Tutorials & Teachings: Create the perfect business or organization newsletter

On-time newsletters require careful editing and a format that can be easily prepared under last-minute conditions. The following ten tips can help you review the success of your current newsletter program or set up an effective newsletter to promote your business.

1. Commit to consistency
Commit to consistency. Consistency is the key to newsletter success. This is best achieved by limiting the number of pages.

A single-page, two-sided newsletter that appears every month is preferable to a four-page newsletter that appears every other month or an eight-page newsletter that appears quarterly. Your goal is to build awareness and maintain mindshare among clients and prospects. The shorter your newsletter, the more frequently you can mail it and the greater the number of prospects you can send it to.

Avoid overly-ambitious newsletter programs that require more time and money than you can comfortable invest. Disappointment is certain to result when you bite off more than you can chew.

2. Choose a distinctive, benefit-oriented title
Newsletter success begins with the nameplate, the stylized treatment of your newsletter's title that appears o­n the front page of each issue.

Your newsletter's title should serve as an icon, or visual symbol, signaling the content of your newsletter. A title consisting of a few short words is better than o­ne containing several long words. Short titles and words permit the use of a large type size. Instead of a long title, consider breaking the title of your newsletter into two parts; a short, key word set in a large type size supported by a longer subtitle set in a smaller type size which amplifies its meaning.

Avoid "brag and boast" titles, titles that do not offer readers a benefit. Instead, focus o­n the benefit your newsletter offers and make that your key word. Always eliminate "empty" words like "newsletter" and "the."

Avoid cluttered nameplates. Eliminate unnecessary boxes, horizontal rules and backgrounds. Avoid including distracting logos and other graphic elements; reposition your firm's logo at the bottom of the page instead of placing it at the top of the page where it competes with the nameplate.

Make sure that your newsletter nameplate emerges as a distinct visual element, separate from the headlines and text that follows.

3. Choose the right margins and column layout
White space is the least-expensive way you can make your newsletters more attractive and easier to read. White space begins with generous margins. Always provide sufficient "breathing room" at the tops and bottoms of your pages.

Consider leaving some columns blank. If you are using a three-column layout, omit text from the first column and devote it to photos, pull-quotes and short topics.

If you plan to include a lot of photographs in your newsletter, include a scholar's margin, a narrow column along the outside edge of each page. This builds white space into each page and provides space for a variety of different-sized photographs. Small photographs can fit entirely within the scholar's margin, other photographs can extend into it from the adjacent text columns.

4. Make headlines easy to locate and read
Headlines are crucial to the success of your newsletter. Edit headlines to the bone, then edit again. Make headlines as short and "telegraphic" as possible. A two-line headline looks better and reads easier than a three-line headline.

Use white space to make your headlines more effective and easier to read. White space acts like a magnet, drawing your reader's eyes to your headlines. White space above your headlines separates them from preceding text.

Be consistent. Choose a single typeface for all of your headlines and limit headlines to two sizes. Use o­ne size for headlines of primary importance; another, smaller, size for headlines of lesser importance. This adds visual variety to your page and helps readers quickly identify the most important topics, yet avoids a disorganized image. Make your headlines stand out by choosing a typeface that forms a strong visual contrast with adjacent body copy. For example, use sans serif headlines (i.e. Helvetica) to introduce body copy set in a serif typeface (like Times Roman).

Better yet, invest in Condensed, Heavy typefaces which conserve space. These additional typefaces offer more impact and design flexibility than the bold-faced type that ships with your computer hardware and software.

5. Insert frequent subheads
Subheads add visual interest to your articles and make them easier to read by breaking long expanses of text into manageable, bite-sized chunks. Each subhead provides readers with a convenient entry point into your article. Readers are likely to skim your subheads and begin reading when they encounter something that attracts their interest.

To succeed, subheads must contrast with the text they introduce. Often, best results by setting subheads in the same typeface used in the headlines, o­nly smaller. Using the same typeface for headlines and subheads simplifies and unifies your document. Place more space above subheads than below them. This emphasizes the break between the previous topic and the next topic.

6. Make body copy as easy to read as possible.
Body copy should be as transparent as possible. In most cases, this is achieved by using a typeface, o­ne that doesn't draw undue attention to itself. This allows the message to emerge. Whenever possible, choose a familiar serif typeface. Numerous studies have shown that serif typefaces (like Garamond, Palatino, Times Roman) are easier to read than sans serif typefaces (like Helvetica). This is because the serifs guide the reader's eyes along from letter to letter.

Consider setting body copy text flush-left/ragged-right. Flush-left alignment is characterized by equal word spacing and lines of unequal line length. This creates interesting pools of white space at the end of each line which further opens-up each line. The equal word spacing of flush-left/ragged-right type allows readers to establish a rhythm, making their job easier. Always hyphenated flush-left/ragged-right text, however, to avoid extremely short lines followed by very long lines or lines that form diagonals or other shapes along the right margin.

7. Choose the right punctuation and spacing
Prospective clients will gauge your professionalism and ability to satisfy their needs by the way you handle subtle details like punctuation and spacing. Avoid hitting the space bar twice after periods at the ends of sentences, as this creates distracting gaps—especially noticeable with justified text. Likewise, avoid hitting the Enter or Return key twice after paragraphs, as this creates distracting horizontal bands of white space between paragraphs. Instead, use your Paragraph formatting command to add Space After equal to o­ne and o­ne-half lines of text.

Use the proper apostrophe symbol (') and open and closed quotation marks (", ") instead of typewriter-like foot (') and inch marks ("). Although your software may often automatically enter these appropriate punctuation, you should always double-check for accuracy. Instead of double-hyphens, use a typographically-correct Em dash (—) to indicate parenthetical expressions and shorter em dashes (–) to indicate duration and compound words.

Finally, use non-breaking spaces to avoid splitting proper nouns, cities and states and dates across two lines. In many cases, you'll have to edit, or transpose words, earlier in the paragraph to avoid awkward word breaks.

8. Align visuals with column boundaries
Avoid photographs that straddle two columns or extend into adjacent columns. This creates text wraps, narrow columns characterized by awkward word spacing and excessive hyphenation. Aligning photographs with column boundaries emphasizes the structure of your newsletter and makes it easier to read.

9. Provide meaningful and readable captions
After headlines and subheads, captions are the third most-noticed part of your newsletter. Accordingly, use captions to not o­nly identify the contents and importance of each photograph, table or chart, but also explain their relationship to adjacent text. Captions should be as easy to read as body copy. Avoid long captions set in a small type size. Instead of using italicized type, consider setting captions in a contrasting typeface, which will help them stand apart from adjacent body copy.

10. Use color with restraint
Exercise restraint when adding a second color.

Concentrate color in a few key locations, such as the background of your nameplate or your firm's logo. Color often works best as a background element, rather than as a foreground element (i.e. text.)

Avoid using a different color for each issue. This often confuses readers, (destroying issue-to-issue unity and familiarity), makes your job harder and increases printing costs. The different text and visuals o­n the front cover of each issue should be enough to differentiate each issue.

Consider saving money by pre-printing second color highlights and accents, or printing your newsletter o­n colored newsletter papers like those available from firms like PaperDirect.

11. Detail your newsletter
Detail your newsletter by going through it, line by line, makikng sure that simple errors haven't crept in. Although today's word processing and page layout programs offer many advanced capabilities, programs differ in their ability to handle problems like the following:

Widows and orphans.Widows and orphans refer to lines, or sentence fragments, isolated at the tops or bottom of pages or columns. The worst case scenario occurs when a subhead appears by itself at the bottom of a page, separated from the paragraph it's introducing at the top of the next page.
Separated first and last names. If your software program permits it, insert non-breaking spaces to prevent first and last names from appearing o­n two lines. Likewise, avoid separating a month appearing at the end of o­ne line and the remainder of the date at the beginning of the next line. Likewise, try to keep cities and states together.

12. Simplify your design
Strive for simplicity. Eliminate unnecessary boxes, borders and rules. Use a single headline typeface and type size throughout your headline and avoid the temptation to use too much bold or italics within your body copy.

Clutter detracts from your message. Every change in typography, color or layout detracts from your reader's  ability to concentrate o­n your message.

Conclusion
You can improve your newsletter's ability to generate new business by establishing realistic goals and working as efficiently as possible. Choose the least number of pages that offers you to the space necessary to "tease" readers into contacting you for more information. Commit to simplicity and efficiency. Invest time up front creating a newsletter template containing a distinctive nameplate and a column arrangement that builds white space into each page. Create styles for headlines, subheads and body copy so you can work as efficiently as possible preparing each issue.

Copyright 2000 Roger C. Parker and published originally at NewEntrepreneur.com.