Reinventing the Entrepreneur: Turning Your Dream Business into a Reality

Chapter 8

Design and Frequency: It’s All about Engagement

Once you have a name for your inbox magazine and have defined your target audience, now you must determine the details of your inbox magazine (see Figure 8.1). How many days a week should you send out an issue? Which days should you send it? How long should it be? How do you decide what kind of sections you should have? Should it be text or HTML? Do you send the full inbox magazine or just part of it? Since these are the most frequently asked questions, let’s jump right to it.

Figure 8.1 Questions to ask about your inbox magazine.

This may not be the answer you want to hear, but the answer to all six questions is really the same magic answer: your inbox magazine needs to fit your reader’s needs and your schedule.

As a busy, working mom, my community of working moms couldn’t read something every single day. That’s just too much information, and they don’t have the time.

For an inbox magazine about investing, each issue can come out daily. That’s because the financial markets change every day, and if you skip a couple of days, you’re doing a disservice to your customers, who need current information and advice. That’s why the frequency of sending out your inbox magazine needs to be driven by your market.

If you’re doing an inbox magazine about horoscopes and astrology, then sending it out daily would also make sense. Now, ...