[stylist] Info on newsletters, brochures and letters

[Bridgit Pollpeter]

CHAPTER ELEVEN
CONVENTIONAL LETTERS, NEWSLETTERS AND BROCHURES
Among the most common public relations tools are letters, newsletters
and brochures. They can range from technical to conversational pieces,
from standardized to specialized, with purposes dictating their tone.
Letters may be one-to-one or group communication. When they appear on
letterhead, they reflect the company's image and carry a note of
credibility. Letterhead carries the company's "face." Standards and
guidelines for use of letterhead should be set by the company.
Letters should follow standard format for business style. For example:
Date
(skip down four lines) Name and title of recipient Company name Street
address City, State Zip code (skip down two spaces)
Dear_,
(skip down one space) Introduction
(double-space between paragraphs) Body
Conclusion, with action statement (skip down two lines) Sincerely,
(skip down four lines to allow space for signature) Name
Title
Letter recipients may be addressed in the salutation by first name, or
with honorific titles: Ms., Mr ., Mrs., Dr., etc., depending upon the
relationship to the writer . Avoid using "Dear Sir or Dear Madam, "
preferring instead to personalize with the individual's name.
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In the introductory paragraph, do not:
. say, "I am writing this letter . . ." That's obvious.
. introduce yourself: "I am Kim Hall." Your name will appear at the
bottom of the letter, so omit the obvious.
Except in unusually complicated matters, try to limit the letter to a
single page. Introduce the topic, provide information, and end with an
"action statement" that gives the recipient a step or steps to take
(e.g., "Please feel free to contact me at 1-800-555-5555," or "I look
forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience," or "Let me
know, if I may provide additional information," etc.).
NEWSLETTERS
Newsletters are among the most versatile tools available for both
internal and external communications. Organizations target them to
customers, shareholders, community leaders and employees. They are done
both in print and electronic formats, and are a favored method for
getting timely information to key constituents on a regular basis at
minimum cost. Most print newsletters are produced in 81/2 by 11-inch
format with short one- or two-paragraph stories under catchy headlines.
They run in length from as little as one page to as man y as four pages
front and back. Most have very clean graphic design, though some are no
more pretentious than a computer-generated page in simple Times New
Roman or Garamond type f ace. Increasingly, electronic newsletters
delivered via email or made available for access on an organization's
Web site are becoming the method of choice for regular communications
with key constituents. For either the print or electronic version, the
KISS (Keep It Short and Simple) rule strongly applies.
Employee newsletters are used to:
. Communicate necessary company information,
. Recognize the good work of employees or members,
. Highlight special programs,
. Promote future events,
. Explain policy,
. Engender cooperation,
. Announce appointments, elections, etc.
Newsletters for external audiences are designed to:
. Deliver important and timely information about matters important to
the constituent and to the organization,
. Keep customers and potential customers informed on ne w products and
new technological developments,
. Promote services and events,
. Provide a credible communications de vice for staying in regular
contact with the organization's important clients.
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Desktop publishing has made it easy for newsletters to be produced
in-house on a regular weekly, monthly or quarterly schedule. In order to
have impact, frequency is important. In producing newsletters:
. Keep the focus on providing information the reader will find timely,
useful and interesting, but in the context of the overall objective set
for the publication.
. Make it readable and interesting to the eye.
^ Select a readable type style and stick to it! Using multiple type
faces gives the newsletter an amateurish look.
. Use photos carefully. The usual newsletter format doesn't lend itself
easily to photo display. The page is too small. Unless the shot is
excellent and makes a point important to the story , or is an important
or interesting story in itself, resist the temptation to dress up the
page with photos. A photo isn't worth a thousand words. Look at a photo
of the Declaration of Independence and then read it. See which you think
has the most impact. If you do use photos of people, make sure you
select shots in which the individuals are recognizable and identifiable.
Charts and graphs, on the other hand, are good to use. They tell a tight
story that can be grasped right away, and they have an added advantage
of looking authoritative.
. "Write it right and write it tight!" Newsletters have limited space.
Keep articles short. This is where the KISS rule applies.
. Check spelling and grammar. The newsletter represents the
organization, and mistakes should not be tolerated.
Following is an example of one type of newsletter-a four-color piece
done by the Navy League for its members.
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The 2005 Legislative Initiative
by Jeremy Miller NLUS Legislative Affairs
In recent years, considerable progress has been made in the Navy
League's overall legislative affairs program. At the same time, however,
critical legislative affairs requirement arc needed to achieve our
essential mission of educating Members of Congress on the needs of the
sea services.
With the combination of the post cold war cutbacks over several years
and the recent war on terror, our sea services face unprecedented
challenges that need the strongest possible support of the Navy League's
legislative affairs capabilities, These challenges include such issues
as the significant decline in the U.S. fleet size to unacceptable
levels; less than satisfactory 1\inding for the Coast Guard; and the
continuing decline in U.S. flagged merchant ships, among many other
important issues.
The "Grass Root; Legislative Transformation initiative" has been aimed
to increase Navy League legislative affairs activities sufficiently to
close the "gap" identified above, thereby bringing the Navy League's
educational efforts for Members of Congress lo the level needed in
today's environment. Perhaps the .single most important element of the
project is to increase the involvement by Regions, Areas, and Councils
in legislative affairs activities.
To achieve our legislative initiative, the appointment of a Regional
Vice President for Legislative Affairs in each of the Navy League's 14
domestic regions has been made. Reporting to the Region President with a
"dotted line" relationship lo the National Vice President for
Legislative Affairs, the individuals who fill these new posts will play
a primary part in our future success. They will bring local Navy League
people together with selected members of Congress to carry out our
support mission. The Regional Vice Presidents will serve as the experts
in their regions for grass roots visits and communications; conduct an
annual training session on legislative affairs based on national
guidelines and materials; and work with area and council officers in the
region to ensure they are receiving appropriate information and support
on legislative affairs. They also will recommend annual legislative
affairs awards from the region using national criteria.
For more information on the Grass Roots Legislative Initiative, Please
visit the Navy League's website at: http;//www,
navyteague.org/legisla-tiveaffairs/
See page 10 for a listing of Regional Vice Presidents appointed.
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BROCHURES
Like newsletters, brochures are an important and versatile tool useful
for purposes ranging from ne w product introductions to educating the
public on environmental and economic issues. Most of the tips that apply
to writing newsletters also apply to producing brochures. Be clear on
the objective, or that which you want to achieve with the brochure. Once
that determination is made, prepare a budget and do a mock-up before
writing the copy. Since space is limited and the packaging so important,
tailoring the copy to fit the design is often a good idea.
Tri-fold brochures are popular , because the design is easy to manage
and the finished product fits nicely into a standard envelope for
mailing. One-page flyers have the advantage of serving as mini-posters,
as well as mailers. Weigh the advantages, with the objective in mind.
To follow is a typical tri-fold. This example, done for The Birch
Aquarium at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, shows the outside
of the tri-fold and a page with directions and general information.
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INTERACTIVE EXERCISES CHAPTER 11
Conventional Letters, Newsletters and Brochures
Exercise One
Select any brochure done by a university or college and write a brief
synopsis and critique, using the guidelines from the chapter.
Exercise Two
Recast the "A Letter to the People of the Diocese" from the last chapter
into a one paragraph story for a newsletter done by the Diocese that
circulates to the pastors of all its churches.
Use the CD-ROM to compare answers.
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