Hi Kevin,
Several years ago, it was determined that we could save a lot of money by sending our newsletters "standard mail" rather than first class mail. The savings were sufficient that we could afford to have Lincoln County Publishing handle the complete mailing process which, with over 1100 newsletters per issue, saved substantial labor.
The only major drawback was the substantial delay in delivery. It appears that the newsletters are put in an "aging bin" somewhere near Portland and then released, as people in New England (and as far as Pennsylvania) seem to get their newsletters, after about a 10-day delay, within a day of each other.
To compensate for these delays, we offer the newsletters to members via a special section of the WW&F Forum. Near-instant availability and full color production are the most attractive features, but only about 5% of our members make use of this capability. I suspect (and hope) this means that most members want to sit in a comfy chair while reading it and will file it after reading. I know I do.
Since our WW&F Forum and our Facebook page provide the "hot news," the WW&F Newsletter is directed more toward in-depth articles, cash and in-kind donor lists, director elections, budget information, and other information. ("cool news"?)
John McNamara,
editor
