Of course, much of what I have written already applies to newsletters, but there are also differences, so I would like to briefly cover the main areas contained in the part of the book that deals with magazines, showing any points of difference where they occur.
Purpose And Objectives
When producing any publication, you need to be clear on your purpose and objectives. The purpose of both magazines and newsletters can be similar – i.e. to inform, educate, influence, entertain, etc. Also the objectives can be similar – i.e. to achieve a particular level of circulation, to achieve a particular level of financial return, to achieve a particular standing in the marketplace.
However, whereas with a magazine you will probably need a detailed business plan, with a newsletter this may not be necessary as it is generally a much smaller scale activity. You will, however, still need to know much of the information that a business plan would contain – for example, your purpose, your target audience, your format, whether there are any competing newsletters, how you will promote your newsletter, what it will cost, how you will produce it and any possible problem areas or obstacles to overcome.
Research
You will need to do research with a newsletter, just as with a magazine, but this may be a bit harder to achieve, as newsletters are often less ‘public’ than magazines.
A good way of researching newsletters is to see if there is a professional or other focal body for the area of activity in which you will be engaged and then ask them if they have a library or information department that keeps archives of newsletters in the field.
Alternatively, you could contact individual organisations in your field and request copies of their own newsletters – for example, environmental groups, sports bodies, hobby groups, manufacturing companies, and so forth. Usually organisations are only to happy to oblige with such information.
A further way in which you could get information on newsletters is to see if your local library can point you in the direction of sources of information on them – this is always a good starting point for research and most library staff are very helpful and knowledgeable.
You can also carry out Internet-based research and look at other organisations’ websites where you are likely to find PDFs
(see Appendix 24) of their own newsletters. You can then compare yours with theirs (or your ideas with their practices) and you can also contact their editors, who will usually be very helpful and informative.
Style, Frequency, Format, Design And Circulation
The same principles apply as with magazine production, except that as newsletters are shorter and more informal, and probably appear more frequently, they need to be simpler in style and appearance.
Have a look again at the first page of
Chapter 4, where you will see the words that are used to describe different kinds of style, and see whether any of these are appropriate for your newsletter or whether anything different applies. Then consider the other elements, such as frequency, size, colour, print type, headings, and so forth.
Illustrations are likely to be very limited in a newsletter, but you can have some. Often the most suitable form of illustration for a newsletter is a line drawing, but you can use photographs, charts and other graphic devices, although if you are photocopying your newsletter you should avoid over-complicated devices or dark photographs that may not photocopy well.
Editorial And Production
This whole area is likely to be very reduced for newsletters, compared to magazines. Fewer editorial staff are needed for newsletters, and production may well be carried out by the same people as produce editorial content – although it is important to have good design facilities if you want your
newsletter to look professional and readable. Details of editorial and production activities can be found in the earlier chapter on these topics and if your newsletter is substantial, then you can follow the guidance given there.
If, however, your newsletter is quite small, you will simply need to ensure that it has relevant content, is produced on time, is clear and understandable, and is produced in a way that fits with your budget and design requirements. Don’t be afraid to edit material sent in, even if it is from voluntary contributors: concise, well-targeted articles do raise enthusiasm and, as many contributors are not professional communicators, their submissions can frequently require editiorial input.