Whether your newsletter is just a few lines of text on a page or a magazine-style booklet filled with graphics, articles and other information, the goal of the publication is to reach your readers. To do this, you must create informative columns--recurring features that appear in each issue and update readers. Newsletter columns are a way to feature different people in your organization and shine new light on your work.
Meet Your Mascot
Mascots are characters used to represent a company. You can create a mascot out of something you sell or produce and turn it into a newsletter column. Art supply companies, for example, may elect Barry Brush as their columnist, weighing in on the latest developments in paints and new colors for sale. A corporate house cleaning company may find that their mascot, Valerie Vacuum, becomes popular as employees and customers keep up with her tales of late-night office cleaning adventures. Just drawing a pair of googly eyes and a smile can animate just about anything. Technical writers, public relations staffers or people in the graphic arts department can work together to create the mascot and give it life through newsletter columns.
Subject Matter Experts
When the term Subject Matter Expert is used at software companies and other electronics production facilities, it relates to the person’s role at the company. A pharmaceutical robotics manufacturer, for example, may have a Subject Matter Expert who builds the machine’s arm. This is the go-to person for information about the materials used in the arm, how the arm attaches to the rest of the machine and how the arm is created. For a newsletter column, the idea of a Subject Matter Expert may be altered slightly to turn just about anyone into an expert. Mine your employees to unveil their out-of-work hobbies and create a running column featuring a different expert each time. A technical writer who enjoys the hobby of latch hooking can feature a step-by-step instruction on how people new to the craft may begin; a human resources officer who participates in couponing can give readers tips on start saving more money each week. To collect material for the column, you can ask employees to contribute, keep an eye on the things people discuss during downtime or target people you know who are involved in extracurricular activities.
Brain Games
It may seem like you learn something new every day, either on the job or in your personal life. With a little research, your newsletter can provide that learning opportunity through a brain games column. The brain needs constant refreshing and exercises to keep growing, according to The Franklin Institute. To avoid mental decline, brains need to stay active, and one way to do this is through challenges such as puzzles, games and facts. Whether your newsletter is corporate, community-related, non-profit or a personal one for your family, you can feature a brain game column in each issue with a different style challenge each time. Make your own word searches, number puzzles, fill-in-the blanks and mazes, or download free ones from the Internet. You can also use your situation as inspiration; if you work for a centuries-old company, dig up some facts from your archive and create trivia questions to be answered in the next issue. Talk to members of your family and ask questions, then leave space in the column for readers to guess the correct answers. Even if your column is small, you can issue at least one stimulating challenge per issue to rev up readers.
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