Newsletter

The OuiShare Community Newsletter is a bi-weekly newsletter that informs members of the community and people outside the organization on what is happening in the community, such as events, new connectors, projects, new magazine articles and more. For the time being the newsletter is in English only, but as the translation team grows, this may change.

The newsletter is collaboratively created and managed by a team of newsletter curators (who are OuiShare Connector), with a rotating schedule. Each member of the curation team is in charge of the newsletter for one month at a time, i.e. 2 newsletters. If you are a Connector and would like to become part of the newsletter curation team, email [mailto:francesca@ouishare.net Francesca]

Newsletter How-to: Step-by-Step
If you're about to make the next community newsletter, here's some step-by-step advice on how:

Check the newsletter schedule
To find out when it is your turn to create the newsletter, check out the full newsletter schedule, which includes an archive of past newsletters that can be helpful for you as a reference. We also have a google calender with all newsletter dates, which all members of the curation team should add themselves too. Calender ID: nbo5v1m2kk4kr7f7orq3rpg1g0@group.calendar.google.com (if this does not work and you need access, ask [mailto:francesca@ouishare.net Francesca].

Pick your dates: if possible please stick to the date in our schedule, but if for some reason you are not able to send the newsletter on this date, a deviance from the chosen date is possible by 2 days max. in each direction (that means: you can send a newsletter up to 2 days before or after the planned date).

If you are unable to do the newsletter for the month you were originally assigned to, it is your responsibility to look for a replacement.

Get into Mailchimp
If you do not have the login details for our Mailchimp account yet, contact [mailto:francesca@ouishare.net Francesca] to get them.

Replicate the last campaign
The easiest way to create a new campaign in Mailchimp that is similar to the last one, go to the campaign overview and select "replicate campaign" from the dropdown menu on the right next to the campaign you would like to replicate (which is the last one).

Select a list
Select the list "OuiShare all contacts" to send your campaign to.

Content
You don't have to create all the content yourself, ask for it!


 * Structure

Our newsletter has the following structure: engaging introduction text, that makes people


 * Introduction text

This is the most important part of the newsletter, because it is where people decide whether it is worthwile to read the rest of the newsletter. That is why it is important you 1) add links to the most relevant content you want people to remember in the newsletter here (so in case people leave after reading one sentence, they have not missed this message), 2) get help from other OuiShare Connectors on what message the newsletter should open with.


 * Categories

Our newsletter have a set number of categories that you can choose from. There will usually not be room to feature all categories in each newsletter, so it is best you select 3 or 4 categories, depending on how many events need to be announced. The categories that exist are: EVENTS, PROJECTS, MAGAZINE ARTICLES, DISCUSSION GROUPS, PEOPLE and JOBS. Each category has a set color, so make sure to use the same one that has been used in the past.


 * Credit yourself!

Don't forget to substitute the photo, name and title at the bottom of the newsletter with your own.

Get feedback
Before sending, please make sure to send your campaign to [mailto:francesca@ouishare.net Francesca] and [mailto:antonin@ouishare.net Antonin]

What not to forget before sending

 * Under "setup", don't forget to choose an engaging subject line.
 * Update the month and number at the top of the newsletter (above the OuiShare logo)

Share your campaign
After sending your campaign, don't forget to share the link to it on the OuiShare Facebook page, Google+ and Twitter.