When you're writing about technology, it's good to deliver that information via the latest channels. Computerworld, published by International Data Group (IDG), does just that, offering their content via a website, blogs, webcasts, podcasts, RSS feeds and email newsletters, in addition to the original print publication.

I applaud their embrace of so many different formats as well as their breadth of information (they offer 46 email newsletters in all). But I wonder if they haven't spread themselves too thin.

While the content of their free “Computerworld First Look” email newsletter was impressive, the presentation was, well, familiar. It looked a lot like the first email newsletters I developed for another publisher, way back in 1995. Thankfully, that publisher has upgraded the format a number of times, most notably moving to HTML once that was an option (sometime before the year 2000). Unfortunately, Computerworld hasn't made the leap into the 21st century of email. Unfortunately, Computerworld hasn't made the leap into the 21st century of email.

“So, got any vacations scheduled this summer?” It’s that time of year, when the weather is warming up and everyone, from friends to business associates to strangers you meet at cocktail parties, asks what plans you have for the summer. If you don’t have anything nailed down yet, TripAdvisor would like to help. This online travel community has more than 5 million reviews and opinions covering more than 250,000 hotels and attractions. It is owned by Expedia, but offers links to book your travel at a variety of websites, including its parent, Orbitz.com and Hotels.com, as well as some smaller travel sites you may not be aware of. You don’t actually book travel at TripAdvisor.com – you do research on your destination and then link through to other sites to make reservations. TripAdvisor’s weekly email newsletter, TripWatch, has a selection of content from the website and supports key business goals – to link readers to TripAdvisor.com and partner websites. I reviewed 4 issues of TripWatch, delivered between March 27, 2007 and April 17, 2007, to write this review. As with most vacations, there are things in this newsletter I would recommend to friends and colleagues. They include:

• Good use of tools to get the email newsletter delivered to the inbox
• Great use of brand in the from line
• Clear business goals – to drive readers to TripAdvisor for travel information and to partners’ websites for booking

But there are also a few changes I’d suggest, including:

• Developing a revised content strategy to make the newsletter more like a travel journal and less like an ad in the travel section of a newspaper
• Making the newsletter a stronger viral marketing tool by including a “forward this to a friend” call-to-action and a way for recipients of the forwards to subscribe
• Getting more creative with the subject line and featuring different destinations each week

Bottomline: There’s a lot of potential here, but an overload of information combined with a focus that’s too “salesy” is keeping this newsletter from being as successful as it could be.

Cameron Diaz, Tobey Maguire, Julia Roberts, Adam Sandler, Kate Winslet. If you are a consumer you read about these and other movie stars in People Magazine. But if you’re an industry insider (or just want to pretend that you are), you get the latest on them from the bible of the entertainment industry: Variety. And if you don’t want to pay for this information, you sign-up to receive Variety’s free daily email newsletter, Variety Headline News.

Full disclosure: Back in 2001, I developed and implemented an email strategy for Variety. I revamped their one existing email newsletter (an ancestor of today’s Headline News) and developed more than a half dozen other email titles for them. Their email program has gone through many changes since then, which makes it easy to review the current Headline News with an objective eye.

The sign-up for this email newsletter appears in Figure 1. The grammar could be better but you get the idea. Variety “builds” each day’s issue specifically for each reader, pulling in content dynamically based on the topic(s) chosen. If I check “News Headlines” and all the other boxes, I get top stories, hot topic and media jobs along with content from each of these topic areas. A reader who was only interested in “News Headlines” and “Legit” (Variety’s term for live theater) would get the same top stories, hot topic and media jobs plus the “Legit” content.

Figure 1: Sign-up

I reviewed a week’s worth of Variety Headline News (5 issues, including all topic areas) spanning from March 19th to the 23rd. “Breaking Top Headline” email alerts are also part of the News Headlines subscription; while none were delivered during this timeframe I reviewed a few that had been sent earlier in the month.

Variety Headline News turned in Academy Award-worthy performances in the areas of:

• Their footer, which hit all the marks for what should be there
• The from line, which is great except for one little glitch
• Their consistent send schedule and fulfillment of the content promises made at sign-up

But they should receive Razzie nominations for:

• Their first screen, which doesn’t include a table of contents, engaging opening paragraph or any sign of human involvement
• The preview pane doesn’t pull the reader in
• Their efforts to ensure deliverability, where they neglect to make a white list request

The Daily Dish is a free email newsletter companion to The South Beach Diet Online. Both are published by Waterfront Media (formerly Agora Media), parent of a number of other health email newsletters, including Morning Stretch with Denise Austin, Emotional Health and Managing Diabetes.

The Daily Dish promises to help readers “stay on track with daily tips and recipes from The South Beach Diet.” The acquisition strategy, or how readers come to learn about and sign-up for the free email newsletter, is somewhat unusual. The free email newsletter isn’t mentioned on the home page of the Website at all; you only learn about it after you’ve entered a half dozen pieces of personal information, including your height, weight and email address, to request a free diet profile.

I reviewed seven issues of The Daily Dish, sent the week of March 11, 2007, in order to write this review. So how did the weigh-in go? There are some healthy things about this free email newsletter:

• The from line is consistent from send to send and easily recognizable to recipients
• Everything that should be there is included in the footer
• It’s no small task to avoid making the subject line of a diet email sound spammy – here they succeed.

And a few things that should not be part of a well-balanced email program:

• The first screen isn’t as engaging as it could (and should) be
• Fatty sales copy, rather than good-for-you editorial, makes up the bulk of the content
• A big chunk of the preview pane is taken up by a third-party advertisement—not the best use of prime real estate

Daily International Pharma Alert is a free email newsletter published by FDAnews. It’s one of seven free emails they offer and promises to deliver:

“Daily pharmaceutical news affecting companies around the world”

In writing this review I analyzed five recent issues, published February 7th, 8th, 9th, 12th and 13th (they only publish on weekdays).

I found a lot to like about the newsletter:

• The from line is used very effectively.
• It does a good job of supporting the business goals.
• FDAnews includes a word-of-mouth call to action to help grow their list.

And a few things that could be improved upon:

• A table of contents would help readers quickly identify articles of interest.
• An opening paragraph would give the newsletter a more personable feel.
• Shifting the ad spaces so they don’t overload the preview pane would make it more engaging.

Bottom line: Daily International Pharma Alert is a study in extremes. On our scorecard it earned four A’s but also an F and a D. A little more attention to some small details will help improve the reader experience and should lift response.

e-Notes is a free monthly email newsletter published by Cook’s Illustrated under their "America’s Test Kitchen" brand. It is marketed as providing:

"…cooking advice, test results, buying tips and recipes about a single topic
each month—from chocolate to fruit desserts or onions..."

Subscribers are also told they will receive news or articles being prepared for future issues of Cook’s Illustrated and exclusive offers on cookbooks and publications. Another plus: Cook’s offers an incentive—a free trial issue of Cook’s Illustrated, a print magazine— to encourage sign-ups.

In writing this review, I relied on five recent issues of the email newsletter, September 2006 through January 2007.

So did Cook’s Illustrated win the challenge? Or should they pack their knives and go? There are some tasty things about e-Notes:

1. It’s well positioned to support the business goal, which is to sell subscriptions and books.
2. The content was superb; one of the most interesting, varied and successful mixes I’ve seen.
3. The opening paragraph is very personable and makes you want to stop what you’re doing and read.

And some things that aren’t so appealing:

1. The subject line doesn’t do the content justice.
2. The look of the preview pane is bland and not engaging.
3. There’s no attempt to use e-Notes as tool for growing the email list via word-of-mouth marketing.

Bottom line: There’s a lot of potential here, but e-Notes has a way to go to earn the equivalent of the culinary industry’s highest award, three Michelin stars.