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Module 4 | Reach out to your audience

Session

2 hours

Theme

Using Ghost newsletters optimally to reach out to, and engage with audiences

Methodology

Ground rules to set for all sessions:
- Bring only the devices you need to the session. Note to facilitator: Explain here what is needed for this particular session
- Mute mobile phones before you put them away
- Encourage the participants to take space and make space. To take up space is to speak up and participate actively in discussions and putting their ideas and perspectives across. It is equally important to make space for others to do the same. Note to facilitators: Ensure you check in about this throughout the sessions, especially by making space for those who are not used to taking up space or struggling to do so.
- This is a safe space, and we encourage everyone to check their privilege and ensure that we do not discriminate in speech or action.
- Do remember there are no right or wrong answers. Note to facilitator: Repeating this during the sessions and activities helps participants speak up more freely.

  • Have the participants gather into their groups. Groupings can be changed if needed.
  • Hand out a chart paper, and name cards that have the names of all formatting features in Ghost.
  • Give the teams a choice of problem statements to work with. They need to pick one, and think of a newspaper that will go out to the stakeholders. Each team has to map stakeholders and needs, and recreate the front page of this newspaper, using the Ghost formatting features.
  • The points to be noted here:
    - the teams have to work with the available space.
    - they have to figure out 4-6 best elements they will use to convey their stories.
    - they have to write the actual content for each of the formats.
  • Problem statements can include any of the following, or a new one.
    - An NGO that works in the education sector wants to run a new program that focuses on getting more girls in rural areas to attend schools within a 10-km radius.
    - A college is introducing a new course, and is at the start stage of inviting students to apply. They are also in the process of setting up a new building to accommodate the needs of more students on campus.
    - A collective wants to reach out health care information and benefits to 400 families in a panchayat.
  • Each team gets 30 minutes to discuss and design the newspaper.
  • After this, each team presents the newspaper and explain why they chose to format the 'news' in a certain way.
  • You can choose to award the best newspaper.
  • Explain how a newspaper is very similar to a newsletter that is sent out to members who are subscribed to the website. While a newspaper may come home every day, a daily newsletter may not always be welcome. Unless the topic is of vital interest to the audience. Example of aikyam jobs website, and members who are job seekers. In most cases, an ideal newsletter frequency varies from weekly to monthly updates.
  • Share the screen to explain the basic settings of the Ghost newsletter:
    - Newsletter sending
    - Recipients
    - Newsletter design, branding and general settings
    - Member management
    - Mailgun intro (just a mention)
  • Demostrate, with the example of a few aikyam fellows and aikyam space newsletters how to think through ideas for sending newsletters.
    Examples to use:
    https://aikyamfellows.org/email/7c30f9a5-5a6f-48d1-84da-b99779c08832/
    https://aikyam.space/all-women-tech-residency/
  • Explain how the Analytics Dashboard can help them think through what is working, how they can write better newsletters for better engagement. 
  • Homework: Each participant to create a newsletter introducing their project or website, to send out to 5 new members.
Learning Outcomes
  • An understanding of using Ghost to create and send newsletters
  • An understanding of how to think through strategy around email content, everything from frequency to topics.
  • An understanding of how to use content and various Ghost features to share information and create engagement.
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