Small business owners and others are calling it “a godsend.” iMakeNews a “one-stop” newsletter service is now enabling people to create and distribute superior newsletters affordably, efficiently, and easily at dramatic cost savings.

“Newsletters are one of the very best ways people can communicate with their customers, employees, and other people vital to their success,” said Peter Mesnik, president and chief technology officer, iMakeNews. “Newsletters work. But the time, hassle, and cost involved in publishing them on a regular basis made them excruciating. At iMakeNews we have put everything necessary – formatting, content, distribution, and feedback tools – on a single Web site. Now anyone can start a newsletter from scratch and get it out the door in just a couple of hours.”

With newsletters the fastest-growing grassroots segment of the online publishing market, iMakeNews cuts the cost of producing a traditional newsletter from as much as $3,000 per issue to as low as $30, exclusive of editorial content. As for customers, they can’t say enough about how empowering the service is to use, particularly for those with little in the way of technical expertise. “iMakeNews is a godsend,” said Jerrilyn B. Thomas of the Women’s News Bureau. “It makes me look like I am an expert at designing newsletters. All of my visitors are impressed. The page looks so elegant.”

iMakeNews, which has recently received $1.2 million in initial financing, an investment led by GatewayFinancial/Brook Ventures, was founded by brothers Peter and Jeff Mesnik. The two formed the company in 1998 after trying to develop a sports-oriented newsletter with existing Web applications. “The obstacles we faced trying to produce this newsletter were unbelievable,” said Jeff Mesnik, vice president, Sales and Marketing, iMakeNews. “It was painful. No one was out there doing what we can do. No one had figured out how to make it easy. Until now.”

iMakeNews has already established an impressive list of clients, among them RSL Communications (which uses the service for its internal employee newsletter), Profit Systems, IDG World Expo, PlumRiver Technology, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s external publication, Technology Review Magazine. “When we learned of iMakeNews, and saw firsthand how it streamlined the newsletter production process, we were impressed,” said Martha Connors, associate publisher, Technology Review Magazine. “Now we don’t have to worry about upgrading our software, or installing anything that would use up valuable memory. Our staff can write and publish quickly and easily, with no pain.”

Millions of newsletters are produced every year by small businesses, professionals, sales teams, associations, fan clubs, affinity groups, community organizations, and more, and their popularity has already created strong demand for the iMakeNews service by Web sites, Application Service Providers (ASPs), and other resellers. Resellers such as Ziff-Davis, Intranets.com, and U.S. Law, can take advantage of the flexibility and opportunity for co-branding that iMakeNews provides. TheJelly Public Relations, also a reseller, provides a newsletter service to its clients utilizing the iMakeNews Web-based application.

For a modest fee, customers can get help with layout and design, access the site’s growing libraries of high-quality content, or work with writers to create customized information. The service then automatically sends the document to a client’s distribution list, large or small, from 1,000 to 10,000 names or more. After the newsletter goes out, readers can complete survey forms, quick polls, and write “letters to the editor,” enabling the publisher to receive valuable feedback. An activity report provides timely information about how well the newsletter is being received and which articles are most popular. Then, in the last and most important step, iMakeNews helps the customer easily do it all again for the next publication date.

“Basically we’re giving people all of the power a newsletter can offer,” says Jeff Mesnik, “and none of the pain.”