In previous chapters, we discussed what subjects to select and how the subjects should be treated - so readers are willing and able to read our newsletter.
But willingness and ability to read are not our only objectives: Readers also must be willing and able to think or act as we wish.
In this chapter, we explain how willingness to respond (think or act) dictates frequency (how often we publish), and ability to respond dictates the page count (number of pages per issue). Once again, we turn to our newsletter loop, revised as shown in Figure 7Ð1, to illustrate these important questions graphically.
Figure 7Ð1 (figure unavailable in this version)
Let's start our analysis by reviewing some reasons why readers might be unwilling to respond to marketing, employee, and membership newsletters.
Marketing newsletters
In almost all buying situations an element of uncertainty affects willingness to respond. To one degree or another, buyers don't know what they're getting until they've committed their money, even with warranties, guarantees, or other protection.
An extension of this transaction-uncertainty principle is that readers can be expected to bring some degree of trepidation or skepticism to marketing newsletters. The degree is probably very high for expensive, infrequent purchases, and quite low for frequently purchased commodity-priced goods. The degree of skepticism or reluctance will generally reflect the amount of risk involved.
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