Why You Need It And How To Achieve It
Balance is an abstract, and some might think an obscure, concept so it might be an idea
to establish what is meant by it in the case of newsletters before discussing how to achieve
it. In the real world we know that, in order to achieve 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 talking about the physical aspects of a publication (how it looks)
or the 'literary' side (the content).
Visual Balance
In visual terms it is fairly easy to ensure balance. An abundance of text in a small,
cramped typeface cries out to be balanced by 'white space'. You can also use pullquotes to
break up an article and experiment with different sized headlines. A sidebar can add a new
dimension to a page. The inclusion of clipart or other well-placed pictorial matter can add
variety to a publication and even little known typefaces can sometimes be very effective
contributors to the overall balance. Color is another consideration. However, important
though these things can be when used as balancing elements (and always in moderation, of
course) they are all basic design features and therefore outside the scope of this article.
Content Balance
In terms of content, serious matter needs to be balanced by an opposing amount of
light matter; 'one-off' items can be balanced by serialized material, instructional or
'how-to' articles by question and answer features etc. It is much more of a 'balancing act'
though, than is the case with the visual aspects, because there is no way of measuring
whether or not you have got the 'mix' right. It's the reader's perception that matters and
the publisher needs to employ a little empathy, coupled with her own instinct and
experience.
Why then, do we have to bother about balance in newsletter content if it is impossible to
measure? The short answer is that a lack of balance can be very detrimental to a
publication. Too much serious material tends to have a depressive effect on the reader. It
feels 'out of balance' and that feeling tends to result in distracting the reader's
attention from your core message. Not only that but no matter how focused the niche is that
a newsletter services, individual readers still have individual preferences. You can't
please all the people all the time but by striving for balance, you have a better chance of
including material that a majority of readers want to see.
Where To Start
The starting point is to look at the lead article(s), if the publication features them,
or the 'must-include' items, since they are usually considered the most important and
unalterable part of the content. Editorial and lead articles set the tone 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 inadvertently change
the tone of the whole newsletter.
A Lighter Vein
The most popular way to introduce a lighter vein into a newsletter or similar publication
is to employ humor. This can be done by the inclusion of jokes, cartoons,
funny stories, nonsense verses such as limericks—even simple clipart caricatures
incorporated into article headings. Obviously, gratuitous humor is nowhere near as effective
as topic-focused humor. A cartoon that gives an amusing slant to the main topic on the
page, even if the association is somewhat tenuous, tends to be far more 'balancing' than one
that does not seem to have any obvious link to the subject matter at all. Sometimes it might
even unbalance things. Another word of caution too, especially if you write your own
material; make sure that anything you include because of its humor value cannot be mistaken
as simply facetious comment. If your sense of humor tends towards the quirky and you're
unsure whether everyone will 'get the joke', err on the side of prudence and leave it out.
The Value Of Fillers
Quotations are probably the most useful of all fillers because they are so versatile.
They can be found to suit almost any newsletter, they cover the full gamut of human
emotions, they are available on just about every topic imaginable, they can be long or short—the
list could go on. Most, of course, are very short (one-liners in fact) and that is often a
virtue. They can be scattered throughout a newsletter or, in the form of a list, they can
fill a column, or they can even be used rather like pullquotes to emphasize a story angle.
Similar to quotations are items like proverbs, fables, aphorisms and other maxims. These
are not nearly as versatile as quotations and don't have the same vast range of coverage but
they can still be extremely useful. Their main advantage is in their historical
significance, their standing as 'pearls of wisdom' that have stood the test of time and
sometimes their poetic turn of phrase. Every newsletter would benefit from the inclusion of
an occasional proverb or similar.
Giving Advice
Any kind of 'advice' items can improve 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 examples of the types of titles that might be used. Included as part of this
genre would be astrological predictions or 'What the Stars Say'. Admittedly, these would be
entirely unsuitable 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
do for astrology columns.
Quizzes and puzzles can also prove very welcome as a way of balancing content and you do
not have to be a wordsmith yourself to know that crosswords are one of the most popular
pastimes ever devised. As with most other fillers, topic-focused material tends to be more
effective than non-topic specific copy but it does not need to be anywhere near as relevant
to the subject as is the case with humor or advice-type features. Don't underestimate the
potential that these types of items offer your newsletters. Many people scan every
publication that falls into their hands for their crossword 'fix'.
Serializing
A very important consideration regarding these types of copy is worth mentioning at this
point. Quizzes, puzzles and advice-type fillers are best included as ongoing series,
continuing from issue to issue, including even being placed in the exact same position in
the newsletter every time. That way, those readers who enjoy the particular entertainment
that you are providing soon learn that your newsletter contains something of interest to
them and they will actually start looking forward to the next edition! Isn't that just what
you're aiming for?
Notice the value given to newsletter fillers in this article. The right type of material
is what matters when it comes to improving the content balance of a newsletter. The right
types of fillers do exactly this job. There is a misconception that 'filler' is a word used
to describe trivial or irrelevant content used merely to 'fill up' blank spaces. Nothing
could be further from the truth, in my opinion. Used properly, the right type of fillers can
have a very positive overall effect. They can enhance copy relevance, improve balance and
ensure that all the text and additional material links together into a cohesive whole.
Finding Content
So, where do you find the additional material you need to balance your newsletters? One
place you should look is ClipCopy Content
Solutions. It has links to more than 6000 newsletter fillers and articles (called ClipCopy) that
you can simply copy and paste into your newsletter.
© 1999 Mike Alexander (Revised 2003)
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Mike Alexander is the creator and owner of '101 Newsletter Answers', the 'How-To'
place where the focus is on 'Power Communicating' with newsletters. http://www.101newsletteranswers.com
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