I would say that most city governments create and distribute some kind of community newsletter to inform citiezens about what has happened, or what may be about to happen, in the community. Our previous community newsletter was a multi-page document that was mailed to individual homes. Because it took months to prepare the amount of content needed to fill that newsletter format, it was only produced 4-6 times each year. The long preparation time also meant that by the time it got the doorstep of our residents, much of the content was dated.
And while the distribution of the newsletter as a piece of bulk mail meant that it reached every household in the City, the cost of a direct mail newsletter was relatively high, especially when compared to its readership, which we fear was a bit on the low side.
So my staff went about the creative process of figuring out how to produce a newsletter that could be produced more often; contain information that was more timely and relevent to citizens; and do it at a decrased cost. I’m proud to say they did all three.
The new newsletter uses a broadsheet format and is distributed as an insert in the Eden Prairie News. The new newsletter format allows us to print a newsletter every month, instead of every quarter. This allows us to provide citizens with information that is timelier and more useful. The new distribution method, while less comprehensive than the direct mail method, is expected to have the same or even better readership rates. And last, but certainly not least, we can provide this new community newsletter at about half the cost of the previous newsletter ($3,900/edition for the new way compared to $9,000/edition for the old way).
I think that citizens will read the new newsletter. The first edition came out on June 17th. We are collecting some positive feedback thus far. We’re already almost done with the second edition, which will come out in July 15th. Sharing information with citizens about the City’s current operation and future plans is one of the most important things that we can do as appointed representatives in City government.
