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Monday, October 24, 2011

the primary elements of a standardized newsletter template

      A newsletter is a regularly distributed publication generally about one main topic that is of interest to its subscribers. Newspapers and leaflets are types of newsletters. Additionally, newsletters delivered electronically via email (e-Newsletters) have gained rapid acceptance for the same reasons email in general has gained popularity over printed correspondence. Newsletters are given out at schools, to inform parents about things that happen in that school.
      Many newsletters are published by clubs, churches, societies, associations, and businesses, especially companies, to provide information of interest to their members, customers or employees. Some newsletters are created as money-making ventures and sold directly to subscribers. Sending newsletters to customers and prospects is a common marketing strategy, which can have benefits and drawbacks. General attributes of newsletters include news and upcoming events of the related organization, as well as contact information for general inquiries.
      Newsletters can be divided into two distinct types: printed on paper and in digital formats, which are usually distributed via the Internet. The digital formats vary from the simplest format, text to highly designable formats like Portable Document Format (PDF) and HTML. The use of more formatting and web 2.0 attributes like video and sound have become a market standard all over the world. (Wikipedia)

Nameplate: This is the banner at the top of the newsletter that identifies the name of your publication.
Body: This refers to all of the text that makes up the articles in your newsletter.
Table of Contents: The listing of articles along with a page number.
Masthead: This is an attribution given to the authors , publishers, contributing photographers etc…
Titles:
  • Headline – Generally headlines are the largest text elements; these describe the article content.
  • Kicker – The kicker is a smaller title that identifies a regular column or section published in every newsletter. Such as an editorial, quote, readers comments etc…
  • Deck – The deck refers to lines of text that further describe the headline and or topic of the article. The deck is not the article itself and it is not depicted in large font as if the headline. Sometimes the deck will be italicized or embolded.
  • Subhead – A subheading is a smaller headline that appears between the article text, categorizing the sub-content areas of the article.
  • Running Head – This the text that is repeated at the top of every page inside of a newsletter or newspaper that helps readers identify where a lengthy article is continued on a separate page. 
  • Continuation Heads – Sometimes a writer will include the same headlines along with the longer article on each continuing page.
Page Numbers: These are included at the top or bottom of a long newsletter. Page one is seldom labeled.
End Signs: The end sign is a tiny decorative element that signifies the end of an article. These sometimes look like tiny squares, circles, stars etc…
Bylines: A byline is the copyright attribution for the article’s author. This article is by. . .
Continuation Lines:
  •   Jumplines – are lines of text that read continued from page __  or these may read continued from page ___ depending upon where they appear in an article. Jumplines are often italicized.
  • Continuation Heads - Sometimes a writer will include the same headlines along with the longer article on each continuing page.
Pull Quotes: The pull quotes are small, but important parts of the text that appear inside of a larger article. These are usually shown in different font styles or sizes within the context of a box, in the middle or offset from the greater text body.
Photos/Illustrations/Graphics:
  • Greyscale – A greyscale graphic, photo, or illustration is depicted without color. Greyscale artworks are used often by publishers in order to save money when printing. Color ink is much more expensive to print with. 
  • Mug Shots – This helps the reader identify a reference to a person mentioned within an article. These are frontal portraits, cropped from the shoulders up.
  • Caption – Captions describe what a reader is seening in a graphic, photograph or illustration used in the newsletter. Captions are used typically either above or below the photograph.
  • Copyrights for Artworks – Copyrights belonging to photographs or illustrations apart from the publisher are typically run along the side of their artwork in very tiny text.
Mailing Panel: Mailing panels only appear on hardcopy of newsletters. This is the address located on the backside of the newsletter. It is strategically located on one-third of the newsletter so that it may be folded and sealed with a sticky stamp instead of an envelope. Again this is done in order to save money on postage and paper.

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