Memoir Lane Newsletter

I've been thinking a lot lately about revamping our opt-in newsletter. Up until this past month, the Memoir Lane Newsletter has been distributed on a monthly basis, but recently I've thrown in some extra issues. Why? Because:

1. There has been so much going on, I can't wait a whole month to share all the goodies.
2. We all need a gentle reminder to keep working on our memoir projects more often than just once a month.
3. There are so many topics to discuss, squeezing them all into one issue each month is too much to swallow in one sitting.

So before proceeding any further, I decided to put out a survey asking my members what they wanted to see. There must have been something in particular that triggered them to join Memoirs By: Me by giving their email address, and I wanted to know what that something was.

And this is what I've discovered so far...

1. Our member base is quite diverse when it comes to age demographics and family status, which is exactly what I was going for in designing the site. I wanted to squelch the myth that writing memoirs was only reserved for seniors with children.
2. When asked to rate five future features on a level of importance to each member. Four out of the five features ranked equally as most important. That tells me four out of those five features need to be implemented to meet the needs and desires of our members! BUT not every feature is "most important" to every member.
3. "Time" was the greatest excuse for not starting their memoir-writing projects yet.
4. Every area mentioned in the survey when asked for favorite area was indicated except one, the "Submit your Story".
5. When asked how often they would like to see Memoir Lane published, 50% said monthly and 50% said more frequently (either weekly or twice a month).

So what does all this mean? Well, all the results are not in yet, but this is the direction I'm heading...

1. Working towards implementing those "four features" as soon as possible.
2. Addressing the "time" excuse head on.
3. Keeping the "Submit your Story" section because most people like the "Readers' Circle", and there wouldn't be a "Readers' Circle" if there wasn't a "Submit your Story" section. But begin seeking out ways to improve this area making it more appealing across the board.
4. Changing the frequency of issues and/or offering different subscriptions for different tastes.

That's where I'm at so far. What are your thoughts?

P.S. If you'd like to start receiving our monthly newsletter, consider joining Memoirs By: Me...it's free.

By the way, the fifth feature that was the least important to my members was a web blog, which is what you're reading now. I chose to launch this anyway because I don't think I was clear enough in explaining this as a feature. You can read what I had in mind with this blog in my next post, "Why a blog?".