This is the fourth in a series of articles that take you through the process of setting up an e-Marketing program.  With our newsletter, Informed Marketer News, as an example, we’re providing guidelines and how-to's that will help you produce an effective, well-read newsletter.  In past issues, we’ve discussed strategy development, team building, and editorial calendar development.  In this issue, we’ll take a look at what design elements – from a marketing perspective – are key to include in your newsletter. 

Marketing folks and creative designers do not always see eye-to-eye, but in the case of developing a newsletter, there is strong agreement as to what the basic elements of a visually strong program are.   Here are a few of the “must haves” for any newsletter, along with a some options that you can include as your program becomes more complex.  

1. A distinct and eye-catching masthead.   In any newsletter program, you want your newsletter to have an identity of its own – something that your readers recognize from one issue to the next and that they become quite familiar with.  This all starts with a unique and catchy name for your newsletter, along with a graphic treatment that becomes your masthead.  As you develop both the name and the graphics, keep in mind that these should not only reflect what you’re trying to convey to your readers, but they should also be reflective of your corporate branding.  You want people to consistently recognize from whom your message is coming.  
   
2. Columns of interest.  Even with the availability of easy-to-use templates, many people elect to use the full width of their newsletter as one big bold column.  This can work against you if you have a lot of content in your newsletter, as people might have to scroll down...and down...and down…to see all you have to offer. By using two or three columns, you not only maximize the real estate of your newsletter, but you also allow your readers access to articles they might otherwise miss through excessive scrolling.
   
3. A bird’s eye view of content.  A table of contents (TOC) will immediately give your readers a quick snapshot of the content in your issue and they will very quickly be able to discern which articles are of interest to them. A TOC also helps people navigate, not only within the home page of your newsletter, but also from a full-story micro site back to other articles within the newsletter.   
   
4. An intriguing summary.  In our last issue, we discussed the importance of synopses.  Not only are they a quick way to draw people into a particular article, but they also add design interest and save the reader from the excessive scrolling we mentioned above. 
   
5. A graphic touch.  Another way to break up heavy text newsletters is to add pictures or graphic elements in an article or two.  We try to include at least one photograph or graphic and usually place these in articles to which we want to draw attention.  
   
6. A link back.  We see newsletters all the time that either don’t have a corporate logo…or the logo doesn’t link back to a corporate web site.  Your newsletter is all about promoting the products and services that your web site details, so you want to give your readers an easy way to get to it.  And if they’re looking for a way to get to your corporate site and can’t find it, it may become frustrating enough for them to go away and never come back.  
   
7. Special interest areas.  If appropriate, you may want to feature logos of customers, names of partners, or perhaps even advertisements in your newsletter.  You can do this with special interest areas and once again create a graphic element or sidebar as an additional design element.  

Creating a captivating design for your newsletter may seem much like putting a puzzle together in the beginning.  By incorporating a few of the tips here, you’ll be able to develop a design that keeps your readers intrigued, interested, and engaged.

Next issue:  We’ll talk about developing copy and story lines for your newsletter.