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3.22.2005
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Volume Three
Issue Three
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Welcome
to our March Monthly Update. This issue our Client Feature focuses on
an individual, rather than an organization. Author Madeleine L'Engle has written over 60 books and now, at age 86, keeps in touch with her fans through her web site and e-mail.
Madeleine's grandson, Edward Jones, oversees much of the
logistical work of communicating with Madeleine's readers and in this
month's feature article he tells us all about how he's keeping up. Read
on...
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Client Feature: Madeleine L'Engle
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Author, Madeleine L'Engle at her cottage in Connecticut.
Photo credit: Kenneth S. Lewis
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PatronMail Client Since: November 2004
Starting e-list size: 1,005
Current e-list size: 1,758
With a writing career that spans 60 years, author Madeleine L'Engle has
a lot of readers to keep in touch with. To keep up with this sizable
task, Madeleine has enlisted both her grandson, Edward Jones, and
now PatronMail to provide support.
Edward takes charge of maintaining and developing Madeleine's website,
making it a resource for readers. He communicates regularly with
readers both through e-mail and snail mail. As Madeleine's grandson,
Edward takes a great interest and pleasure in answering reader's
questions and keeping them up to date on the goings-on of his
grandmother's life and work.
In the Q & A that follows, Edward fills us in on how Madeleine's fans are benefiting from the advent of e-mail.
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Q & A with Edward Jones
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Edward Jones, Madeleine L'Engle's Grandson and Website/E-mail Coordinator
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For
those (few) readers who don't know, can you tell us a little bit about
Madeleine L'Engle and her career as an author? How many books has she
sold worldwide?
Madeleine has
written over 60 books in over 60 years. She has created beloved
characters who speak to readers both young and old. She is best known
for the Newbery Award-winning "A Wrinkle in Time," (1962) which was
adapted as a made-for-TV movie in May of 2003, and for her series about
the Austin Family. She has traveled and lectured extensively, being
much in demand for writer's workshops and spiritual retreats. Apart
from books marketed for children and young adults, she also has written
memoirs and meditations.
In the past (before e-mail, before PatronMail), how did readers and fans keep up-to-date and in touch with Madeleine?
At
age 86, after two hip operations and a cerebral hemorrhage, Madeleine
has had to delegate the responsibility for interacting with her readers
as she scales back her professional life in favor of more serene and
restful living. But historically, she was always very actively engaged
with her readers. She would travel frequently, giving lectures and
hosting writing workshops and also prided herself on reading and
responding to every piece of fan mail that she received.
Now that you have just
begun using PatronMail, can you tell us what has changed in the way you
(and Madeleine) keep in touch with readers?
E-mail has
vastly simplified the way I keep in touch with a large (and growing!)
number of readers and friends of Madeleine. It is also very useful that
readers can manage their own list status, subscribing, unsubscribing,
changing their preferences, etc., which certainly streamlines the
process of keeping in touch and makes communication much more efficient
and effective than it used to be (with snail-mail).
Aside from the obvious benefits of e-mail (speed, efficiency), using
PatronMail has also given me remote access to our entire database which
is now all in one place! This has been very important to our
organization since, previously, all the information about readers and
fans was scattered over several different computers. Sending out a mass
e-mail or putting together a print mailing used to be a true (and
trying) feat of coordination.
Tell us what goes in your newsletters. What are readers/fans interested in hearing about?
Our newsletters focus on all aspects of Madeleine's life and work. Her
readers are obviously very interested in hearing about, for example, a
new book that may be coming out or a film adaptation that's in the
works. But they also want to hear about how Madeleine is doing on a
personal level, her health, etc. I try to keep people up-to-date in a
way that considers the deep feelings her readers have for her as a
writer, and also as a person, while still maintaining an appropriate
level of privacy and personal boundaries.
Madeleine
has a very diverse fan-base. Can you tell us about the demographics of
her readers and how you see e-mail helping to communicate with them
more effectively?
Madeleine
is best known for writing Young Adult and Fantasy books, which means
that a significant chunk of her readers are school children, many of
whom are newly discovering the joys of reading through Madeleine's
books! Growing up in the digital age, communicating electronically is
something that these particular readers understand, and we are very
pleased to have the tools to engage with them in this way. Madeleine has also written memoirs and books of religious scholarship
making for a diverse readership indeed!
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Click here to visit Madeleine L'Engle's website
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How Does Your E-Mail Look?
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It's tough to handle e-marketing in-house. If you're using Outlook, your mail probably looks like the first image - not exactly the kind of professional image you'd like to project.
In addition, you're probably having to handle opt-out requests and bounced e-mail in your inbox.
If you're feeling that you'd like to move up from your in-house method, but don't want to spend a fortune, we'd welcome the opportunity to demonstrate PatronMail to you.
With PatronMail you can:
* Create and Send professional looking e-mails without knowing HTML
* Track & Compare your results with other arts organizations
* Build your list automatically on your web site
* Comply with the CAN-SPAM law, and "remove" requests automatically
We invite you to schedule a free 15-minute phone demonstration to learn more about how cost-effective PatronMail could be for your organization.
And, if your list is under 1,000 names, ask us about our special "starter" pricing plan.
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Click here to request a PatronMail demonstration
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Please watch for our next Monthly Update, coming April 26, 2005.
Our mailing address is: 850 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019
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