Free Technology for Teachers: Newsletters vs. Blogs and Social Media

A number of months in the past a reader reached out to me for advice on developing a tech recommendations publication for her staff. Exclusively, she needed to know if she should really make a blog and then e mail the posts to workers or if just a e-newsletter would be plenty of. It was a query that I was joyful to response. These are the thoughts that I shared with her and some extra suggestions about newsletters in contrast to blogs and social media.

Does Your Total School Want Far more Email From You?
The very first dilemma to think about is does anyone in your university want your tech ideas despatched to them each 7 days or day? The respond to, unfortunately, is most likely not. So even though you imagine you’re becoming helpful, the fact is that all those who really do not want to read through your e-newsletter each and every 7 days will just be trashing your e-mail in advance of they even study it. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t produce it, it just indicates that you must look at other methods to distribute it.

A person of the techniques to distribute your newsletter is to simply just inquire individuals if they want to get it. You can do this with a very simple Google Kind or Microsoft Kind and then insert these people today who say of course to a make contact with team in your email account. A further possibility is to use a instrument like ConvertKit that lets you produce a signal-up type and quickly add people who sign-up to your mailing list. I shared aspects on how to use ConvertKit in this April website write-up.

Make a Website or Easy Website
Yet again, just since not absolutely everyone in your college desires you to electronic mail them each 7 days would not suggest you shouldn’t create a weekly tech suggestions publication. You are going to develop some wonderful information and facts that everyone in your university is likely to want or require at some position. If you are only making use of e-mail, you are going to have to dig by your electronic mail to come across the idea that you wrote in September to share with anyone who requires the information and facts in April.

Compose the information of your e-newsletter on a straightforward blogging platform like WordPress or Blogger then consider that articles and email it to all those who do want to be a element of your weekly mailing. Then when an individual who is not on your mailing checklist asks you for enable, you can simply just deliver them to your blog site exactly where they can look for or you can deliver them a website link to a particular site put up.

What About Social Media?
Sure, there is an archive of your social media postings, but very good luck hunting by that archive in an productive way when somebody asks you a issue in March that was resolved by the idea you posted in late August.

So if you take pleasure in the procedure of producing social media posts, go ahead and submit your ideas on your preferred social media platform. But if you’re seeking to precisely attain the people today in your faculty, that’s not how I’d spend my time. (Full disclosure: I’m instead burnt out on social media and gradually breaking up with it).