How to produce an employee newsletterClick on a question to see the answer or scroll down the page. If you wish to print out this prompt, download the PDF version which is formatted for A4 size paper.
1. Why produce my employee newsletter? Before you start, be clear about why you are spending valuable time and money on producing an employee newsletter. Use questions 2-4 to identify your objectives and how to achieve them. Top of employee newsletter prompt 2. What do I want my employee newsletter to achieve?
Top of employee newsletter prompt 3. Who is my employee newsletter aimed at?
Top of employee newsletter prompt 4. How frequently should I publish my employee newsletter? Newsletters work best as communication vehicles and motivators when they are published to a set frequency. It is important to stick to your schedule.
Top of employee newsletter prompt 5. How do I plan my newsletter production? Working backwards, calculate how much time it will take to complete each stage:
This will enable you to know when to start working on your newsletter in order for it to reach your audience on your desired publication date.
Top of employee newsletter prompt 6. What format should my employee newsletter take? Printed newsletters are usually produced in standard A4 paper size format. For every sheet of paper, you have two pages. Calculate the number of pages:
If you prefer, you can choose to have A3, tabloid or a non-standard page size. Top of employee newsletter prompt 7. What paper types and printing should I use for my newsletter? Your printer should be able to show you samples of suitable paper. While black and white printing used to be cheaper, full colour is more affordable now. Ask your printer to give you a quotation for both, if necessary. Top of employee newsletter prompt 8. What should I call my employee newsletter? The name of your newsletter is very important and you need to establish what it will be before creating a basic design. The name should have significance for your readers - you may want to consult with them or run a competition to choose a name that will be both suitable and popular. Top of employee newsletter prompt 9. How do I design my newsletter? If you choose to use an external designer or have an in-house designer, they need to be involved at the earliest possible stage. The visual style of the newsletter - the look and feel - should be agreed before the first issue is laid out. The design normally reflects an organisation’s corporate identity and often features its logo. By developing a design at this stage, it will enable you to calculate how many words will fit on each page, so that you know how many articles to write and how long they should be. Top of employee newsletter prompt 10. What content should I include in my employee newsletter? The answers to questions 1-4 should help you decide the content of articles. A general employee newsletter could include:
To create continuity from one issue to the next, include regular features, eg employees writing about their interests. If there is a lot of detailed company information, make it more digestible by splitting into several articles in more than one issue. Top of employee newsletter prompt 11. What editorial tone should I use in my employee newsletter? The newsletter should talk to employees honestly to avoid being seen as “company propaganda”. The tone should be upbeat and light-hearted where appropriate - you do want people to enjoy it! If you do not have experience of writing or editing, an experienced copywriter can help write articles for you. Top of employee newsletter prompt 12. How do I get a quote for printing my newsletter? To prepare an accurate quote, your printer needs to know:
Top of employee newsletter prompt 13. How do I plan an issue of my employee newsletter? Once you have all the above information, you can start to produce your first issue. First, create a schedule and advise this to every participant (eg designer, printer) so that they are ready when you need them. Next, you need to decide the content of the current issue:
Top of employee newsletter prompt 14. How do I write articles for my employee newsletter? If you are writing an article yourself:
If you ask employees to contribute articles, give them a clear brief:
If you are using a professional copywriter, give them a similar detailed brief and as much information as possible. Top of employee newsletter prompt 15. How do I edit articles for my employee newsletter? If you have written an article itself, it should need no editing. Contributions from other employees should be edited to ensure:
The editor of the newsletter must ensure that high standards are maintained throughout. While senior managers may not want to have their articles changed, it is the editor’s responsibility to ensure everything is suitable. In some cases, this may be difficult to argue, but it is vital that the editor has control. Often, those who do not bow to an editor’s concerns can end up looking foolish in print. Top of employee newsletter prompt 16. What about photographs and images for my newsletter? Photographs
can produce a very strong impact and add a lot of interest to a newsletter
- their inclusion should be considered when developing the basic newsletter
design.
Use photographic prints the same size or bigger than each photograph as it will appear in the newsletter - even better, use transparencies. Digital photographs must be taken at 300 dots per inch resolution. Photographs taken at 72 dpi may look good on the internet, but are not good enough for quality printing. Top of employee newsletter prompt 17. How do I check my newsletter? Once you have all your articles and photographs, check everything:
If you have any concerns, this is the time to resolve them. Top of employee newsletter prompt 18. How is my newsletter laid out? Once you have all your material - articles, photographs or other images - hand these to the designer and discuss the layout as shown in your flat plan. Label photographs so the designer knows which articles they accompany. The designer should provide proofs to you so that you can check the newsletter before going to print. Top of employee newsletter prompt 19. How do I check proofs of my newsletter?
If there are any final corrections, advise these to the designer and request a corrected proof. Top of employee newsletter prompt 20. Printing and distributing my employee newsletter Once you have approved the layout, the approved version must be sent to the printer to print the finished copies of the newsletter. When you receive the printed copies, check to see that they are as you approved them. Occasionally, there are mix-ups where previous, incorrect versions are printed by mistake - ensure your approved version has been printed. Finally, distribute the newsletter to the employees. Top of employee newsletter prompt 21. The next issue of my employee newsletter Feedback is very important to ensure that your newsletter meets the needs of employees as well as the company. If people do not like a newsletter, they will not read it. As well as asking people what they think of it, you can conduct reader surveys to ask what people like or dislike and what else they would like to see included. Top of employee newsletter prompt © Zarywacz 2006 |
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