It appears that some club staffers are still struggling with the basic principles of how to prepare an effective communications piece for a mass audience.
Man, and woman, have been expressing frustration about the challenge of communicating effectively in written or published form almost from the first time a pen was put to paper—and who knows, there may have been some hieroglyphics or caveman drawings scrawled by early humans who were venting that they were having trouble getting their messages across, too.
Perhaps the most famous and frequently quoted example along these lines is “I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time”—which, ironically, is often incorrectly attributed to people like Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill or Mark Twain, when in fact it was originally penned by a 17th century French mathematician/philosopher, Blaise Pascal.
But even if people don’t correctly cite the source of that sentiment, they’re sincere in using it to illustrate the difficulty of putting together an effective written or printed piece—especially when space and time are limited, both for the writer/publisher and the reader.
Based on the immediate reaction I received to last month’s Editor’s Memo, when I once again offered to take a look at club newsletters and give my opinion on how they might be improved or have more impact, it appears there’s still quite a bit of frustration out there among those who have the responsibility for communicating to club memberships, both via printed pieces and electronically.
Many of you once again sent me samples of your newsletters (including electronic versions and e-blasts) for me to look over—and while what I received this time reflects overall improvement from what I got when I first made this offer several years ago, it appears that some club staffers are still struggling with basic principles of how to prepare an effective piece for a mass audience.
I will be responding directly to everyone who sent me some examples to review—and in several cases it will be to simply say nice job and keep up the good work. But here are some general thoughts along the lines of what I’ll be passing on to others I’ll respond to:
• Use the right tools. Trying to produce interesting and effective pieces with programs that are really meant for simpler purposes (such as Microsoft Word) is just too limiting and is destined to have the end product come off as clunky and amateurish. Even if you can’t afford or don’t really need high-powered software like InDesign or Quark Xpress that’s used for publications like C&RB, there’s an abundance of easy-to-learn (and often free) programs available to help produce more polished pieces. Here’s a link that can help you start looking for a good program to use.
• Avoid the blivet. It’s better to present one story well than to try to cram too many items onto a page and do none of them justice.
• Pictures really are worth (at least) 1,000 words. And sometimes you can present a story or item most effectively with just a photo or two and a caption.
• Keep most of the crayons in the box. Probably the most prevalent problem I see with club publications and flyers is going too crazy with colors (and also typefaces). You want to produce a clean, cohesive, professional look for your club—not a ransom note.
Tell Us What You Think!
You must be logged in to post a comment.