A GUIDE FOR CREATING AN EFFECTIVE NEWSLETTER
This guide deals primarily with the creative aspect of newsletters, the copy and design, but not how to design with a computer. It is meant to work in conjunction with the Alumni Council Newsletter Editor’s survey results available from Alumni Relations.
You might be a seasoned newsletter editor or one just starting out. Either way it’s smart to keep some important points in mind when creating a newsletter. What you will discover here are common problems we all face, plus solutions that have worked for other editors and may work for you. These are only creative suggestions and as such can be followed, improved upon or disregarded. Among other things, we’ll look at:
THE RIGHT PERSON FOR THE JOB ROLE OF THE EDITOR WHERE TO FIND TIME TO CRAFT YOUR NEWSLETTER SUGGESTIONS FOR PRESENTING NEWS IN AN ORGANIZED MANNER DESIGN/ FORMAT OF A NEWSLETTER WHAT SHOULD BE IN THE MASTHEAD AND WHERE SHOULD THIS INFORMATION APPEAR? WHERE SHOULD A CLASS OFFICER LISTING APPEAR? WHAT’S A GOOD WAY TO NAME A NEWSLETTER? WHAT ARE SOME WAYS TO USE NEWSLETTER SPACE BETTER? HEADLINES HOW DO YOU MAKE BODYCOPY MORE READER-FRIENDLY? INTERNAL FORMAT DESIGN PHOTOS, ILLUSTRATIONS, CLIP ART o FREE DARTMOUTH-ORIENTED PHOTOGRAPHY O SOURCES FOR FREE ONLINE STOCK PHOTOS AND ILLUSTRATION DESIGNING AND ORGANIZING THE INTERNAL FORMAT WITH SPECIAL STYLE OR GRAPHICS TO ADD INTEREST SUBHEADLINES GRAPHIC AND TYPOGRAPHIC TECHNIQUES FOR MORE VISUAL APPEAL TYPE SELECTION PROOF READING WAYS OF SOLICITING NEWS IMPROVING CLASSMATE RESPONSE NEWS OTHER THAN ABOUT CLASSMATES THE RIGHT PERSON FOR THE JOB
According to an Alumni Survey, 94% of classmates read the newsletter making it the most read alumni communications vehicle. The newsletter can influence class cohesiveness, spirit, etc. Newsletter Editor is therefore a big responsibility and one that calls for a very special person to fill this role. Obviously getting the right person for the job is critical no matter what class office. Ideally, a newsletter editor should possess these qualities:
highly motivated, dedicated, enthusiastic, well-organized, a sense of humor, curious, and likes to write.
Advertising and Public Relations personnel, people in publishing, or teachers are the obvious first choices.
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE EDITOR?
One way of looking at your role as Newsletter Editor is that you are a gatekeeper. You fully understand that this is not your newsletter. It belongs to your class. So try to be as transparent as possible. Above all else, your job is to provide a well-written, well-organized, visually appealing, interesting newsletter in a timely manner.
Challenges you may face as newsletter editor:
1. Classmates who want to inject religion and/or politics into the newsletter. Avoid these like the plague.
2. No real format, no regular issue dates. Unlike the class secretary who has Alumni Magazine deadlines, newsletter editors have no deadline except one they may impose upon themselves. However, classmates want and expect a well-designed reader-friendly, well- written newsletter. Having a regular issue schedule –for instance, once a quarter, every other month, monthly etc. - helps keep class activities and Dartmouth front and center with your classmates. In short, regular newsletter publication helps build a stronger class.
3. Time demands of other activities.
WHERE TO FIND TIME FOR CRAFTING YOUR NEWSLETTER. There are several steps you can take to find the time to create a newsletter.
1. Establish a format for your newsletter. This way you just have to plug in news as it arrives and don’t have to invent the wheel every time. 2. If you commute on a train, travel by air, etc. there’s no better time to work on a newsletter. 3. Use an envelope or folder to store/file copies of emails, green cards, clippings etc. for each newsletter with the date of that newsletter on it. This way you don’t have to waste time looking for emails, letters etc. when it’s time to craft the newsletter. 4. Share the editor’s position with another classmate. This way you can split the newsletter news-gathering and writing. 5. Set a self-imposed deadline for posting a newsletter. Some people thrive with deadlines looming. 6. Borrow general information from past newsletters. Some general class and College news items will be repeated almost verbatim year after year. Knowing this, you can borrow information from past newsletters so you don’t have to rewrite this general information from scratch. For instance, a Homecoming Mini Reunion. Many classes have a class dinner Friday night at the same venue from one year to another. They then march in the parade to the bonfire. The next day there perhaps is an Executive Committee meeting at a given location. Many classes have it in the same place year after year. There is a football game and maybe a class dinner afterwards. For this, all you have to do is copy it from the previous year and change names, times and dates etc. and add any special comments as needed. It’s that simple and look at the time you’ve saved! How many other class activities or events can you do this for? For instance, listing places to stay in and around Hanover with addresses and contact information (they rarely change), meeting agenda notes, sign up sheet for an event such as a mini reunion and more. Don’t worry about classmates seeing a familiar layout. They simply won’t remember from one year to the next. 7. Set aside time on a weekend to write or update your newsletter. Or, if you’re an early riser, do it then before the demands of the day are felt. Or, if you’re a night owl, write it then.
SUGGESTIONS FOR PRESENTING THE NEWS IN AN ORGANIZED MANNER:
Here is a suggestion on the order of news. Of course, each editor may have his/her own ideas. See Internal Format Design section as well for additional tips on organizing your newsletter:
Put news of classmates first Next, news about and for the entire Class Then news of the College Or whatever order you prefer.
Classmate news, for instance, for classes one to fifteen years out will probably be heavy with: grad school news, first jobs, travel, weddings/engagements, some possible military news, births business start-ups
Fifteen years to thirty out: promotions, changing jobs, travel, weddings, children, death notices business start-ups
Thirty plus years out: promotions, changing jobs, books written, grandchildren, retirement, travel, death notices
Check the Alumni Council Newsletter Editors survey results for other news items.
Remember, your newsletter is not a business document or a thesis on worldly matters. This is your class’s newsletter and should feature news of your classmates, your class and the College. For all of this news, try using a lighthearted approach, friendly and chatty, tongue-in-cheek humor, somewhere between the sublime and the ridiculous. Keep it positive. Do not insult anyone, but it’s okay to poke fun.
Even though the Alumni Magazine Class Notes Section covers promotions, deaths, and other important events, there is no reason why these shouldn’t also be covered in your newsletter. Add green cards to encourage classmates to write to you. You also might want to trade input with your Class Secretary or Web Master as well. DESIGN/FORMAT OF A NEWSLETTER
An advertising genius named David Oglivy once said in an ad for the Wall Street Journal:
"You can't bore people into buying your product."
The ad went on to talk about the art of interesting communication.
Publications cannot bore either. Every successful publication (in our case newsletters) has the common ability to meet the needs and hold the interest of its chosen audience.
With newsletters this means the design and layout as well as the content, the ideas, the words must be interesting. Classmates are used to seeing high quality publications that are well written and organized and they are more likely to read ALL of something that looks as good as it sounds.
You should try to create something that is distinctively your class so your class can identify with it newsletter after newsletter.
If you’re starting from scratch or you feel that your current masthead and /or newsletter name is tired, you may want to redesign it and/or add or change the name.
WHAT SHOULD BE IN THE MASTHEAD AND WHERE SHOULD THIS INFORMATION APPEAR?
A typical masthead could have the name of the class, date, perhaps newsletter issue number, newsletter name/logo, class web site and editor’s email address. It could also list class officers with their contact information. Listing officers should not take up an entire page. After all, the majority of paper newsletters are really just seven and a half pages. So you don’t want to waste valuable space for a large type listing of class officers. Obviously with an online newsletter, you don’t necessarily face this problem.
WHERE SHOULD A CLASS OFFICER LISTING APPEAR?
More often than not on paper newsletters, it will be found on page one, usually at the top of the page. It could also be a column on page one in the margin or on an inside page. WHAT’S A GOOD WAY TO NAME A NEWSLETTER?
Perhaps you have certain phrases or words or slang that are unique to your class or your time at Dartmouth. Would one be appropriate for a newsletter name? Look at the College’s songs, cheers, buildings, places around campus. Do any lend themselves to a name? Try brainstorming a name with other college classmates.
One suggestion is to launch a "Name the Newsletter" contest to get a name and then design a new masthead and/ or logo based on the name. By the way, this is a terrific way to get green card, email, and social media responses and class involvement.
Now that the newsletter has a new name and new masthead design, it is time for some other coincidental problem-solving?
One problem we all face concerning design and layout is intelligent use of space. After all, newsletters over 8 pages will cost you a lot more. And an 8-page newsletter, as we have said, is really 7 1/2 pages, not 8. So every inch of space counts.
When you're redesigning your masthead, you're presented with some opportunities to use available space smarter.
WHAT ARE SOME WAYS TO USE NEWSLETTER SPACE BETTER?
With an 8-page length, space problems usually come in either of two forms: too little or too much.
So if too little space is a problem, think about:
• Using a smaller masthead design. Instead of a whole page use part of one. • Incorporate the class officer names into the masthead instead of separately elsewhere. • Add a classmate's address and e-mail number at the end of the paragraph about the person rather than devote an entire page to names and addresses. • Try a two or three-column page format as opposed to one huge block of copy • Use photos/ artwork judiciously.
Above all, KEEP IT SIMPLE. When a classmate picks up the newsletter, he/she should not be confused by an overworked design crowded with a hodge-podge of photos. Remember, your job is to communicate. Less is more. If a classmate is confused by an overly ambitious design, he/she can turn off. You want a clean, simple, powerful layout.
HEADLINES Many editors use a lead headline on page one. Headlines are supposed to get a classmate’s attention, deliver news and more. When it comes to a page one headline, if that’s appropriate for your newsletter, consider leading with a headline concerning a past or future class or College event. Or perhaps feature important news about a certain classmate. Or you may want to solicit input from classmates about books they’ve written, opinions on a certain topic, whatever. Try to keep your lead headline to 10 words or fewer. You can even try a one word or two word headline or subheadline, for instance, a sound or expression. Here are some approaches for lead headlines and subheadlines:
Ask a question (even a provocative one). Appeal to the classmate’s self interest. Classmates may want to know what’s in it for themselves? Give news or information - Hanover Mini Reunion scheduled for Homecoming Use a reason why approach – 5 reasons to donate to the Alumni Fund Put the headline in quotation marks. This is an unattributed quotation as no one is saying it but it seems as if someone really is. It gets a reader’s attention. Readers usually want to know more. Appeal to a classmate’s curiosity. Don’t be clever for the sake of being clever, for instance, going crazy with type and type selection. It can create confusion and be a turn off.
HOW DO YOU MAKE BODYCOPY MORE READER-FRIENDLY?
Here are some suggestion for making your copy reader-friendly and copy that communicates. Obviously, you don’t want to use bad English or formal, stiff English. It helps if you remember that you’re talking to a person, the reader, a classmate, one-to- one.
1. DIVIDE COPY INTO SHORT SECTIONS – You’ve spent your valuable time crafting copy about classmates. Now make it easy for the reader to read and he/she will. Avoid big blocks of copy that may intimidate the reader. A big block of copy says, “This is going to be boring.” Don’t make the reader work. Invite the reader into your copy with shorter paragraphs.
2. USE SHORT SENTENCES - Short sentences are easier to read.
10 - 12 words per sentence is good. 12 - 14 words are about average. 20 - 25 words are passable 40 or more forget it!
When possible, break long sentences into two or more sentences. Vary the length of sentences to avoid being dull. Keep it short and crisp. Use of sentence fragments is okay. 3. USE SIMPLE WORDS - Simple words communicate more effectively than complex words. Complex words don't impress anyone and sound pompous. Instead of assist use help; garment - suit; employ - use; purchase - buy; diminutive - small etc.
4. WRITE IN A FRIENDLY, CONVERSATIONAL STYLE - Write like you talk. Copy is much easier to read if it's informal rather than formal, stiff prose. Use pronouns I, we, they, etc. Use colloquial terms - stuff, a rip-off, a sure thing etc. Use contractions and simple words.
5. IT’S OKAY TO END A SENTENCE WITH A PREPOSITION - If the sentence doesn't sound awkward, go ahead and use a preposition at the end, for instance, what are we raising money for?
6. BEGIN SENTENCES WITH CONJUNCTIONS - This is a good way to make sentences concise and the copy interesting. Use And, Or, But, For to begin sentences where appropriate. For example, use "but" instead of "nevertheless".
7. INDENT PARAGRAPHS - This is not a business letter or business communiqué. It is a class newsletter. Classmates are used to reading novels, magazines, newspapers – all of which indent paragraphs. Indenting makes a paragraph more inviting to read.
8. BOLD FACE AND CAPITALIZE CLASSMATES’ NAMES.
9. START A CLASSMATE’S NEWS WITH A QUOTATION FROM THE CLASSMATE, IF THERE IS ONE.
10. USE BRIDGE WORDS. Bridge words help copy flow.
To begin with… As for… Naturally… All true…(with one omission) Frankly… Above all… Now you know… You should see… …just happens to fill the bill: The big trick is… Another reason… If it ever does… The reason is absurdly simple If you had to… Chances are… In the past… But we’ve taken care of that… Whenever… Should we make it anyhow?… Don’t let its _____fool you… For one thing… Don’t laugh… Ditto for everything else… But there is one thing… Nobody will know… For the whole story… You’ll find… All you do… Then when you… We’re glad that… Behind every… Not to mention… You also get… If you’re one of those people who It isn’t… Nor is it… So here you’ve got this… So you can easily… So we saw no reason not to… The answer is… Underneath it all
INTERNAL FORMAT DESIGN
Designing the inside format could boil down to the SIZE OF YOUR CLASS or WHERE YOU ARE IN LIFE. Let’s take younger classes that are larger and usually have news as we have mentioned about starting CAREERS, MARRIAGES, and having KIDS. More mature classes (that’s the same as older classes) have more news about PROMOTIONS, RETIREMENT, GRANDKIDS, TRAVEL etc. to talk about. You can organize your format around large topics like these or by city, geographical areas or whatever.
You could start with all of the green card responses, emails, letters, and social media first, then class business/news, then College news. Or create your own sequence. Try to name each section for clarity’s sake, for instance, Class Quickies, Campus Clippings etc.
Columns help you organize news better and make it more reader friendly. Again, classmates are used to columns in magazines, newspapers and other literature. Also if you’re hung up with a design or format problem, take a few magazines, sit down and peruse them. Don’t be afraid to “borrow” their design and layout techniques. They may have already solved a design problem for you!
PHOTOS, ILLUSTRATIONS, CLIP ART
A photo or illustration can do wonders for a newsletter. It breaks up long copy, adds visual appeal, and helps get readership, especially photos with captions.
Classmates do and will send you photos. Make sure they identify who and what is in the photo as well as where the photo was taken, if appropriate.
It seems rather obvious, but I have to say it anyway, whatever photo or illustration you choose should work hand-in-hand with the associated copy. Some editors have been known to use photos that have nothing to do with the copy. It would be better in that instance to use nothing.
The College has a library filled with College related photography in Rauner Special Collections Library. You may have to purchase it. Other sources for FREE photography are listed below. NOTE: some of these may have disappeared since this list was compiled.
FOR FREE DARTMOUTH-ORIENTED PHOTOGRAPHY
A great (free!) resource is the Dartmouth Flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dartmouthflickr
Here are instructions for how to download the photos:
When you click on one of the photos, a page will open that shows just that photo. In the bottom right hand corner of the screen you should see a few white icons against the black background. The icon furthest on the right is a series of three white dots -- click on this icon. You'll be presented with three options -- select "View all sizes". This will open a page that gives you a variety of various sizes that you can choose from, and the ability to download the photos directly to your computer. A bit labor intensive (way too much clicking, to be honest), but free. It works for Mozilla Firefox as a web browser, presumably also for downloading photos in Internet Explorer, Safari, and Chrome.
The Flickr site is frequently updated, so there is lots of new content to pull for the newsletters.
SOURCES FOR FREE ONLINE STOCK PHOTOS AND ILLUSTRATION
Stock House Photo Websites: 1. www.gettyimages.com 2. www.photonica.com 3. www.imagesd.com 4. www.corbisimages.com 5. www.superstockimages.com 6. www.corbisstockmarket.com 7. www.estockphotography.com 8. www.imagestate.com 9. www.indexstcok.com 10. www.eyewire.com 11. www.photodisc.com 12. www.creatas.com 13. www.brandxpictures.com 14. www.photoalto.com 15. www.stockbyte.com 16. www.digitalvisiononline.com 17. www.directstock.com 18. www.masterfile.com 19. www.ibidphoto.com 20. www.panoramicimages.com 21. www.picturequest.com 22. www.theimagebank.com 23. www.comstock.com 24. www.stockmarket.com 25. www.photodisc.com 26. www.fpg.com 27. www.tonystone.com 28. www.digitalstock.com 29. www.vividdetails.com
Illustration/Art:
1. www.images.com 2. www.artville.com 3. www.stockart.com 4. www.illustrationworks.com
But this still doesn't necessarily create reader interest or interesting communications.
WHEN IT COMES TO DESIGNING AND ORGANIZING THE INTERNAL FORMAT, WHAT SPECIAL STYLE OR GRAPHICS CAN YOU USE TO ADD INTEREST? SUBHEADLINES
Try using SHORT, PUNCHY, OFTEN PROVOCATIVE ONE TO FIVE WORD SUBHEADLINES to introduce each classmate's news as well as the other articles in your newsletter. Using them helps make the inside more visually appealing and fun. In other words, copy has become the visual.
USE GRAPHIC AND TYPOGRAPHIC TECHNIQUES FOR MORE VISUAL APPEAL
Bullets, numbers, underline, capital letters, italics, boldface, callouts, reverse type, script, arrows, highlighting, subheads are all techniques to make copy more interesting.
If there is a long copy section, try pulling out a sentence or phrase and blowing it up (perhaps 16 point type and italicize it), to make the page more interesting visually - and not so copy dominant. Copy has again become the visual.
TYPE SELECTION
Try to keep the number of fonts used throughout the newsletter to a minimum. Two fonts are recommended and certainly no more than three. Fonts with serifs are easier to read for paper newsletters. Fonts without serifs (sans serif) are easier to read online. Some favorites for easy-to- read bodycopy on paper are the Times family, Century Schoolbook, Bookman Old Style and others. This Guide is written using Times.
Font choices for headlines are wide open. However, when you select one, be consistent and use it throughout your newsletter and from newsletter to newsletter. After all, you don’t see the New York Times changing fonts with each issue.
When it comes to online bodycopy, it is often written in Ariel although Helvetica is also a popular choice. Of course, the font selection is up to you, but it would be smart not to get too exotic or goofy unless it’s absolutely called for. Some people confuse using unusual type choices with being creative. It’s not. Remember, make it easy for the reader.
PROOF READING
When proof reading, don’t rely on Spell Check. Let’s say you wrote the word plan in a sentence. However, the “L” gets dropped leaving you with the word pan. It’s a valid word. Spell Check won’t pick up on this. What you need is a fresh pair of eyes to read your copy. Ask a friend, spouse or someone whose grammar and spelling you trust to check your copy. There’s nothing worse than bad grammar and misspellings. All the while, of course, you need input from GREEN CARDS or other sources.
WHICH WAYS OF SOLICITING NEWS ARE MOST EFFECTIVE FOR YOUR CLASS: GREEN CARDS, PHONE CALLS, BACKS OF DUES NOTICES, ALUMNI FUND CALLS, FACEBOOK, TWITTER?
One of the jobs of a newsletter editor is to establish a relationship with your classmates. After all, you need them to send you news. Publishing regularly helps you do this. Also good writing, being positive and enthusiasm can help you get green cards returned plus emails and social media responses. At times too, you may have to press fellow officers for their input, for example, when you know a mini reunion is planned and you need all the details for an upcoming newsletter.
Here are a few different ways to appeal to classmates to get them to return green cards, send emails or use social media:
• Name the Newsletter Contest - excellent response • Living Well Today (tips on how to live healthier, wealthier, wiser etc.) – • The Write Stuff (ask classmates who lived in a certain dorm, played on a certain team, were members of a fraternity or sorority, were members of an organization to write in) - excellent response • Guest Editor - • Class Authors (for older classes) * Tales Out of School – perhaps a story about a professor, a crazy stunt, roadtrip or whatever you'd care to share with your Classmates. Check the Alumni Council Newsletter Editors survey results for other ways to get classmates to respond.
OTHER THAN CLASSMATE NEWS, WHAT ELSE DO YOU INCLUDE?
• Class dues notice • Alumni Council news • Mini Reunion and Major Reunion news • Executive Committee news • Sports • Alumni Fund news • Class projects • News from Daily D * Jokes * Books recently read * Voting for a class officer election * Class statistics * Number of deceased classmates when writing an obituary
Check the Alumni Council Newsletter Editors survey results for other news items.
NEWSLETTER POLICY It might be prudent for new editors in particular to advise classmates what the class newsletter policy is. The following is a sample you can use as a guide. Of course, you can use your own words and create your own policy.
This is your newsletter. I am only the gatekeeper. As your newsletter editor, I plan to publish as often as possible (could mention here quarterly, every other month etc.) to keep you informed of Class and Dartmouth news. Of course, this means I need a steady stream of news from you via the enclosed green card, email, clippings, letter or social media. If you send me news and do not indicate it should NOT be published, then in all likelihood, it will be published. Virtually everything you send me will be published. Notice I said "virtually." Political and religious views will not be published nor input this editor considers to be in bad taste. However, marriages, new jobs, promotions, travel, births, deaths etc. are always welcomed. If you have a change of address, first contact Alumni Records at: [email protected] Why not bookmark this address for future possible use. Then contact me and I'll post it. Please contact me at: Name, phone, email, social media.
OTHER DARTMOUTH NEWS SOURCES Every so often there may be a newsworthy event that you may not have room for in your current newsletter. Or there may be something you feel your classmates will find interesting at a later date. Save this as filler if you're running thin on news for a particular newsletter. Some good sources you should check every so often for Dartmouth news are:
The Dartmouth (www.thedartmouth.com) Dartmouth Sports (www.dartmouthsports.com) Alumni Relations (alumni.dartmouth.edu) Speaking of Dartmouth ([email protected]) Dartmouth Alumni Magazine (dartmouthalumnimagazine.com) Dartmouth Today
How your newsletter looks and how it sounds is totally up to you. These suggestions can help you get there. They have worked for others and now they can work for you. By the way, if you have a suggestion for a technique, design format, response mechanism, etc. that has worked especially well for you, send it a long so others can perhaps benefit as well.
ABOUT THIS GUIDE’S AUTHOR Dave Schaefer ’63 worked in advertising as an award-winning Creative Director/copywriter for over 40 years in agencies both in New York City and Boston. Some of the brands he serviced were Proctor & Gamble, General Mills, Gillette, Fidelity Investments, Texas Instruments and many others. Dave was also an adjunct professor at Boston University, College of Communication for 12 years teaching advertising copy and design. He has been a newsletter editor since 1994 and also in the early 1980s. He has served as Newsletter Editor’s Association president twice and was the 2000 Newsletter Editor of the Year. If you have questions, feel free to contact Dave at: [email protected]