Newsletters are a great way to encourage and inform women in your church. They can also be a great outreach tool. Whether you have a women's ministry newsletter or are thinking about creating one, here are some tips for newsletter publications.

Know your audience. Obviously the newsletter will be directed toward the women in your church and community. Fill your newsletter with information to interest women who are married, single, moms, working, young, retired, crafters, athletes, etc... Know who they are, what their expectations are, what their needs are. Focus on them, not on what you want to say!

Frequency. One of the toughest questions is how often you should publish a newsletter. A good rule of thumb is to start with quarterly and see how it goes. A monthly newsletter may be a great idea, but do you have the time, help and resources to get it out in a timely way? If not, scale back, they key is to be consistent.

Find the good stuff. Quote other sources frequently. Network with experts to help share ideas. Get permission to use articles, poetry, recipes, tips, and stories you have found on websites. People will generally be glad to help you out as long as you give them proper credit.

Involve others. Get women to submit articles, book reviews, recipes, etc... People love seeing their name in print and the more people you involve, the more enthusiasm there will be for the project.

Make it easy to read. Write so everyone can understand. Use headlines so that people can skip over things not of interest. Use footnotes for references to large quotations. Repeat yourself. Repeatedly hammer on key truths. Find interesting ways to share announcements.

Be as accurate as possible. When publishing dates and descriptions be sure that you have correct times, dates, and information. It is frustrating for the readers (and the publisher!) to have inaccurate information. If this happens several times the readers will not value the information they are receiving - making the newsletter ineffective.

Balance. Vary the articles on each page. Group like items together, but don't fill the first half of the newsletter with fun stuff and stick all the serious items at the end. Use graphics and artwork to draw the eye. Don't be afraid of white space. It is restful to the reader's eyes.

Proofing. Once the newsletter is complete, you should carefully proof it to be sure it is exactly what you want and error free. Have one or two other people proofread for grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc...

In Him... Robyne Beaubien, Editor

Whether your project is a long-term or short one, complicated or simple, keep these guidelines in mind:

Have clearly defined goals before you begin. Clearly defined goals enable you to plan clearly and efficiently. You'll know where you are going and what you are doing. Get all people and tasks on board towards that single focus.

Get the support of key leaders in the church or organization. The success of a project hinges on the support of important leaders from the get-go. Spend time building support and buy-in by leaders by presenting the positive benefits of the project.

Find out organizational policies and guidelines. Knowing what the do's and don'ts of your organization will help guide your planning and activities, as well as avoid future trouble.

Define broad stages, then break down into steps. Divide the project into stages. Then break them down into manageable steps. Schedule these stages and steps into a realistic timeframe.

Communicate frequently. Communication is key to a smoothly-functioning project. Keeping everyone on the same page is crucial to avoid wasted time and effort. Use e-mail and phone calls to keep everyone up to date on what is happening.

©2003 Angela Yee, author and speaker
"Organizing for Ministry"
www.summitstarpress.com

Debbie Hannah Skinner is "the Bible teacher with a paintbrush."  Please visit her new website (www.dhskinner.com) to see a video segment from one of her "art to heart" talks- weaving together words, watercolors and wisdom from Scripture. 

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