case studies: Mercer Chapter of the New Jersey Association of Women Business Owners (NJAWBO)

The Anthrax attacks in October, 2001 closed the West Trenton Post Office, and the main distribution center of the Trenton Post Office. Mail service was interrupted indefinitely, and other local Post Office closings further compounded local mail delivery.

In response to the crisis, and with the added benefit of eliminating postage and printing costs, Set Now created an online newsletter and an email event notification system for Mercer Vision, the New Jersey Association of Women Business Owners (NJAWBO) print publication.

Goals:

• Provide timely (and safe) information to members and non-members who are interested in NJAWBO Mercer Chapter events
• Reduce costs of printing and mailing
• Make it easier to for the Chapter to update changes of information
• Expand the amount of content, currently restricted by print layout
• Accept last minute articles and changes

Solution: The online newsletter extends the current NJAWBO visual branding, and adds color capability, which the single-color print newsletter did not offer. The ability to add last minute changes to the newsletter has been beneficial not only to the members reading the newsletter but to the newsletter staff, who can easily change the information themselves.

Results: This system enables safe and timely dissemination of information, eliminates postage and printing costs and promotes interactivity with NJAWBO members and potential members. The newsletter is now exclusively online.