I specialize in creating newsletters - that's just about all I do. And I really enjoy it. However, I know that if you've got other duties as well, you're newsletter is going to suffer. So let me share with you some of the 'work flow' tips that I use to get so many customized newsletters out the door and still love doing it.

Make it flow. The first thing you've got to do is plan. We've talked about this in earlier issues but it bears repeating. Any trip is easier if you know where you're going. Before you ever sit down to create your newsletter, answer these questions:

• Who am I talking to?
• What do they need to know?'
• What do I want them to do?

Pretty simple questions, aren't they? But they're the foundation. Once you've answered them, print them out in big letters and put them up where you'll see them every time you work on your newsletter. This is really just a one-time task. You may want to revisit it each year just to be sure that you're still on track.

What are you going to cover? I'm a big fan of thinking things through once and then moving forward. What a time saver that is! In the questions you asked above, you decided what your readers needed to know and what you wanted to tell them. Now make a list - if you're doing a monthly, you'll create 12 items - if it's a quarterly, you'll need 4 items. These are now the topics of your newsletters for the year.

Something that I find works very well for my clients after we've created this list of topics is to create a folder for each topic. We put it into a hanging folder and the file drawer. Each time we run across something that applies to that topic, it goes into the file. When I work on the newsletter, I just whip out the file and there's my content! Well, the raw material, anyway.

Have a framework in place. Since every newsletter I create for a client is customized, each one is different. However, there is a 'master plan'. Here are a few items that should be in your newsletter's master plan framework:

• Corporate ID pieces (logos, colors, fonts and paragraph styles)
• Mailing area and postage indicia
• Table of content
• Regular columns
• Feature story section
• Supplemental articles and sidebars
• Photos and images

Those are the basic building blocks of the newsletter. Depending on the length of the newsletter, I know exactly what I need to create at the very beginning. For example, the average newsletter article is between 500 - 750 words long. If you're doing an 8-page newsletter, you can write closer to the 750-word article. If you're doing a 4-page, you're better off sticking with the shorter 500-word article. These averages are based on 10-12 point type with average leading of 120%. If you're using larger type (maybe you're talking to seniors), then you'll writer slightly shorter articles.

What's the idea? Each issue has a topic with articles related to that topic. Here's a step-by-step map to creating your articles:

1. Review your raw content material
2. Pull out the main idea of each article
3. Distill that idea down to 5-7 words - there's your headline
4. Now summarize your headline in about 100 words or so - that's your deck or first paragraph
5. The rest of the article is a summation and a brief presentation of the rest of the information

Of course, that's a pretty simple version but you get the idea. Remember that people scan headlines first, so that's where the draw is. They then might read the deck (the short 'subhead' under the headline in some newsletters and newspapers) or the first paragraph. That's where you put the meat of your subject. The rest of the article is fleshing out the concept.

Don't forget the pictures! It's easy to skip this part, but it's a big mistake if you do. You may write the greatest articles in the world but they're useless if no one reads them. It's the images that make the page interesting and draws the reader into the articles. Without them, you've just got dull gray letters spreading over the page. This is a major challenge for many newsletter creators. Some put in too many images (or the wrong type) or none at all (kiss of death for your newsletter). Here's a few photo/image tips:

• Use photos with action whenever possible
• Try to get eye contact with your subject and crop in to create a sense of intimacy
• Avoid most clip art
• Avoid cutesy, childish clip art at all cost!
• Create continuity - if you're using photos, try to stick with photos rather than mix photos with line art or illustrations
• Position your photos or images so that the action is flowing into the newsletter not out - for example, if your subject is pointing, have them point into your newsletter rather than off the page
• Never, never, never put images from the web in your newsletter if you're going to print it - no exceptions! They're not high enough resolution to print well - I don't care if it does print OK to your ink jet
• If you must use clip art, use only the highest quality and personalize it in some way
• Digital cameras are OK if you have the setting high enough to gather enough image data (go for the 3 megapixel, if possible) and be sure to have enough background lighting (don't rely on the flash)
• Give your images and text breathing room on the page (white space)

Now just rinse and repeat! That's really all there is to the formula of creating a newsletter periodical. Of course, each newsletter needs to have it's own personality. I like to gather personal quotes to spice up each issue and make it more current. If you're still challenged by creating your newsletter, your best bet would be to outsource it to a knowledgeable specialist who does this stuff all the time (wink, wink, nudge, nudge, hint, hint).