Making the most of your print and electronic communications
MARC Newsletters
Getting Started
Getting Started
•Purpose What do you need to convey?• Education/Information?• Calls to Action?• Fundraising?
1
Who are you trying to reach?• Partners?• Customers?• Funders?• Decision makers?
2
What’s in it for them?3
Getting Started
•Frequency How often should you publish?• Weekly? Biweekly? Monthly? Quarterly?
1
Frequency should be tied to length2
Can you keep up the pace — with worthwhile content?
3
Getting Started
• Frequency
•Production Who will be responsible?• Writing, editing, layout and review
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What tools/skills do you need?• Print — page design software• Web — HTML coding or templates
2
Getting Started
• Frequency
• Production
•Delivery
Do you have a distribution list?• Print — mailing addresses• Email — in house or through a service
1
Pros and cons of services• Templates• Analytics• Contact management
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How do you maintain it?2
Getting Started
benchmarkemail.commailchimp.com madmimi.comconstantcontact.com icontact.com
Creating the Content
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25 percent
Under 3 percent
Creating the Content
Creating the Content
•Subject Line
Subject: January Newsletter
Subject: Workforce Indicators Newsletter [December dataset]
Your first impression
Creating the Content
•Subject Line Make it interesting:• Be funny• Be clever• Be seasonal• Be current• Be compelling
Don’t:• Make it too long• Use “spam” words• SHOUT!
Creating the Content
Subject: Employment by Gender
Subject: Are nurses from Venus and engineers from Mars?
Halloween Issue: Spooked by Home Repairs?
In this issue: A long time ago (well, last year) in a galaxy far, far away (okay, it was Kansas)…
BikeWalkKC: We’re a third of the way to Awesome!
Creating the Content
•Design Make it visually appealing:• Colors• Fonts• Layout• Images
Creating the Content
color.adobe.com
pantone.com
Creating the Content
Serif vs. Sans Serif
Creating the Content
Just because you have a font,it doesn’t mean you have to use it
“Style has to do with limits, with discipline…”
Elements of Style, Strunk & White
Creating the Content
Page Layout
• Watch where the eye goes
• Pay attention to the “fold”
• White space is your friend.
Creating the Content
• Design
•Stories • Headlines• Subheads• Body• Links
Creating the Content
Much like subject lines:• Short — seven syllables is ideal• Parallel in tense and structure• Clever or funny
Creating the Content
Much like subject lines:• Short — seven syllables is ideal• Parallel in tense and structure• Clever or funny
Creating the Content
Seven syllables
Ann Wylie: Camp town races here we come, doo dah, doo dah
2006
Peyton Manning: Don’t open that cellar door!
2016
• Giving kids a healthy start• Streetcar soon rolls into town
Creating the Content
Clever samples from KCBJ
• Feeling the love, feeling the hate(A public meeting on a controversial development)
• McCormick Distilling drinks up(Acquisition of Broker’s London Dry Gin)
• A sunny forecast on potential(KCPL’s proposed solar farm)
Creating the Content
• Design
•Stories • Headlines• Subheads• Body• Links
Supplement your short headline witha little longer explanation
Creating the Content
• Design
•Stories • Headlines• Subheads• Body• Links
Don’t bury the lead!Establish style rules and stick to them.Use an active voice.Don’t waste words.
Creating the Content
• Design
•Stories • Headlines• Subheads• Body• Links
Supplement your short, tightly written articles with a web link
“The email is the invitation, but the web page is the party.”
Finishing Touches
Questions?
Barbara HensleyPublic Affairs Director
Mid-America Regional [email protected] or 816-701-8219