influence the attitudes or actions of employees only about issues that involve their work. Sellers should want to influence the behavior of buyers only in areas where they have something to sell.

Reader needs were emphasized in Chapter 3, as we discussed the ways in which people use media in general, and newsletters in particular, to help them achieve their goals. Amember of an advocacy association, for example, would expect to use a newsletter from this organization to address issues related to the shared cause. So, reader needs and interests are another element in setting the boundaries.

In Chapter 4, we looked at reader willingness and ability. As we saw, a publisher can use two key elements of willingness - relevance and credibility - to help establish boundaries. The same is true of ability - when we stay within the boundaries of the shared environment, the reader is much more likely to understand the language and context without assistance. And that's another clue for publishers.

Setting the boundaries of the shared environment, then, should not require guesswork. Instead, it should flow, almost automatically, out of decisions discussed in the previous chapters of this book. And, by staying within the shared environment, the publisher remains focused on what she wants readers to do, and on what she has a mandate to ask of them.

What doesn't fit?

Recipes, a staple of many newsletters, come to mind as an example of poor choice. Unless the publishing organization is in the food business, recipes are irrelevant, and in addition, the publisher has no perceived expertise in this area, and hence no credibility. Similarly, when publishers of marketing newsletters talk about their organizations, not their products, readers are not likely to find the content relevant.

You can add bowling scores to that list. The achievements of the company bowling team may interest a few other employees, but the tournament score-sheet is not likely to interest management, and it's certainly not likely to help other employees fulfill their needs or achieve their goals.

Personal announcements such as notices of births and marriages, may fit, however, in an employee newsletter. These may be relevant to other employees because, for instance, the news may help explain absences or the changed behavior of coworkers.

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