STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS: Publishing a newsletter for your practice

First, create a folder on your computer titled Office Newsletter or something similar so you can easily find it in the future. You will be storing text and image files here. Ideally, you should send newsletters every 3 to 4 months to your patients and potential patients in your area; this will generate quite a few files. HINT: being organized in the beginning will save you a lot of headache as you go along.

There are two parts to any newsletter: Text and Images/Clip Art

Text

The newsletter text can include your office name, motto, and address; articles of interest, your hours of operation and phone number; upcoming seminars and workshops, etc. You can write your own articles or you use the edited articles in our Newsletter Archives. To do this, select an article title and review the article. If you wish to use this article in your newsletter, save it to your Office Newsletter folder.

Images/ClipArt

Enhance your newsletter and make it more appealing to the reader. Pictures break up the monotony of straight text. It can mean the difference between your patients actually reading your newsletter or just glancing at it.

In the ClipArt Gallery of our web site, you will find many images and photographs to use in your publications. After reviewing the images, select one by moving the mouse pointer to that image and click the right button on the mouse. A window on the screen will appear. Select “Save image as” and click on it. Another window appears asking where do you want to save the image. Using menu bar, select the folder “Office Newsletter” or what ever you called it. Now click on the save button. What you have just done is saved the image to your computer for later use.

Next, read our Graphic Designer’s Guidelines for ideas on how to make your own Office Newsletter. DESIGN ESSENTIALS: Creating Effective Marketing Materials by Jean Drummond is an excellent reference, including tips for getting started, cost considerations, and basic design principles. Once all the images and clip art have been selected, and you have read our Graphic Designer’s Guidelines, exit the web site.

Depending on your computer software you can use either Corel Word Perfect Suite 8 or higher or Microsoft Publisher to layout your newsletter.

Corel Word Perfect Users:

Go to File, then New. This will open a window. Using the arrow, move down the list of pre-selected templates. Find newsletter and highlight it. Click Create. If it prompts you for your CD, this means you did not load this template when you initially installed the program. Place the Corel Word Perfect CD in the appropriate drive and click Open, and the program will install the newsletter template from the CD onto your computer.

Follow the instructions provided. Decide the layout, number of folds, columns, etc. Now insert the text and images/clip art you saved to your Office Newsletter folder. Using the cut and paste option in the Edit menu, the Bold, Italic, font selections, you can create a professional newsletter in a short amount of time. If you forgot to review the recommendations by our Graphic Designer, do so now.

Microsoft Publisher Users:

Open the Wizard Assistant. This usually appears when opening the program. Select Newsletter. Follow the on-screen instructions. When completed, insert the text and images/clip art you have saved in your Office Newsletter folder. Using the cut and paste option in the Edit menu, the Bold, Italic, font selections, you can quickly create a professional-looking newsletter. If you haven’t already, review the recommendations by our Graphic Designer.

For the lowest cost, print the newsletter, double-sided, on your printer or take it to an inexpensive copy store (for low volume jobs). For high volume jobs and an additional cost, take your newsletter to a professional printer. Distribute the newsletter to your patients by mail; make it available for patient to read while in your office; and distribute it at networking meetings, to local merchants, family, friends, and colleagues, etc.

Click HERE to view a sample newsletter.