Getting Started Inside This Issue

By Author Name
Getting Started 1
The purpose of a newsletter is to provide specialized information to a Writing Great Newsletter Articles 1
targeted audience. To help you achieve this goal, this template offers Inserting Your Own Art 2
suggestions that you can also find in the article in the Task Pane titled Drawing Readers to Other Articles 2
“Creating a Newsletter.” You may also be interested in reading
An Article for Everyone 3
“Printing a Newsletter,” which describes different printing options,
such as using large paper to print your newsletter as a folded booklet. Fitting an Article into a Tight Space 3

In addition to these template Help articles, the Task Pane contains links The Elements of a Newsletter 5
to Help topics related to the Microsoft Word features used in this
template, such as text boxes. As an added help, before you begin
replacing this content with your own, you may want to print this
template to have the benefit of its instructions. Inside This Issue lists
articles designed to help you write an effective newsletter.
When you create a newsletter, first determine the audience. This could
be anyone who might benefit from it, such as those interested in a
product.
You can compile a mailing list from business reply cards, customer
information sheets, business cards collected at trade shows, or
membership lists. You might consider purchasing a mailing list from a
company that serves your target customer.
 PAGE 2
Newsletter Title

Writing Great
Newsletter Articles
BY AUTHOR NAME

The purpose of a newsletter is to provide specialized information

to a targeted audience. To help you achieve this goal, this
template offers suggestions that you can also find in the article in
the Task Pane titled “Creating a Newsletter.” You may also be
interested in reading “Printing a Newsletter,” which describes
different printing options, such as using large paper to print your
newsletter as a folded booklet. In addition to these template Help
articles, the Task Pane contains links to Help topics related to the
Microsoft Word features used in this template, such as text boxes.
As an added help, before you begin replacing this content with
your own, you may want to print this template to have the benefit
of its instructions. Inside This Issue lists articles designed to help
you write an effective newsletter.
When you create a newsletter, first determine the audience. This
could be anyone who might benefit from it, such as those
interested in a product.
You can compile a mailing list from business reply cards, customer
information sheets, business cards collected at trade shows, or
membership lists. You might consider purchasing a mailing list
from a company that serves your target customer.
Next, establish how much time and money you can spend on your
newsletter. These factors help determine the length of your
newsletter and how frequently you will publish it.

“To catch the reader’s attention,

place an interesting sentence or
quote from the story here.”
 PAGE 3
Newsletter Title
Drawing Readers to
Other Articles
BY AUTHOR NAME

If you take the time to create a newsletter, you certainly want

your readers to read as much of it as possible. You can help
achieve this by drawing readers to other articles.
One way to do this is with the table of contents. A table of
contents that has descriptive and enticing headlines will go a long
way toward getting the reader beyond the articles on the front
page.
You can also draw readers into your newsletter by placing an
interesting article with broad appeal on the front page, and then
continuing that story on another page, where yet another article
awaits the reader once he or she finishes. This can also be an
effective way to lead the reader to a sales pitch or an order form.
You can have an article go from one page to another by using
linked text boxes. Everything in this newsletter template is
contained in a series of text boxes. These words are contained in a
text box, as is the graphic on this page, with its caption in yet
another. A text box offers a flexible way of displaying text and
graphics; it’s basically a container. You can move a text box
around, positioning it just where you want it; you can resize it into
a tall narrow column or into a short wide column, or even rotate it
so that the text reads sideways. By linking a text box on one page
with a text box on another, you make your article flow from one
page to another.

An Article for Everyone

Who reads your newsletters, and what are their responsibilities? What segments of your industry are they
concerned about? And do you have evidence to back up your assumptions? Being able to answer these questions
is critical, because only then will you be able to provide the kind of content that readers will be drawn to.
Not everyone within a business or industry is concerned with the same issues. By understanding readers and their
concerns, you can ensure that every issue of your newsletter has something to interest as many types of people
as possible.
 PAGE 5
4
Newsletter Title

Fitting an Article into

a Tight Space
BY AUTHOR NAME

So, you have space for one more article in your newsletter, and
one of your experts out in the field is writing the article. How can
you determine how long the article should be?
As in newspapers, the length of a newsletter article can be thought
of in terms of how many “column inches” are available for the 1. Fill up at least 10 inches of column
article. with actual article text, then print
A column inch is a measure of space, namely an area on a page 1 the page and use a ruler to
column wide and 1 inch deep, used to measure the amount of measure how many inches of
type that would fill that space. column your text takes up.
This will vary from newsletter to newsletter depending on the font 2. Count the number of words in the
you are using, its size, the column width, and the amount of space text.
between lines and between paragraphs. 3. Divide the number of words in the
By knowing how many words on average fit into a column inch in article by the number of inches the
your newsletter, and then by measuring how many column inches text takes up. For example, let’s say
are available for the article, you can tell the writer how many you have 456 words in 12 inches of
words an article can have. Let’s take this scenario one step at a column: 456 ÷ 12 = 38. That’s your
time. magic number for how many words
fit in an inch of column in your
newsletter. But you’re not finished
Who reads your newsletters, By understanding readers and yet.
and what are their their concerns, you can 4. Measure how many column inches
responsibilities? What ensure that every issue of you have available for the article.
segments of your industry are your newsletter has For example, we’ll say it’s 7 inches.
they concerned about? And do something to interest as many
you have evidence to back up types of people as possible. 5. Multiply your magic number by the
your assumptions? Being able number of column inches available
A newsletter about for the article, which in this case
to answer these questions is
technology in education may would be: 38 x 7 = 266. This is the
critical, because only then will
have articles relevant to maximum length that the article
you be able to provide the kind
administrators and what they can be.
of content that readers will be
need to know logistically to
drawn to. get technology into their 6. Get the article to a writer, once
Not everyone within a business schools, to teachers and how you get it back and edit it, you can
or industry is concerned with they can integrate technology add or remove words here and
the same issues. into their classrooms. there to get the article to the right
length.
The Elements of
a Newsletter
BY AUTHOR NAME

In the course of adapting this template to suit your needs, you will
see a number of newsletter elements. The following is a list of
many of them, accompanied by brief definitions.
Body text. The text of your articles.
Byline. A line of text listing the name of the author of the article.

Caption text. Text that describes a graphic. A caption should be

a short but descriptive full sentence. For photos, it ought to
explain what’s happening without being insultingly obvious. It
should also add to the reader’s understanding of the photo by, for
example, explaining prominent or unusual objects.
“Continued from” line. A line of text indicating the page an article
is continuing from.
“Continued on” line. A line of text indicating the page on which an
article will be continued.
Date. Either the date of publication or the date you expect the
newsletter to be at the height of its circulation.

Graphic. A photograph, piece of art, chart, diagram, or another

visual element.
Header. Text at the top of each page indicating the name of the
newsletter and the page number.
Headline. The title of an article. A headline needs to be clear in its
purpose, brief, and active, and should attract attention by being
relevant, inspiring curiosity, or having some other irresistible
quality.
Newsletter title. The title of the newsletter.
Volume and issue. Volume refers to the number of years a
newsletter has been in circulation. Issue refers to the number of
newsletters published so far in the year. The ninth newsletter in
its fifth year of circulation would be Volume 5, Issue 9.
 COMPANY NAME
ADDRESS We’re on the Web!
Street Address Visit us at:
City, ST ZIP Code Web site address
PHONE:
Phone number
FAX:
Fax number
E-MAIL:
E-mail address

Company Name
Street Address
City, ST ZIP Code

Customer Name
Street Address
City, ST ZIP Code