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User Group Network / UG Network / UG Help Files / UG Newsletters Newsletter Makeover Clinic A friend in the user group community recently asked if I critique her newsletter. I agreed, and she agreed to let me write it up as an article. This is by no means the full clinic, but rather the beginning approach to any make-over I might conduct. We'll show you our initial observations, and a few possible improvements. You're welcome to follow along. . . . Newsletter Make-over Clinic The newsletter original is already in publication, with a happy readership from the Permian Macintosh User Group. Cerise, the editor has no formal design or publishing background, and is doing a superb job of writing and editing the content. Let's help fine-tune some of the visual aspects. While this newsletter "MacPUG Papers" is directly targeted at the paid membership of a computer club, many of my observations and suggestions can be applied to all newsletters. My primary objective here is the initial visual appeal of the newsletter and not content. She's a competent writer and editor so I'm confident they don't need my expertise in that area. One of the most frequent problem areas I encounter in the publishing field is when editors, writers and, yes even business people are expected to turn out a good newsletter. If my car isn't running right, I take it to the mechanic. I don't expect the car wash to fix the motor any more than I expect the mechanic to give it a wash and wax. Rare are the instances where the writer or editor is also a good designer and/or typographer. Yet they're almost always restricted by the software they use, the availability of good clip art or images, and the time to think about the details. I'm going to restrict myself to just the initial visual and organizational points in this critique. We could spend days talking about minutiae and the array of options involved in a full scale makeover. What I'll do is share some quick and easy areas where a simple fix will make a big difference. Since the front page is the most important part of a newsletter, lets look at just four things that can really perk this publication. 1 - The Banner (or "Nameplate) 2 - The hierarchy of importance 3 - Weight and positioning of anchor elements 4 - Reader eye flow. Now, let's look at some considerations for all newsletters, and mix those with some observations about this particular one. Continue . . . About the author: Fred Showker conducted Newsletter Make-Over Clinics all over country for Dynamic Graphics Educational Foundation, In-House Graphics Magazine, Multicom, and other training providers. He has conducted dozens of custom publication make-over clinics for such clients as Southwestern Bell, Chicago Harald Newspapers, National Teachers Association, The Special Olympics, Byrd Papers, Sysco Corp., Merck, and various departments of the Federal Government. ___ He is available to help your company, organization or conference with a fast-paced, informative and entertaining design or make-over presentation that will help you achieve your publishing goals! Showker Graphic Arts & Design, Harrisonburg, Virginia: 540-433-8402 ... since 1972. <- User Group Help Files <- Post a LINK to your current online Newsletter <- Post information about your user group events * UGNN NEWS _ * InfoManager _ * Shareware _ * Resources * SUBSCRIBE to UG TALK List _ * UG Newsletter The User Group Network . copyright 1994 - 2002, User Group Network: http://www.user-groups.net/