Balance Explained: Balance is an abstract, and some might think a vague, concept so it might be good to lay down what is really meant by it in the case of newsletters before talking about how to achieve it. In the real world we know that, in order to attain balance, a weight must be countered by an opposing weight. In publishing, it means something similar but it depends, to an extent, on whether we are discussing the physical aspects of a publication (how it looks) or the ‘editorial’ side (the content). Editorial and lead articles set the spirit for a publication and consideration of ‘counterweights’ necessarily start there. Be cautious though. Whilst trying to introduce balance it can sometimes be only too easy to unknowingly change the tone of the complete newsletter.
Balancing Layout: Try to avoid a cluttered layout at all costs. The best way to do this is by applying a copious amount of white space. A crowded page full of miniscule (or giant) type looks incredibly ugly and gives the impression (and look) of a legal document rather than a useful newsletter or article full of good information. Other items that make an article or newsletter more acceptable visually, and more understandable to the reader, include breaking the text into smaller blocks, headings and sub-headings, different typefaces for the body as opposed to the headings, different colors, captions, and so on. One proviso is that any changes should be made with the utmost moderation. Too many different colored headings, typefaces, captions etc. make for a very jumbled layout.
Balancing Content: The thing to remember here is that heavy or serious content and news is better balanced by more lighthearted stuff. Along the same lines, articles that explain how to do things can be weighed against question and answer features. Self contained, or one off articles, are best balanced by content that appears in ‘serial’ form. The secret is always to remember to keep the reader in mind. Every newsletter editor should know her readership and constantly keep that profile in mind. Do that and balancing content should not be too difficult to do.
Using Humor: Provided you employ a fair degree of good taste and sensitivity, your readers will usually respond positively to the introduction of humor into your work. Everybody likes a good laugh so the use of jokes, funny stories such as humorous anecdotes, funny verses such as limericks etc, funny pictures like amusing road signs or cartoons, and various other ways of introducing a lighter way of looking at the world we live in, is usually appreciated by most people. You need to know your readership though, otherwise its just too easy to inadvertently overstep the mark. A special point about newsletters is worth making here too. By their nature, newsletters tend to exist for a relatively tightly knit group with an interest in a particular field or endeavour. This often means that many readers know many other readers. Therefore be sure to avoid using humor that might be hurtful or offensive to any one person or group. A newsletter is not the place to poke fun at people, whether they be customers, employees or ‘bosses’.
Pastime Fillers: One great way of providing balanced content is by means of puzzles and quizzes. These can be particularly useful when employed as regular features, such as a monthly crossword or quiz. Readers, at least many of them, tend to look forward to each new edition just for the regular features. That way, they not only assist with balance, but they enhance readership loyalty at the same time. Obviously, like all other forms of editorial content, they work best when they are related in one way or another to the main focus of the newsletter. Conversely, they tend to lose their effectiveness the more irrelevant they seem to be.
Giving Advice: Any kind of ‘advice’ items can better newsletter balance. The best types are usually of the regular ‘tips’ variety. ‘This Month’s Car Tips’, ‘The Weight Loss Column’, ‘Household Hints’, are all instances of the types of titles that might be used. Included as part of this genre would be astrological foretellings or ‘What the Stars Say’. Admittedly, these would be entirely inapplicable for many newsletters; they would need to have very specific readership profiles for them to be considered appropriate. But, for the right type of readers, they could prove a very popular addition. Recipes and similar items are also forms of ‘advice’ fillers but, popular though they might sometimes be, the same reservations apply for them as they do for astrology columns.
Mike Alexander is a ‘content’ expert, having created and edited a print publication with nation-wide distribution. He has several online interests, among which is ClipCopy Content Solutions, where you will find a number of articles covering topics similar to above. You can get a unique content version of this article from the Uber Article Directory.
