• How to compose a question that will get responses
• Back to the Posting Forms
• Hints for specific newsletters: Advice    Childcare    Marketplace    Recommendations
• Copy-pasting a message from another document
• Style and Formatting
• Choosing a heading for your post

How to compose a question that will get responses

1. Do your research first. Questions that are asked frequently on BPN, and that are well-documented in the archives, do not get replies. Examples of frequently-asked questions include potty training, sleep problems, pediatricians, vaccinations, pediatricians who don't require vaccinations, dentists, OB/Gyns, therapists, nanny rates, music lessons, swim lessons, tutors, hair salons, and many house-related services such as painters, plumbers, and electricians. Research your question on the BPN website first. There's an excellent chance that you can find what you need on the website. If not, ask a new question. It is often helpful to readers to explain in your post why you didn't find what you need in the archives. Questions that have not come up in the past often receive dozens of responses, especially in the Advice newsletter.

2. Be specific. Very general questions such as "What's a good school district?" or "How can I get my toddler to sleep through the night?" rarely get replies. Postings that don't clearly state the question in the heading or in the first sentence tend to get fewer replies. If you've done your research, and you know your question has not been addressed in the archive, make sure it is clearly stated and specific enough to catch the interest of the busy moms and dads who are reading your post. In the Recommendations newsletter, the best response rate often results from very specific questions, such as "Looking for a German-speaking therapist" or "Seeking a great tamale."

3. Be concise. Long postings that have too much detail about what the problem is, or that contain a lot of information that is not relevant to your question, are unlikely to get a good response. Even worse is a post that is a long list of complaints about your child's school, your spouse, your friends, your friends' kids, etc. The people who are reading your question are parents with very busy lives, just like you. They are unlikely to read three paragraphs of explanation or complaints before they get to your question. They will skip to the next question. A specific heading is also very important - see the next section for hints.

Choosing a heading for your post

Copy-pasting a message from another document

• Line breaks (carriage returns) from copy-pasted text may not match line lengths used in the newsletter, resulting in irregularly broken lines that make your text look jumbled and hard to read.

• Formatting such as italics, boldface, colored text, and different fonts and sizes will not show up in the plain text newsletters.

• Special characters may or may not show up, such as bullets, copyright and trademark symbols, and diacritical marks (accent marks and other pronunciation symbols for non-English languages). The newsletters are sent in plain text, which recognizes only the ASCII character set (the set of characters found on a typewriter keyboard.)

Style and Formatting

• Don't use tabs or any other kind of formatted spacing in your posting. Just use the plain old spacebar. Other kinds of spacing may not show up.

• Don't use all-caps (every letter capitalized). It's too hard to read. It looks like yelling.

  Don't do this: NEW MOMMAS' GROUPS STARTING SOON
  Do this instead: New Mommas' Groups Starting Soon

• Don't use punctuation symbols to draw attention to your heading or message. They do make your post stand out from the others in the newsletter, but this can be undesirable. BPN newsletters are circulated to a private list, and BPN does not accept advertising, so postings that look too much like ads may annoy the reader and put people off.

  Don't do this: ~~**~~ !!! AWARD-WINNING MUSIC CLASSES !!!! ~~**~~
  Do this instead: Music Classes for Toddlers in El Cerrito