Establish Yourself as a Professional at First Glance

Ask yourself, would you go to a business or networking meeting dressed in a wrinkled, unwashed sweat suit? Wouldn't you brush your hair and try to look like a professional?

Your newsletter deserves the same amount of thought and effort. It is your representative. Make it look the part. If you're planning on printing your newsletter, there are ways to save money without looking cheap. Forget the lime green or neon orange copy paper! Please!

If your newsletter is online you don't have the financial restraints that you have with a printed and mailed newsletter. However, if you spend a little effort on creating a professional image you'll be way out ahead of the pack. I would suggest looking into sending html newsletters rather than plain text newsletters. They provide a much more professional image.

Get in the frame of mind that your newsletter, or any marketing material that you produce, is your representative. It's making the referrals for you and providing a forum for you to exhibit your expertise. Wouldn't you prefer that forum to be in a professional setting rather than a circus?

You have someone's attention for about three seconds. You've got that much time to get them interested in what you've got to say. Your content is the important part of your message. However, if you turn your audience off in the first three seconds with something that looks like sales sheet, your content will not get read.

Develop a Professional Look and Feel to Your Newsletter
Rule #1: Avoid neon colored copy paper! Can't be said enough. Nothing will make your newsletter look like a sales flyer faster than neon paper. Yes it does attract attention, but so do wasps! Remember that you only have about 3 seconds to make your first impression. Here are some easy tips to establish instant credibility in the layout of your newsletter regardless of your graphic design ability:

• Use sans serif fonts like Arial and Helvetica for your headlines and the title of your newsletter
• Use a serif font like New Times Roman or Garamond for your body text
• Avoid using more than three fonts in your newsletter
• Be conservative with your font choices - bolding and italicizing are also great ways to create emphasis without introducing new fonts
• Be conservative with your colors (Don't over use red)
• Use a grid - the most common grid for a newsletter is a 3-column grid
• Consider bringing structure to your layout with a few rules - hairline or 0.5 point vertical rule
• Create contrast by putting your sidebar in a shaded box.
• Include photos - of yourself, your clients, you in action, or things related to what you do (make sure that they're good quality, high-resolution images. Do not - repeat do not - use pictures from the web if you're planning on printing your newsletter. They are not high enough resolution and will only lower the quality of your otherwise topnotch newsletter)
• If you're printing - upgrade your paper to add a little class