"Look both ways before crossing".

At the June NEPA conference in Washington a veteran newsletter publisher asked us, "What are the general elements in any industry that a newsletter editor must cover?"

We answered him in writing after the conference:

The old saw, or conventional wisdom, would put the answer as "Whatever it is that keeps your subscribers awake at night."

But in addition to promptly delivering what subscribers expect from your editorial fare--news, analysis, investigation, interpretation, information, facts, prices, charts, reports--newsletter editors and publishers must keep a steady eye on two opposite directions:

1. The new people, technology, and companies that are entering the industry.

2. Where the established firms in the field will be or should be two or three years down the road.

As for #1: What kinds of people and companies are joining, say, the industry associations or writing books on the industry? That's the next generation, and editors must be the first to scope them out. In the newsletter industry, obviously, we're seeing an influx of online experts from the magazine and electronic-delivery fields. Five or six years ago, investment bankers began taking a more serious look at our industry.

As for #2: While looking at the "entrance" (who and what types are entering a field and what technological breakthroughs are affecting it), editors must also look beyond the present and even tomorrow to the day after tomorrow.

What will be the pressing concerns then? How are the newly arriving companies and technologies affecting that future? How are the veteran companies changing?

Try to anticipate their concerns--not only what's keeping them awake tonight but what's going to keep them awake next year.