OK, you all showed up to the luncheon...now, put your money were your mouth is, so to speak.
I need someone to write a monthly newsletter. It doesn't have to be long, just informative. You can contact folks for your byline if you didn't make it to a particular event.
I'd like to preview the newsletter before it's posted just to make adjustments for clarification, etc.
So....can I see a show of hands?

 

We already have a name for the newsletter The Glove Box, and a sample of a previous newsletter on the dcmetrominis.org web site. The new newsletter does not need to be done with word processing software like that one was, but is gives you an idea of the content and how easy it would be to pull together every month.

 

Thanks for the info, Jen.

 

Even though I didn't show up at the lunch I would be willing to help someone with the newsletters.
--But does anyone have ideas/thoughts on what they would like to see in the newsletters. That might be a good place to start. I know the events that occured (with some pictures) and upcoming events to keep us informed but whatelse????

EDIT: Does anyone still have the word template that was used to create the first one. That would help a lot.

 

Nekowoman did our first newsletter. She may still have it saved on her computer. PM her. She lives in the Richmond area now.

My thoughts on a newsletter:

Upcoming Events
Hightlighs of recent past events
Any annonucements from committees we are forming
Maybe a classified section if anyone has anything for sale they want to submit
Maybe a section welcoming new members and telling a little about a few of them (if people are willing to share)
Any accouncments form the board
????

 

MNEEME: I do not write well, but I can put the newsletter together. So if you want help, or perfer not to do the production let me know.

 

Jen, thank you I will contact Nekowoman to see if she still has it. And thanks for the ideas/thoughts of what you want to see in The Glovebox(newsletter). Anyone have some ideas/thoughts they would like to share, come on don't shy now.



Yes I would be willing to help with the writing/editing the newsletter and finding information to put into it.
P.S. -- You have a PM

 

you guys are great! Thanks for taking this on

 

Hey Katie,

Just wanted to chime in and say that I do a lot of proofreading for my office so if you all need a proofreader or a backup person to do the newsletter, let me know. Just wanna be there for the group!

Kat

 

Thanks Kat I'll probably need your help for sure. :smile:

One thought on the newsletter, tho' it may seem obvious. It should be put out at the beginning of every month, so that folks can mark their calendars for events and such.
A no brainer point, I'm sure...so just bear with me
That said, I don't suppose we could have our first "issue" by the 1st of next month...? Please? With sugar and crumbcake on it?
It doesn't have to be a huge "issue"....
Jen has given us some great ideas on what the contents could be. Does anyone else have any thoughts on what might be included?

 

Just as a little fun diddy added maybe at the end of the newsletter - members' birthdays for that month?

We have monthly newsletters here at work and the lady who makes them up includes those who have birthdays that month in a little corner.

 

sounds good to me if folks are willing....mine's June 6th

 

Beating you to that thought. I'm already working on a little bit. Do we have a list of the Pres., Vice Pres., and all that other good stuff and the emails to contact them at (as in the ones like===> events@dcmetrominis.org). And anything the President or other people would like to say, like in the first issue we had Babischkin wrote. And anyother ideas for the newsletter.

 

In another lifetime, I wrote a technical article for a Porsche newsletter many years ago. I would suggest a DIY or technical article. Not, I ... I dont know squat about MINIs. still learning tho!

Or possibly since MINI is so accessorized, the

Cool Accessory for the Month

For example, My Mini's knee pad thingie is very cool

 

Group buy of the month?


Maybe the newsletter should be quarterly.

 

Matt,
There's a list of board members on the site and contact addresses.
I'd be happy to write a tiny something for the 1st posting.
As far as how often to post the newsletter, we can try monthly and if it doesn't work out, we'll go quarterly. Nothing is cast in stone and being flexible might save headaches.
I also think Art's idea is good....Just a small squib on some cool accessory or mod...
We could also do Was It You? kinda thing..

 

All good by me. But everybody is going to have to send me information or a link to a cool accessory or mod. And people will have to post who they saw, which they do a lot. My cool accessory/mod (kinda both I think) was the Rear Brake Light Mod. Looks awesome and its not hard to do at all!

 

The rear brake light mod only applies to 2002-2004 MINIs though. Not saying it isn't a good mod (it is!), but obviously the subtle differences between model years will have some impact on who benefits from the info.

I may be able to contribute to the newsletter too, if I can get motivated enough to actually write an article. My best "guaranteed" contribution though would be the same as Discosmurf - proofreading. I'm pretty good at it, so if you ever want another pair of eyes to look at it, let me know.

 

OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS ON THE ACCESSORY/MOD OF THE MONTH!

Give me some ideas and then I'll create a poll to see what people like the most. Or if no suggestions I'll pick one myself.

Oh and Thank you for the list Katie

 

Everyone loves a pulley or a crank pulley or even those Euro Shelve thingies...

 

I wouldnt do MOD of the month. ... if its a performance mod, it can get quite lengthy and people have HUGE difference in opinion.

For example, if you write up ... Put on the Alta CAI and have a writeup on it, all it will do is get the Madness, BMP, JCW, etc ppl upset. Its way to objective. If you do Alta 22MM swaybar it will just upset the H Comp ppl, etc. The bad part is that once its in print ... it might come across as the "official" position of the club. No matter what is done, it needs a disclaimer.

On the other hand, if you stick to accesories, like the knee pad or the little screws that go inside the big holes in the door ... or a cell phone/Nav bracket (e.g., panavise) then its applicable to everyone, very few arguments ... not performance orient.

I will think of a list and send when I can

 

Very very very true. Never thought of it that way so maybe we'll just stick to accessorizing the MINI. The little things that add no real performance to the car.

 

I agree that we should stay away from performace mods unless it is a very general list or poll type article about what is most popular with our members or a "where to go" go get a performace modification done type article.

We can do things like:

Graphics and graphic installers
Arm rests
Euro parcel shelves
Interior organizers - which do we like best?
Custom seat covers
Retro fits into pre 05 cars - arm rests, cup holders, the new center console thing (utility box?)
Sunroof wind deflectors - do or don´t do?
Change out of bulbs to white, clear, custom colors
Areo kits - what is out there for the Cooper and S
Rear Spoilers - what is out there for the Cooper and S
Wheels - we could do a blurb every month focusing on a different aspect of wheels and/or tires. What do club members like for track, autocross, street.
I am sure everyone can think of more.

 

I say for the first couple months we keep it kinda simple. Something like the Euro Parcel Shelf. That'll give us time to do some research on more of the aero kits, wheels/tires, and the other stuff. This allowing us to be able to write a good article on the product. Not something like. "Buy this aero kit. Its looks good and isn't to expense" I'd personally liked some detail to the product. I think I'm going to go for the Euro Parcel Shelf for this month. Anyone think I shouldn't? Don't me shy, I wouldn't hate you cause you told me to pick something different. I want opinions!

 

Thats cool. In the meantime I'll think of other goodies.

Also, I've been trying to convince Mark to put up a Performance Mod data base anyway. Hes considering it but busy through end of the year. If DCMM did performance mods, the NAM Knowledge Base would most likely supercede it:smile: