Newsletters
Class Activity
Analyze sample newsletters, analyzing audience and effectiveness.
Each group chooses one newsletter from the list below. (If you have access to a newsletter from your own community partner organization, you may want to include it in your analysis group.) And all groups will look at Echoes from the Ohio Historical Society.
Who are the target audiences?
What is their purpose?
What are their strengths?
What are their weaknesses?
Results of Class Discussion
January 24, 2008
Strengths of Newsletters
Content
lots of statistics and facts to make their central argument--the existence of hunger
1 in 6 children rather that 16.67% of children or xxxx numbers of children (Hunger Alert)
Use of donor lists to show appreciation (Keyholder)
Format
Well organized--allowed choice from headlines
Headings alongside boxes of information
Use of pictures and short descriptions to focus on central misison--preserving history (Echoes)
A pdf available online used two colors and limited graphice effeictly to make the newsletter easy to read (CLC Literacy Today)
Use of hyperlinks in online newsletters
To break up text. to allow readers to read selectively, to make connetions bewteen headlines and lots of information
Weaknesses
Content
Too much fluff in events announcements
What could be eliminated--in some newsletters, meeting dates? (Echoes)
No real news
Events were previews only, no recap of past events to show success (Hunger Alert)
Format
not fun to look at , blue and grey colors too close in appearance, needs more color variety (Echoes)
Layout makes it laborious to read
Lack of consistency left no clues for readers about what to expect where
Wasted space--didn't differentiate clearly among TYPES of information
Other Possibilities (Hard Copy)
Women's Fund "Keyholder"
LLS "Hike for Discovery"
Ohio State "Netwell"
"Panther Pride"
