The Great Newsletter Tune Up

Last month, we talked about how to take some great digital photos for your newsletter. This month, we're going to give your whole newsletter a tune up to be sure that it's the best it can be for the coming year. Because a newsletter is part publication and part promotion, it can be the most powerful tool you can use - whether your a business or a membership organization.

For a newsletter to be its most powerful, it must be consistent. Not only does it need a regular publication schedule, it also needs a consistent look. This is one of the ways that it helps develop relationships. Eye appeal and good content plus the familiarity that comes when you're consistent make your newsletter a welcome friend. Here's some things to review with your newsletter - whether you're just starting up or revamping.

Ask yourself these questions to be sure you're on course:

• Who is your audience? - Check in and make sure that you're still talking to the same people that you were at the beginning of this year. Are you still sending the same message?
• What's your goal? - What are you trying to accomplish. Do you want to increase sales, make someone care about something, or display your expertise in your profession?
• Have your resources changed? - Maybe you can afford some color or a subscription to an image service.
• What's going on with your other marketing collateral? - Are you send a consistent message overall? Maybe your brochures or website needs to be brought in line.
• Look at the delivery method. - Are you sending an electronic newsletter that's just getting deleted? Try print for a while to see if your results change. Want to get more visitors to your website? Look into initiating an email newsletter to drive traffic to your site.

Now that you've got the basics covered, you're ready to move onto jazzing up the actual newsletter. Since most newsletters are printed on an 11" X 17" sheet and folded, sometimes stapled down the middle, they resemble small magazines. This has been a growing trend in newsletter design over the past year. Many nonprofit organizations that offer a subscription to their newsletter as a perk of membership have found that their membership rates grew when they redesigned their newsletter to resemble a magazine! People felt that they were getting something special. All that was required was a little glossier paper and a redesign. Basically, the content stayed the same.

You can do the same thing. Especially since you've got the knack of taking great digital photos, right? Here are some pointers:

1.	Nameplate: Bleeding the nameplate off the top helps to open up the cover instead of blocking this off.
2.	Image: Photos help convey emotions that headlines can't. Be sure there's action or good eye contact to draw the readers' attention.
3.	Article headline: Tease your readers into coming inside your newsletter with your headline so that they want to know more.
4.	Coordinate color: Pull the colors out of the photo to help create a coordinated palate for each issue.	7.	Use pull quotes: Pull quotes help the reader get the gist of the story when they're scanning. Coordinate the color with your headline.
5.	Inside images: Try to coordinate your inside images with the cover image so that it all hangs together and presents a consistent message and feel.
6.	White space: Let the page 'breathe' with lots of free or 'white' space. Eliminate non essential text and let the image and concept of the article convey the message.	8.	Sidebars: Shading your sidebars sets them apart from the text of the article and helps pull spread together.
This article was written by Barbara Saunders, owner of Newsletter Associates, a complete newsletter service helping small businesses grow client relationships. For more information, visit www.newsletterassociates.com. ©2005 Barbara Saunders. All right reserved.