three years, I would
like to say thanks to all those who contributed. I know most of Johns
articles were published and if some weren't, yes, there was a space/cost
issue, especially when Steve Piatz got the words going. :)
I used to have a folder that I stuck stuff in when I thought it might make
for good reading. Some of the discussion about this topic could in fact be
used. As Will said, someone needs to be the point person. When it came
time for publishing, I just grabbed from my folder to fill in between the
meeting notes and the info on club events. The whole process took me about
4 total hours over a couple days. If any of you noticed, I even repeated
stuff twice! Who knew?
Finally, Gloria was sent the Word file and boy did she ever make it look
pretty. Thanks again to everyone who has helped and to those who will be
helping in the future.
Mike Moranz
-----Original Message-----
From: mba-bounce(a)thebarn.com
[mailto:mba-bounce@thebarn.com]On Behalf Of
John Longballa
Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2003 10:33 AM
To: mba(a)thebarn.com
Subject: Re: Newsletter
Sounds great! I don't think that anyone proposed cutting off
members who
would prefer to receive a hard copy, or eliminating hard
copies of the
Boiler. My thought was to send out copies to anyone who
wanted/needed one,
and save the costs on those members who opted to receive the
newsletter
electronically. The hard copies ARE great for inspiring new
memberships,
which is why I was placing them in all the homebrew shops.
As long as most articles will make it in, I think you'll have
good response.
I had articles that I wrote that were not printed because of space
limitations (?), and that can be frustrating, considering
that everyone
always complains that there's never any member writings to
print! I was
writing up descriptions of the meetings, but sometimes they
would not be
printed. Oh, well.
John
From: allan.boyce(a)usbank.com
To: mba(a)thebarn.com
Subject: Re: Newsletter
Date: Tue, 29 Apr 2003 10:22:47 -0500
I read all the email on TheBarn, and I peruse the website
pretty regularly,
but I still like getting my hard copy of The
Boiler. I also
know that we
have some members that are NOT internet connected,
and for
them, The Boiler
is really the only tangible evidence that we have
a club at
all! I spoke
with a couple of new members on the I Love Beer
Tour this
past weekend, and
they were internet connected, on TheBarn list,
knew where
the web page was,
and were STILL upset that they have not been
informed of
club events via a
newsletter since they joined last November. A
newsletter is
"proof" that
they were informed.
The copies of The Boiler that I have received have been great. But I
propose that if there are no articles to publish, then we
should just print
a one or two page Boiler ON SCHEDULE that has
whatever
article(s) that we
have, plus a listing of upcoming events.
If some members voluntarily agree to get their Boiler
online, whether via a
PDF file in their email or on the website, then
that reduces
cost for the
club. But I think everyone should make that
choice for themselves.
The old saying goes, "If you're not part of the solution,
then
you're part
of the problem." Today I volunteered to
write two articles
for the next
issue. (OK, so I'm an overachiever! ;-D)
But if everyone
who has posted
an opinion on The Boiler takes time to write ONE
article a
year, we'll have
no end of content with which to fill it. Consider
it a challenge!
Print it, and they will come....
my 2 cents...
- Al
"John Longballa"
<longballa@hotma To:
mba(a)thebarn.com
il.com>
cc:
Sent by: Subject: Re:
Newsletter
mba-bounce@theba
rn.com
04/29/2003 10:08
AM
Will:
Those are some great ideas. As the former secretary of the
MN Homebrewers,
I distributed the Boiler and thought about those same
cost-saving measures;
at a board meeting, I made the very same suggestions that
you just made,
but
for reasons that I do not remember, the decision was made to
continue with
the traditional distribution method. Perhaps the
current board could
revisit these ideas. The Boiler was costing approximately
$125 per issue
for printing and mailing costs, just as a point of
reference. I would
print
about 150 copies, send 50 to members, send 40 to breweries, brewpubs,
beverage distributors, and homebrew shops that supported
MNHBA, and place
the remainder in the Twin Cities' homebrew
shops for MNHBA promotion.
John
Will wrote:
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2 cost savings ideas:
1. Put the Newsletter on the web site (not sure if it
is there now)
2. Ditribute the newsletter via email instead of snail
mail
3. Give members the option of not receiving the
newsletter via snail mail if they would rather get via
option 1 or 2 above.
I believe this would not only save postage $$ but also
printing expense.
As to content, I believe that someone has to take the
lead and that you cannot rely on member contributions.
It may be helpful to try coming up with an ideal
layout and then say: we need an article on wheat beer,
we need a an article on bottling methods, and an
article on new gadgetry or something like that. This
would make it easier for those who wish to provide
content. If someone is gung ho to write something on a
different topic, they would just need to clear it with
the editor.
From the perspective of a writer, the hardest thing to
some up with sometimes is a topic. So an open ended
request such as: we need content can make it more
difficult.
My $0.02 worth
Cheers
WH
--- Dave Cox <north-shore-brewer(a)earthlink.net> wrote:
_________________________________________________________________
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Greetings!
I am sure that some of you have wondered when the
next issue of our
newsletter, The Boiler, will be published. I have
heard a certain amount of
discussion about this subject, including whether we
should even publish a
newsletter.
Some people have made the argument that in view of
our limited budget, and
the fact that a newsletter is expensive to produce
and mail, this is
something that could be eliminated. It has also
been suggested that the
fact that people are not submitting articles
reflects a lack of interest in
the publication. Maybe these things are true.
I agree that the e-mail list is effective for those
members who have access.
But it does not serve all of our members, and it is
not as effective as a
means of attracting new members.
I would like to see The Boiler continue. I believe
that it is important not
only for current members, but as a means of letting
potential new members
know what this group is about. It lends credibility
to the organization and
lets others know what we have been doing.
But here is the catch. If we are to continue to
produce the newsletter, we
need input from YOU. Rick and I could fill up the
space with our own
musings and clever observations, but that wouldn't
do much to increase the
circulation. The thing that makes a newsletter
interesting is variety. Just
as the variety of interests and experience of the
members make MHBA
interesting, the newsletter needs input from a
variety of sources.
Submissions can range from technical topics to
equipment to beer styles to
events to anything you think other members would
find informative and
interesting.
Your newsletter editor Gloria does a great job, and
she is waiting for your
articles. If you want to see the project continue,
send her your
submissions now.
Dave
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