Death By A Thousand Pinpricks

Writing enewsletters can be a satisfying exercise up to the point where the copy for the letter is submitted to the client. Then come the problems - not always, by any means, but often enough be a serious concern.

What problems? Mainly the irrestible urge on the part of the client to do "editing". This editing can rightfully be corrections of fact and amendments to repair omissions. No problem with that - there should be a mea culpa on the part of the writer in these cases.

However, there is a prevalence of editing by committee. This is where the piece of writing is sent through the various layers of management for review and each reviewer feels obligated to make changes. Bit by bit, a finely crafted piece of copy gets picked apart until the voice and the flow of the piece is niggled to death.

So, what can be done about it?

The answer is simple. If the client will appoint one person to the responsibility for the newsletters and give him or her the authority of final approval, good work can be protected. That is, assuming that this person has the intestinal fortitude to fend off the would-be copy tinkerers.

Yes, there are organizations out there that operate this way. And they get the good results.

Prescott "Pete" Lustig
Senior Marketing Strategist