Most companies engage in some form of email marketing, with e-newsletters at the top of the list. But too often companies start out with a bang and end with a whimper.

The e-newsletter momentum often lasts for six months or a year. Then the schedule starts to slip. There’s nothing fresh to write about. The people managing the e-newsletter have other, more pressing demands on their time. The e-newsletter was a group effort of the marketing department and no single person is accountable.

And so the e-newsletter slowly dies.

What’s the best thing to do? Start over.

It’s smart to do a quick autopsy on the dead e-newsletter, but I’ve already described what happens in almost every case: lack of fresh content, lack of accountability, lack of project management. Often these symptoms come back to lack of a marketing objective, which is the first question to address when starting over. Here are others:

1. What is the main objective of having an e-newsletter? Is it to educate your audience, raise brand awareness, generate leads and sales, establish your organization as an industry leader? You likely have more than one objective. Prioritize them. This will guide all other decisions.
2. Is an e-newsletter the best way to achieve your objectives? There are other ways to communicate with your audience. You can write a blog and feed it your audience via RSS or email. You can distribute a printed newsletter. You can simply update your Web site (if your audience regularly visits). You can record podcasts. Which tactic will best meet your objectives?
3. How often will you publish your e-newsletter? This is where many companies fail. They set an aggressive publishing schedule and then can’t meet it. There is no single right answer to the frequency question. Stick to what you say you will do, and deliver only information your audience is interested in. It’s better to start modest and grow strong than to be aggressive and later limp away.
4. Do you have the resources to generate content and produce the e-newsletter? Someone has to be in charge of the e-newsletter. The best candidate is an editor who can create content, find content, and wring content out of people in your organization who have expertise or knowledge that’s of interest to your audience. The e-newsletter manager must develop an editorial schedule; conduct an editorial meeting to kick off each e-newsletter cycle; and manage the production, lists, sending and tracking.

Did your old e-newsletter die? Grieve not, but learn from your mistakes. You can have a new e-newsletter. A better one.