A couple of my friends are responsible for publicity for their respective nonprofit employers. Both are savvy about getting publicity for their organizations. But when it comes to PR pieces that involve writing, they’ve been tapping me to lend an editorial eye to their work.
Most of what I’ve edited are newsletters and fliers -- just like what most garden centers use for publicity.
Last year I wrote a blog on resources for writing press releases. This time, I’ll give you the tips on newsletters and fliers that I’ve passed along to my friends.
Make headlines active
If you want your customers to read your newsletter, you must tell them why they should read it. And you do that through headlines.
Most people write label headlines (something I’ve certainly done more than once). Creative types will come up with something clever and humorous. Those who know what they’re doing, though, will make the headline a sentence with an active verb that lets readers know what they are about to read.
Here’s an example: Say you have an article on creating a container display for the front porch. The label group will title the item “Front porch containers.” The creative types might have the headline “Top pots” or “Porch songs.” A professional, however, will be straightforward: “Create a container garden to greet guests.”
The label headline (“Front porch containers”) can mean many things. Since the newsletter is coming from a store, customers might think it’s an item talking about a sale on container gardens. And if they aren’t in the mood to buy an individual product that costs more than $50, they’ll skip over it.
The creative titles tend to be head scratchers. “Porch songs” might be a play on “torch songs,” but that’ll go over the heads of a lot of customers, and they’ll likewise pass over the article. However, if they see that the article is a how-to on creating a porch pot, they will only skip it because they aren’t interested, not because they misunderstand what the article is about.
Don’t show them everything you’ve got
One of the friends I mentioned is so sold on his organization that he has a hard time not including every single benefit of a program on a flier. He sent one to me that was promoting a full-day seminar. The headline was “How can I…,” then under a series of photos it said “Take care of my family?” “Be a better co-worker?” “Talk to my teen?” “Be a better friend?” “Learn what sets me off?” “Make this last?” There were also 11 more lines offering info on times, costs, seminar titles and so on.
Every time I told him that an effective 1-page flier needs to have a single message, like a billboard, he couldn’t settle on one.
As months passed, his fliers were more targeted, until he reached his current strategy: a two-word catchphrase and a one sentence explanation. The group is still working on the campaign, so I can’t repeat the copy here, but it’s safe to say that any two- or three-word campaign has legs. Think of “Got milk?” and “Just do it.” Also, notice that each of these has an active verb in a two- or three-word phrase.
Yes, you have a lot of good things going for your garden center. But you can focus on only one thought per flier and one theme for the newsletter. You have plenty of time to tell customers what you need to say through other fliers and newsletters.
Let your words and images breathe
Another common mistake is to cram as much as you can onto the page. White space -- uncluttered by fonts and images -- is your friend and should be treated as so.
White space draws the eyes to what is important, like a headline. A headline stands out because there is nothing next to it or just above it. The same thing happens with most photos.
Resist the urge to fill in leftover space. You don’t have to reach the bottom of the page if you don’t have more to say. Just consider that bonus (and beloved) white space.
-- Carol
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