For most churches, the church newsletter is the most important communication tool for staying in touch with members and friends. Your newsletter not only communicates important information about church programs and events; it also ensures continuing contact with the church.
To your readers, your church newsletter is a window into the life of your church.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Purpose of a Church Newsletter
Newsletter tip
Spread the Good News
+ Include persons on the mailing list who attend other events at the church -- preschool, youth group, aerobics, etc.
+ Lift up people, ministries -- celebrate! Be more than an announcement sheet. Share what good things have happened, along with promoting upcoming events.
+ Avoid church jargon. Explain age groups, purpose of group, ability level needed to participate, etc. If you use acronyms, explain them. List a contact person with phone number.
+ Include persons on the mailing list who attend other events at the church -- preschool, youth group, aerobics, etc.
+ Lift up people, ministries -- celebrate! Be more than an announcement sheet. Share what good things have happened, along with promoting upcoming events.
+ Avoid church jargon. Explain age groups, purpose of group, ability level needed to participate, etc. If you use acronyms, explain them. List a contact person with phone number.
Church Newsletter Clip Art
Clip Art
Clip art can make or break your newsletter. How you use clip-art in your newsletter can determine whether or not your articles get read. You want to use it effectively, which often means using it sparingly. In other words, don't overuse it. We've all seen newsletter jam-packed with pictures the size of postage stamps. Instead of helping your eye move from story to story, this approach chops up the newsletter making it more difficult to read. When all the art is the same size, we can't tell which article to read first, because it all competes for our attention equally. Lackluster pages turn readers off and increase the chance that your newsletter will be set aside for more attractive and readable material. Transforming dull pages into compelling ones is easy if you follow a few basic guidelines:
Clip art can make or break your newsletter. How you use clip-art in your newsletter can determine whether or not your articles get read. You want to use it effectively, which often means using it sparingly. In other words, don't overuse it. We've all seen newsletter jam-packed with pictures the size of postage stamps. Instead of helping your eye move from story to story, this approach chops up the newsletter making it more difficult to read. When all the art is the same size, we can't tell which article to read first, because it all competes for our attention equally. Lackluster pages turn readers off and increase the chance that your newsletter will be set aside for more attractive and readable material. Transforming dull pages into compelling ones is easy if you follow a few basic guidelines:
1. Use one or at most two large images per page. Every page needs a dominant element, a focal point to catch and keep the reader's attention. Balance the large graphic element(s) with one or two smaller, subordinate images on the page.
2. Match the size of the clip-art to the importance of the article. Of course you want readers to see the announcement about your upcoming spaghetti dinner, but a news story recapping your entire fund-raising strategy contains more important information. It deserves a more striking graphic treatment.
3. Don't forget the facing page. Most pages are one-half of a two-page spread. Make sure the images on one page don't compete with those on the other page. Consider the entire spread in your design.
Photographs in Newsletters
Photographs
Another category of art appropriate for newsletters is photographs. They are extremely effective because they add visual interest and serve to illustrate and explain the copy. It creates empathy and helps readers forge a connection to the newsletter. It also pleases people to see themselves in print. Be sure that your method of copying the newsletter lends itself to copying photographs clearly or they will not be effective. Before you do anything else, consider the message of the story you want to illustrate and how much room your layout has for photos. Then examine your supply of existing photos. Look for those that best enhance or complement your text. From those, choose the one that is the best technically: focus, exposure, composition, etc.
Creative cropping will add to the impact of the photo(s) you have chosen. Crop all extraneous visual information from the photo, but don't think of the technique merely as a band-aid for bad images. It is a technique that will strengthen the message of any photo.
Another category of art appropriate for newsletters is photographs. They are extremely effective because they add visual interest and serve to illustrate and explain the copy. It creates empathy and helps readers forge a connection to the newsletter. It also pleases people to see themselves in print. Be sure that your method of copying the newsletter lends itself to copying photographs clearly or they will not be effective. Before you do anything else, consider the message of the story you want to illustrate and how much room your layout has for photos. Then examine your supply of existing photos. Look for those that best enhance or complement your text. From those, choose the one that is the best technically: focus, exposure, composition, etc.
Creative cropping will add to the impact of the photo(s) you have chosen. Crop all extraneous visual information from the photo, but don't think of the technique merely as a band-aid for bad images. It is a technique that will strengthen the message of any photo.
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