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Posts Tagged ‘newsletter’

Newsletters offer readers the ideal way of getting up to date news by just skimming over the headlines, but also give good in depth information for those who have a moment to sit down and read into it further.  There are 12 key elements of a newsletter that should be incorporated into all newsletters.

Nameplate

• This is like your banner at the top of your website.  It should give not only the name of the newsletter, bu a publication date, volume information and possibly the company logo.

Body

• This is where the bulk of your text is.  Information and stories that are pertinent to your demographic.

Table of Contents

• No matter how small or how large your newsletter is, it is always good to have a small area to place a list of articles and where they can be found.

Masthead

• This particular element falls at the top of the page, normally the second page on and can include the page number as well as the publication date and volume information that is also listed in the nameplate area.

Headlines & Titles

• There are 6 types of headlines or titles that are elementally used,  Headline, Kicker, Deck, Subhead, Running Head and Continuation Heads. We will elaborate on these in an up and coming post.

Page Numbers

• I think self explanatory, however, make sure they are visual and easy to spot.

Byline

• Contains writer/author information.  It is crucial to give credit where credit is due.

Continuation Lines

• Jumplines are used when an article continues several pages over.  For instance, “…continued on page 4.”  This helps the reader follow the story to the appropriate page.
• Continuation Heads are used to identify where the story is continued to.  Both of these act as way to help the reader find their place in the article and in the newsletter.

End Signs

• As important as continuation indicators are needed it is always sensible to put into place an end sign.  These are a line, dash or bullet that will show the reader they have reached the end of the written article.

Pull Quotes

• These can be used when identifying quoted information that is important to the story.  Usually written boldly or in a larger typeface so that it can be found and the eye is drawn to it for interest sake.

Photos/Illustrations

• Most newsletters contain some type of visual representation.  There are two elements that help the reader identify the image and relate it to the story.  The mug shot, a head/shoulder picture of a person and any clipart such as graphs and tables should be accompanied by a caption.  Captions provide crucial information to tie the image to the article.

Mailing Panel

• With technology today, this is not always needed for the delivery of your newsletter, but planning for the newsletter to be mailed through the US Postal service requires there to be a space for not only the postage, but for addresses and return address labels to be used. To find out what the standards are, visit the USPS.com and locate the dimensions for cost of postage and for the requirements for addressing it.

Planning to incorporate and utilize these elements in your newsletter will give you positive results and feed back. Consistency and a good typsesetter alone with a great editing staff will provide you with an archive of information, an excellent way to keep in touch with your clients and staff as wel as educating new users and clients to your business.  Good news is always great news.