This document discusses how to create and publish newsletters. It covers important considerations like audience and format. The main types are print, web-only, printable PDF, and e-newsletter. It describes the anatomy of a newsletter including banner, masthead, table of contents, and standing heads. Guidelines are provided for design, layout, content planning, and legal issues. The goal is to produce a regular, reader-focused publication that informs audiences and builds readership over time.

1. Newsletters:
Then, Now
&
Next
Presented by
S. Leslie McIntosh

2. In this webinar, we will look
at: Important things to consider
 Types of newsletters
 Anatomy of a newsletter
 How to create a newsletter
 Print vs. web vs email – what’s the difference?
 Design, photos, graphics
 Content
 Letters to the editor: yes or no?
 Publishing and the law

3. The basics

4. Important considerations
 Audience(s)
 Type of newsletter (format)
 Focus/theme
 Frequency
 Distribution
 Editing and writing
 University/college communications policies

5. Types of newsletters
 Print
 Web only
 Printable PDF posted on website
 E-newsletter

6. Type Pros Cons
Print  Longer shelf life, can be re-read or
finished at leisure
 More familiar, comfortable to older
readers or people with vision issues
 Portable, not dependent on access to
technology
 Publication known because you
receive it
 Printing and distribution costs
 Takes longer to produce because of
printer turnaround
 Distribution
 Recycling
Web-only  Appealing to younger readers
 Quickly produced, posted and updated
 Accessed via multiple devices
 Can be difficult to read on screen
 Access issues – away from computers,
poor quality display on some devices,
etc.
 Availability unknown unless looked for
or announced
Printable
PDF(website)
 Combines best of print and web
 Can be read on screen
 Can be downloaded, printed and read
 Can be emailed to others
 May be quality issues when printed
because web document is low
resolution and printed document is
high quality
E-newsletter  Convenient
 Easy to create distribution list
 Announces new issue
 Can be emailed to others
 Distribution subject to policies
 May require multiple approvals or
reliance on other departments
 Risk of deletion if too much email
 Timing of email is critical

7. Anatomy of a newsletter
 Banner
 Masthead
 Table of contents
 Standing heads

8. What is a “banner”?
 The “banner” is the name of
the publication
 Should have the same font for
every issue, colours can vary
 Can be accompanied by
volume, issue number and/or
date
 Consistency important in
building readership

9. What is a “masthead”?
 The “masthead” identifies the publisher, editor, contributors and
contact information for the newsletter
 Can include the organization's logo
 Should appear, and be the same, in every issue

10. What is a “table of
contents”? The “table of contents”
lists the name of the
publication, date/issue,
stories in that issue and
their page numbers
 Content changes from
issue to issue but should
have same format
 TOC needed for newsletters
over two pages

11. What is are “standing
heads”?
 “Standing heads” are titles for sections that appear in every issue
 Can include news sections, columns and regular features

12. How to create a
newsletter

13. First decide…
 What format works best for your audience(s)?
 Frequency and production time
 Is your newsletter going to be printed, emailed, appear on your
webpage or be posted to the web but downloadable/printable as a
PDF?
 Are you going to include photos and graphics or just text?
 What is the content and how best can that info be communicated?

14. Format
 Newsletters can be created right on your webpage but what can be
done is limited by the website templates
 Printed and downloadable newsletters should be created on a
desktop publishing program, e.g., Microsoft Publisher or Adobe
InDesign on 8 1/2 x 11” pages
 E-newsletters should be created in desktop publishing program
using e-newsletter width pages, usually about 6 inches wide, to fit
dimensions of emails
 You can use templates, customize templates or create your own

15. Differences between print,
web, email Printed newsletters look best in
high resolution (commercial
printing quality, 300 dpi or
higher)
 Requires high res photos
 Increments of 4 pages, 11 x17”
 E-newsletters should be high
res with appropriate margins,
usually have fewer stories
because of scrolling fatigue
 Web newsletters look best
created in low resolution (72
dpi)
 Low res photos look best on
web
 Can have as many pages as
you like unless you have
facing pages like print
Important! You can take a high resolution publication or photo and save it as a low
resolution publication, but you can’t save a low res publication/photo as high res.

16. Design and layout
 Human eye reads a page in a
spiral starting at top left, then
down right side to bottom and
up and around to centre
 Most important stories are in
top left of a right-hand page
 In our culture, pages are read
from left to right

17. Readability
 Font big enough to read
without eye strain
 Font - clean, easy to read
 Leading - not too close or too
far part and never small than
font size
 Headlines and body text are
different sizes, cut lines under
photos can be smaller than
body text
 Headlines get smaller as reader
moves down the page
Size is important 9 pt.
Size is important 12 pt.
Size is important 16 pt.
Size is important 24 pt.
So is font
So is font
So is font
So is font
Leading is, too, especially when you are
trying for maximum readability
Leading is, too, especially when you are
trying for maximum readability
Leading is, too, especially when you are
trying for maximum readability

18. Choosing and
finding content

19. Planning, content and
placement Meet with your group to draw up a story and photo list for each
issue or make a list if working by yourself
 What are important things my audience(s) needs to know?
 What does my audience want to know?
 What type of stories/photos fit with the newsletter’s theme or
focus?
 Mix hard news, factual stories and “people” stories and soft
features, e.g. profiles, interesting facts, humour
 Encourage others to contribute articles, photos and stories –
always give bylines or photo credits

20. Planning, content and
placement 2 Many newsletters follow a newsmagazine structure (hard news,
softer stories and features as you move to “the back of book”)
 Make a “dummy” with page numbers or draw position of articles,
photos on plain paper to get the big picture of what the issue will
look like overall (11x17” pages, folded, one sheet for every 4
pages)
 Make a schedule for your newsletter including deadlines for
yourself and others, leaving sufficient time for writing and
selecting photos, producing the publication, getting approvals,
posting and printing if necessary
 Try to publish on a regular schedule, this builds your readership
and people will look forward to seeing the newsletter
 Ask for feedback/suggestions from readers, cultivate in-house
“correspondents” and contacts

21. Publishing and
the law

22. Publishing and the law
 Any publication, posting, blog or story disseminated or accessible
to people is considered to be “published” regardless of format –
in print, on web or via email – and is subject to the laws of libel
and defamation
 “A defamatory libel is matter published, without lawful
justification or excuse, that is likely to injure the reputation of any
person by exposing him to hatred, contempt or ridicule, or that is
designed to insult the person of or concerning whom it is
published.”
 Can criticize an action or decision, but not the person
 Defences in libel actions are: truth; absolute privilege (Parliament
or courts) even if malicious; qualified privilege (public hearings
and meetings; statements made in good faith in the belief they
were true; fair comment on matters of public interest (editorials
and columns)

23. In conclusion
 Producing a newsletter can be rewarding and fun
 Provides a opportunity for professional development and
acquisition of new skills
 Generally appreciated by your audience(s) when you do
your best
 Don’t be discouraged by critics, take feedback for what it’s
worth, learn from valid feedback and move forward