At the beginning of your term as newsletter editor, you might begin by preparing an
editorial calendar for the year. The editorial calendar is a detailed list of the
content for your newsletter, presented in a month-by-month format. It includes a
list of articles that you need in each issue. You can use the calendar as a means of
assigning volunteer writers to articles. Following are some suggestions for planning
your editorial calendar.
A newsletter has three purposes:
- Educate members. Education takes many forms. In some cases, the education is
about the organization and its goals. For example, if you are developing a
newsletter about an education advocacy group, you might need to educate your members about
the distinction between advocating change and making change happen. Because new members
are always joining an organization, these basic educational articles should run
frequently, about once a year or two, because a certain segment of the membership needs to
be educated.
In other instances, education pertains to issues addressed by the
organization. Assume, once again, that you are developing a newsletter for an education
advocacy group. Suppose the legislature is considering a bill that on which your
group has taken a position. You might publish one or more articles that provide members
with a background of the issue. You would also run a related article explaining why your
organization has taken its position on the issue. By separating the background
article from the one explaining the position of the organiation, you allow members to
develop their own thoughts about the issue. In the end, that usually strengthens their
support.
- Inform members about news and upcoming events. When publishing information about events,
focus on upcoming events rather than ones that have already past. One of the primary
purposes of the newsletter is to generate attendance at these upcoming events. If you
focus on past events, members might not have sufficient notice of upcoming events. In
addition to informing members of upcoming events, you might also inform them of upcoming
meetings of the executive board and committees. When publishing information about
upcoming events and meetings, make sure that you include dates, times, locations, and fees
(if any).
Also inform members about actions and decisions of the organization and its
committees. Many responsive organizations list the actions and decisions of the
board in its newsletters. Also announce election results and appointments of new
leaders.
As part of its mission to inform members, organizations should also publish contact
information. At the least, contact information should include the name and telephone
number of a contact person, as well as mailing addresses by surface mail and electronic
mail (if available). Some organizations publish contact information for all board
members and committee managers; others choose to keep this information private.
Your organization should establish a policy on this.
- Connect members with one another and the organization. People belong to
organizations to feel connected to a larger whole. More than anything, a common rule of
thumb among journalists is that people also like reading and hearing the stories of other
people. Because studies show that most members do not actively participate in
organizations, newsletters are a primary means of helping members feel connected.
Some ways that newsletters can help people feel connected include:
- Publishing letters to the editor and organization, which show members the range of
thought in an organization
- Publishing profiles of members and organizational leaders
- Publishing photos from past events
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As the general public increasingly has acces to the Internet, many organizations have
decided to launch websites that inform members, prospective members, and the general
public. These websites:
- Provide general information about the organization, such as its mission, ongoing
activities, leadership, and contact information.
- Educate members and the general public about the organization, the issues before it, and
the causes it advocates.
- Inform members and others about news and upcoming events.
- Connect members and others to others in the organization.
Because the purpose of organizational websites overlap with those of newsletters, many
organizations have chosen to combine or coordinate the two. In its most extreme form,
combining the two means replacing the newsletter with the website. Although doing so
can reduce the expense of producing a newsletter, it can also make the organization seem
invisible to peopole. Some members still will not have access to the Internet and,
therefore, no access to information about the organization. Others might have access, but
will not regularly check the website. Some organizations regularly send e-mail to members
to address the latter challenge, but it does not address the problem of access.
Other organizations have chosen a middle road. To remain visible to members, many
continue to publish their newsletters. But they publish less; using the newsletter to give
members a quick update and referring them to the website for details.
Still other organizations publish their newsletters in print and online. One
concern about this approach is that members and non-members have equal access to the
newsletter even though many organizations tout the newsletter as a benefit of paid
membership. To avoid eroding membership benefits, some organizations delay
publishing the newsletter online for 3 or 4 weeks. Others only make the online
newsletter available to members and require that users type a password to view it.
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Include the following on the first page of a newsletter:
- Name plate or title box, which is the visual representation of the identity for the
newsletter. Some name plates always appear in the same location on the page in each issue;
others "float" on the page, depending on what else is contained.
- Main story: at least 1 main story should appear on the first (front) page of the
newsletter. It should be one of, if not the, most important story. The main story for most
newsletters usually pertains to an upcoming event (such as the next monthly meeting) or a
key issue facing the organziation.
- Inside box, which is a box that lists the headlines of stories inside the newsletter.
The inside box is usually set apart as a box (hence, its name) either with a border or
with shading underneath.
In an online newsletter, the inside box should identify all articles and include a link
to each of them. It might also include a link to the archives, or previous editions
of the newsletter.
Include the following:
- Letter from the President or Executive Director, which usually discusses a key issue
facing the organization. This letter is usually intended for the leader of the
organization to communicate with its members; only in rare instances does the editor write
an editorial. (One common instance is the first or last issue under the editor's
leadership..)
- Masthead, which is information about the newsletter. A masthead includes the
following:
- Volume and edition number.
- Name of the organization publishing the newsletter.
- Editorial staff.(Some organizations list the president among the editorial staff, others
do not.)
- Editorial policy, which lists the type of content published by the newsletter, deadlines
for submissions, to whom authors should address unsolicited submissions, and policies on
reviewing and returning these unsolicited submissions.
- Advertising policy, which describes the types of advertisers from whom the newsletter
accepts ads (if any, if your newsletter does not accept advertising, do not include this
policy), and person to contact about placing an advertisement.
- Copyright statement. A copyright statement follows this format: © Copyright. Name
of Organization. Year of Copyright. All rights reserved.
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These pages serve as the "heart" of the newsletter, and allow you to educate
readers and build an ongoing relationship with them. Note that a typical article for
a newlsetter must be brief, about 300-500 words. If articles go beyond this limit,
you might not have space to print them (especially in print) or readers might not have the
attention to read all of them (a real problem online, where readers scan more than read).
Possible ideas include:
- Feature article, which is the second most important article. If the lead article
is about an upcoming event, the feature article usually focuses on an educational issue.
- Educational features, about key issues facing the organization or background information
that newer members might need.
- Sidebars, which provide fast summaries of, or related facts to, the educational feature.
- Profiles, which profile members of the organization. Some organizations routinely
profile new members as a means of welcoming them into the organization. Others
profile long-time members, which is a nice form of recognition. Others profile
officers. Try to limit the number of profiles of officers, lest members perceive that the
organization is becoming a clique for the leadership. By focusing most profiles on
people other than the officers and leaders, you subtly tell members that all people are
important to the organization.
- News briefs or listings, which inform members of organizational news and news from other
sources about issues that are related to the organization, but that members might not
learn through the popular press.
- Member news, which provides a means of connecting members with members by sharing one
anothers' news. Although some organizations might think this wreaks of gossip, those
organizations that pubolish member news often find that this is one of the most
widely-read parts of the newsletter because -- as mentioned earlier -- people are most
inerested in people.
- Columnists, who are authors who write educational features, profiles or member news on
an ongoing basis. A column has a singular focus and usually appears in every issue.
When choosing columnists, make sure that they are committed to providing you with a
column for every issue, and that you limit the length of the commitment, so both the
volunteer and the newsletter can get "out" of the agreement if interest wanes in
the column.
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The back page of a printed newsletter usually serves two purposes: remind readers of
key upcoming events and provide a space on which to place the mailing label (so the
newsletter does not have to be folded and inserted in an envelope).
The back page typically includes:
- Calendar of upcoming events. Some newsletters publish a one-or-two month calendar,
others present the information in a llist.If you are publishing the newsletter online,
most publish a calendar of upcoming events as a link off of the main menu of the
newsletter.
- Mailing area, where you would place the return address, print the postage paid permit
(if your organization has one--contqact your local post office to find out if your
organization qualifies), and leave an area for the mailing label.
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When the two editions are identical, most newsletter editors usually prepare the
newsletter as a Portable Data File (PDF), which can be printed or published online.
Use Adobe Acrobat to prepare PDF files. Adobe Acrobat Reader lets readers view the
files, and can be downloaded at no cost.
When the two editions are different, some newsletter editors publish a brief article in
the print edition (usually by the speaker at the monthly program), a notice about the next
meeting, and one-paragraph summaries of key articles to lead people to the website.
In this way, the content coordinates rather than duplicates one another.
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(c) Copyright. Saul Carliner. 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002. All
rights reserved.
