Spoiling even the best electronic newsletter is all too easy, even after putting all your effort into it, if you have poor digital magazine software. Once you’re determined to make an online publication the most important next call is to select the software supplier. It’s not about merely formatting your newsletter nicely - indeed this is a crucial choice because it may well mean success or failure for your venture. The essential part of the package is, naturally, it’s intuitiveness. If you can’t run the software package it doesn’t matter how good it is hyped to be … The e-brochure you’re producing should matter enough to you that you test out several providers.
With spamming and hacking being an issue online, protection should be another main concern after you’ve produced an online publication. Is the agreement secured? Can the readers just copy-paste the newsletter content or has the software supplier anything in place peventing such things? Is the content secure? When you’ve created an electronic newsletter you need to make a business plan. Whatever your business plan may look like, you’ll should think about such matters - maybe not for every issue but for your company in its entirety. What use will you make of non-traditional media? How are you handling ads? Search engine friendly content can also be very important as you consider how to market this ezine.
Is your content only going to be freely accessible? Are you going to be offering double or triple subscription possibilities? The nature of your content, as well - is it monetized ? How about providing summaries and teasers to market this ebrochure? How available is the newsletter? Is it private — in which case you can investigate several hosting options or is it public? You should probably host directly with the provider. What’ll you do with back-isues?
And before having to address them for real, you should think about critical issues. What’s the level of tech-support? Check the FAQs. Also check whatever how-to guide they may have. Do they print their response time? Is there a phone number or email address that is easy to access? This is admittedly a case of last but not least consideration. Because you don’t want to find out only when it’s too late that they’re actually trying to cut corners in a detrimental manner here! Your magazine’s profit, after you’ve published it, is decided by the choice of e-publishing software provider. Choose cautiously, and you’ll be every bit rewarded.
I usually don’t go on vacation. A vacation takes me out of my house, away from my keyboard, far from my wireless network. I’ve grown to love the little conveniences of my home, the height of my desktop computer, the luxury of using my laptop even while cooking a big meal, the unexpected warmth of my dog’s breath against my leg. Before even packing, I miss my bed, my bathroom, my EVOO.
A vacation poses a leap of faith into the unknown. Aside from my normal apprehensions about going way up in the air on some physics principles and prayers, I wonder about the accommodations which never seem to match the brochure. Furthermore, there are noises I am used to sleeping through, locks I feel secure behind, and small amounts of identifiable dirt I can live with peacefully. And then there is the matter of being idle. Vacationing people are not only expected to leave home and family, they’re expected to leave their work. Needless to say, I had more difficulty with the latter, but I did agree to give it the old college try.
Yellow-belly that I am, I did not brave the trip alone. In addition to members of my immediate family, packets of Immodium, and a big bottle of hair conditioner, I packed a few other writers for company. I packed a modest size notebook. I packed enough pens and pencils to rewrite War and Peace, all of which I carried around in my oversized purse, awkwardly lifting and dropping passports and tickets, removing and replacing the books innumerable times for Tic Tacs and gum, knowing it was worth any inconvenience to be able to read on demand.
At our destination, my family predictably abandoned me to pursue “fun,” and I set up shop. I angled a lounge chair out of the sun on a balcony facing the ocean, and pulled out the first of my books. I grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator in our suite, and sat out there a good thirty seconds enjoying the view, the breeze, the quiet, noting my husband’s position on a sailboat in case he asked the way the kids used to ask if I had seen them doing tricks in the water. Now my vacation was beginning. I was finally going to be able to enjoy someone else’s work, without interruption.
The first ten pages were easy enough. And once I put the towel over my legs to keep from getting one of those sunburns I preached about to my kids, the second ten were bearable. During the next five or so, I finished the last of my peanut M&Ms from the airport, moving directly into my pack of Eclipse. And then I did my best to balance my sunglasses over my reading glasses, which worked, until there was no getting out of the sun on that chair.
As luck would have it, there was also a table and chair set on the balcony, which I could easily position in the shade, so I picked up my water bottle, my towels, my purse, my book, and changed locations. So I was upright. Being upright didn’t preclude relaxation. I methodically noted the position of my daughter and husband now in a yellow kayak, acknowledged the mountains, the palm trees, my son who came to get his bathing suit, the heat of the sun, the strength of the breeze against the pages of my paperback, and then this strange black bird which started yelping insistently. I stood up as if to ask why it was disturbing my newly found peace. It seemed to be cursing me out, again and again, until I knew how Dorothy felt to be so very far from Kansas.
Offended, I clutched the railing of the balcony, mourning my lack of peace, wondering how early they started serving tropical drinks at the bar. The bird was relentless. What, I asked myself, could it possibly want from me? I was a stranger, invisible to the other, nicer birds who didn’t feel the need to keep calling out to me. I stared up at the sky until my eyes watered, watching this bird for any Hitchcock leanings. He was definitely a screamer. Mom? That would be my luck. While the other tourists were bobbing to reggae, I was under attack by the winged ghost of my mother.
Suddenly I seemed to wake up and understand where I was. I wasn’t on vacation. I had traveled into a wonderful new setting! I immediately reached for my notebook and cursed the very resolve that brought me here without my computer, because I was certain I would never be able to write as quickly as necessary in order to capture every sight, smell, and sound for some future story. Six pages later, the ocean still rolled about laughing at me. Bring it on, I smirked. I had towels. I had water. I had a whole new world to imagine.
L. A. Rentschler, author of the newly released novel Mother (amazon.com). Author of Jitters which was produced as a Lifetime Original Movie. Playwright, best known for Deathbed. IWWG. Dramatist Guild of America. http://www.larentschler.com
ATLANTA, GA, February 20, 2006: If you think that learning Spanish is just for High School students or international travelers, think again. Consider these statistics:
• Spanish and English are nearly tied as the most spoken language in the world. As of 1999, there were 332 million Spanish speakers, versus 322 million for English. (Ethnologue.com)
• Hispanics are our nation’s largest minority group at 39.8 million, an increase of almost 13% since 2000. The Latino population is expected to increase by 188 percent to 102.6 million, or roughly one-quarter of the population by 2050. (U.S. Census Bureau 2004)
• The Hispanic population grew faster in Georgia than in any state in the nation from 2000 to 2002, at 17%, with 102 Hispanics moving to Georgia each day. Metro Atlanta experienced the most rapid Hispanic growth rate among the nation’s 20 most populous metro areas. (U.S. Census Bureau, Sept. 2003).
• In 2004, Georgia was one of ten states with the largest Hispanic markets ($10.9 billion). (Selig Center for Economic Growth, 2004)
• Atlanta has 21 periodicals and 9 radio stations that focus on serving Latinos in Georgia. Univision and Georgia TeVe are Spanish-Language television stations that also serve Atlanta. (www.ghcc.org)
Do you still think that you will never need to learn Spanish?
“When I first started tutoring Spanish over 5 years ago, I primarily worked with Public Health professionals, people preparing for a vacation in Latin America or Spain, and students needing extra help in their courses. Today, I work with Executives and Engineers, Writers and Retirees. Everyone has realized how learning Spanish is fast becoming a necessity in Atlanta,” says Jennifer Casado, owner of CharlarUSA, a Spanish Academy that emphasizes a conversational approach to Spanish supplemented with activities that teach students about Latino culture.
If you decide that learning Spanish is for you, here are 6 tips for setting your strategy:
Tip No. 1: Set realistic goals: Consider carefully the proficiency you would like to attain as well as the time you have available to learn Spanish. Do you need to be fluent, or even conversational? Or do you just want to be able call a cab and order food during your next visit to Mexico? Learning a Foreign Language will not happen overnight (they call it “foreign” for a reason!) and becoming fluent will require a long-term, consistent commitment on your part.
Tip No. 2: Think about your learning style BEFORE you invest: Whether you plan on purchasing a set of CDs, workbooks, or tutoring sessions, do your research! Books and CD’s will not help you learn if you don’t use them.
If you are a “visual” learner, buy a workbook before you invest in CD’s. If you have a long commute, buy CDs to listen to as you drive. To ensure personal attention, contact a tutor or an academy that can guarantee small class size and can address your individual questions.
Tip No. 3: Start slowly: After determining your initial strategy, test it out: If you decide to take classes, sign up for one and see if you like it. Perhaps you would like a less structured approach or more personal attention. To supplement your classes, you may want to ask your instructor or classmates for recommendations, or borrow CDs, videos, and/or textbooks from your local library to try them out before you buy.
Tip No. 4: Put yourself out there! : The key reason to learn a foreign language is to COMMUNICATE. Join Spanish Language clubs or an academy like CharlarUSA that organizes activities where you can practice outside of a classroom setting. If you apply and actively use what you’ve learnedeven if it’s only in your local Mexican restaurantyou will greatly accelerate the learning process!
Tip No. 5: Keep at it! Learning a foreign language is like a staircase–at times it may not seem like you’re progressing, and then all of a sudden you will jump up to the next step. If you feel you are at a stand-still, perhaps it’s time to adjust your learning strategy (more oral comprehension, less grammar, etc). Discuss any anxieties you have with your instructor so that your program can be adjusted.
Tip No. 6: Finally, have fun! Learning Spanish can open up numerous doors for you, teaching you about other cultures, and even helping you to better understand your neighbors, coworkers and friends. Make sure you ENJOY it and reward yourself for all of your hard work!
Jennifer Casado is a Spanish Tutor, and runs CharlarUSA Spanish Academy in Virginia Highlands. CharlarUSA Spanish Academy teaches Spanish to teens and adults, and organizes cultural activities for students. More information can be found at http://www.charlarusa.com
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