March 30, 2010
an open letter to my newsletter subscribers, part two
[“Moronic”, which I sent out in the newsletter recently. You can buy the print here etc.]
Hello Everybody,
A few weeks ago I reached out to y’all, asking you what I could do to improve the newsletter.
You left dozens of comments, which were really, really helpful. A lot of the things you said we actually put into practice. Thanks so much for that!
So I’m reaching out to you again…
This time, I’m not asking you what I can do to improve the newsletter. This time, I’m asking you what could I do to make it easier for you to share it with people you know.
This enterprise lives or dies by “Word Of Mouth”. And I’d like to raise my game a notch or two. Of course I would.
If you’re already a subscriber, feel free to leave a comment below of send me your feedback at gvdailycartoon@gmail.com. Thanks Again! Rock on.
"Hugh's Daily Cartoon" Newsletter.
A new cartoon sent out every weekday morning to your inbox [RSS version here.].
A wee chuckle to start your day off right etc.
Hi Hugh
How about a button/ badge/ banner that we can post on our blogs to punt your newsletter subscription…
Kind of along the lines of “Follow me on Twitter” but instead of I get my Daily Dose of Wisdom From Gaping Void Cartoons — Do you?
In my experience the people in the blogging community seem to overlap with interests…I know my small following also dig your work.
Just a thought
Okay, so I would totally put something in my newsletter talking about your and how it is one of the only email newsletters (and I mean, one of 3) that I actually read.
So could you make that really easy for me? I don’t know exactly where to send them or the one-liner version of what your newsletter is. That would be awesome.
I agree that badges would be cool. And since you’re already an artiste … you can make some cool ones
They don’t even have to be sales-ey, like “subscribe here”, but more fun, like these: http://thebloggess.com/?p=6094
I also thought of a widget that could show your designs or cube grenades, like this one: http://www.dilbert.com/
Alternatively, you could have a widget that rotates through your work. People would either install it as a WordPress plugin or just copy paste some javascript code into their site to have it show up.
If you’re interested in the second two, let me know.
I can’t send the newsletter out to people who don’t already know who you are because the stories you write on it are so personal that I’d have to go for a long explanation of who you are as well.
Put a “Who Am I” link on there (or not, perhaps the context only works with people who already know who you are. Most of the people I’d forward this to get your work already).
An embeddable widget of your cartoons which bloggers can display in their sidebar (which of course links to GV)
I second Trish’s “thought” — it’s simple & elegant. Just do it!!!
Hi Hugh -
I have a widget that puts one of your pics on my blog, and that’s cool. I just need to be more pro-active in getting folks there to read (and see) what’s on there — my bad updating habits to fix on that one.
Another avenue is to for YOU to explore adding a “Buzz this!” icon up next to your RSS, Tweet, and FB buttons — I have shared you to Buzz a couple of times but I don’t see anyone else doing so and that’s a pity — many cubicle minions there who might like a cubicle grenade or two.
This would be a lot more efficient than wading into Buzz yourself and establishing your presence — this would let those of us who already know you pass the good message on.
Cheers!
I’m sure I must be missing something obvious but I have wanted to share your cartoons with people on facebook or twitter but I’m not sure how to do that? Maybe you could give a sentence or two at the end of the Newsletter explaining how to do this or a link or something at the end of the newsletter for this purpose.
Hi Hugh… thanks for the question and blah..
The newsletter arrives in my email a complete mess (looks like html) and I have to guess where the link to the cartoon is… whereas with other blogs (seth, psfk) I can open them easily and forward on to facebook or twitter. With your info I wait until I see it on facebook, then click onto the cartoon, from there twitter it. It’s a bit of a hassle, however worth it when the cartoon/blog speaks to me. I’m mentioning seth and psfk knowing that you know them and could find out how they make it so easy to share their info. Yours is tricky yet do-able.
2 suggestions: yes, to badges .… AND considering the art of word of mouth is the ability to MANAGE CONVERSATIONS.…
I’ve just registered with disqus (prompted as a commenter with psfk) and am loving the thought of being able to manage MY comments in one space… I can remember what I’ve said to whom and when. And, I even get notified if there’s an answer to what I’ve said… phew… going back and forth to see if I’m actually IN a conversation rather than talking to myself was exhausting/confusing/a waste of time (especially when I actually found the place I’d made a comment to discover there hasn’t been a response — I eventually stopped bothering). Now I can manage my internet self, phew, relief… AND, I can edit the comments… ah, the power!
How this could impact gaping void for example.… if this were linked to disqus, this comment would automatically connect other people I’m in conversation with… so you too would be included. (AND, I’d be able to edit it rather than being concerned about typo’s knowing I’ve already spent 45mins on this comment) I could introduce GV to friends… of friends… of friends… via indepth conversations vs snippets of twits.
Hugh–
Not the comment you asked for, but a comment none the less:
I love your blog dearly. I read it almost daily. But I’m just not a fan of getting more stuff in my inbox, so I’m not one of your dearly beloved subscribers, and I don’t think I ever be. I’d rather click through from my favorites when I’m in the mood.
However, this doesn’t mean that I spread the good word any less. I might not subscribe, but I sneeze.
Toodles
We gave you a shout out some time ago about a young lady that was drawing great drawings on the back of your business cards. Would you consider featuring one of her drawings? I would love it if you would reach out to her. I have her drawing as a photo in my photos.
Thanks,
John
I was not able to edit it. meant to write business cards.
I already have your widget in my sidebar, which I love!
Sometimes, like today with “Writer’s Block” for example, I would like to post right into my blog. A quick & dirty line of embedded code, as in grab this code, that I can click for the image would be most helpful.
Thanks.
1. Virtual merchandise
I’m not talking about t-shirts and mugs.
I can send griends links.
I can (and have) bought your book and gifted it.
… is there anything in between?
Could you make your cube grenades and art into, for example, virtual products on Facebook? Could they be made into ecards?
2. email signatures
I love your art. But, I think I like your copywriting even more. (To be fair it’s an amazing combo were the cliche that 1 + 1 = 3 applies).
So, I would love to have your phrases (and links to your blog) be on my email signature. Is there a way to build a plug-in to Gmail (other email providers are available)?
No suggestions. Just wanted to say that the cartoon you’ve posted here is one of my favorites. The words are exactly what I thought about songwriting for a long time.
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