Tech Forum

I wonder if those of us trying to get others interested in the Newsletter are all having the same problems? Does anyone have feedback from members indicating that they are reading the Newsletter? And what are some of the things you do to try to get members to read it?
I have used a lot of photos to try to get some interest, usually of ward activities. We are doing some reorganizing right now, but when we are finished, I plan on posting photos of the new leaders in various organizations. I also take a photo of the announcements from the Sunday program and post that and any inserts of special events. I still send out an email, but I use this to give members an outline of the articles and photos in the Newsletter and then I provide the link. All they have to do is click the link and sign in with their LDS Account..
I still feel that an endorsement by leaders, as I indicated in a previous post, is one of the best ways to get members interested. Now if we could just get a speaker in General Conference to talk about the newsletter!!!

I would love to see some metrics so we know how many hits our Newsletter, Calender - even the Directory - get. It's hard to see if we're making progress without a measurement.

mhmarley wrote:I would love to see some metrics so we know how many hits our Newsletter, Calender - even the Directory - get. It's hard to see if we're making progress without a measurement.

Agreed. Most websites can track usage statistics in great detail, but we're left to wonder if our Newsletter, Calendar, etc., have any hits at all other than the editors. For that matter, we can't even get a count as to what percentage of the ward or stake even have LDS Accounts.

Yep. Without visibility, it's impossible to track progress.

I agree, I wish there were metrics. I had asked for this already and even suggested that they post an area for users to comment. Blogs have forms and discussions, this would be a great feature as well. I think I have done a good job adding content. We weekly add the program. We post articles and information from the Stake and Ward regarding events and members in the news. We have added pictures. Our Bishop has a biweekly reading recommendation that we post as well. I sometimes feel it is all in vain and no one looks at it. Hopefully this will change.

mschuda wrote: I sometimes feel it is all in vain and no one looks at it. Hopefully this will change.

I often times think it's all in vain, too, but I persist. If someone looks at it and sees there is current information, they're more likely to come back and look again.

The #1 thing I think that would get people to use the newsletter would be push notifications that ward members can subscribe to by category. When I've told organization leaders about the newsletter in the past, they were usually pretty excited until they found out that it didn't automatically notify members. Consequently, they ignore the newsletter and go back to their email lists. The leaders really want a good way to communicate with their members, but the newsletter, as it currently stands, isn't a great solution for them.

Another thing that might encourage newsletter adoption is adding a newsletter reader to LDS Tools. If people saw it there, they might look at it. Even then, I know many people who don't naturally think to look up a ward member's email or phone number on the online or LDS Tools directory.

I have a ton of information on the newsletter. I've turned some of my articles into a crude wiki with hyperlinks to other articles. There's all sorts of helpful information about the library, available equipment, user manuals, links to teacher resources on lds.org, ham radio network, reimbursement forms, etc. I've covered the newsletter a few times when I've done "teacher/technology" trainings. And if someone emails me about something that's on the newsletter, I try to respond with a link to the article.

Overall, I think there may be 3 people in my ward who look at the newsletter, and I'm one of them

mevans wrote:The #1 thing I think that would get people to use the newsletter would be push notifications that ward members can subscribe to by category.

Or at least something that puts things where the members already visit. "Pull" just doesn't fly.

russellhltn wrote:Or at least something that puts things where the members already visit. "Pull" just doesn't fly.

100% agreement.

mevans wrote:Another thing that might encourage newsletter adoption is adding a newsletter reader to LDS Tools.

This would be my #1 vote.

What do you think of putting the link on a ward social media site? We are now encouraged to have these, Right? I realize this is not going to be the end answer but maybe it could a least encourage some use.

1968leocomeeatabite wrote:What do you think of putting the link on a ward social media site? We are now encouraged to have these, Right? I realize this is not going to be the end answer but maybe it could a least encourage some use.

Either that link will work for everyone who case see the link, or the member will have to log in to use it. If the former, that sounds like a security issue. If the latter, you'd get complaints "can't you just post it in FB instead?"

Either way it seems only marginally better then not posting anything.

1968leocomeeatabite wrote:What do you think of putting the link on a ward social media site? We are now encouraged to have these, Right? I realize this is not going to be the end answer but maybe it could a least encourage some use.

I think it's a good idea to drive traffic to the Newsletter from any place that members may come across a link to it. Social media, an email broadcast, a QR code on a poster at church, whatever.

If the members are already signed in to LDS.org with a current session, they'll go straight to the Newsletter (and you can link to particular articles, as well). If they aren't currently signed in, they'll be prompted to sign in and then be taken straight to the Newsletter or particular article.

The Newsletter uses the approved LDS Account security, so anyone who tries to follow the link and is not a member of your ward/stake will not be able to see the Newsletter.