Let's face it, with everyone's busy schedules and
hectic lifestyles these days, very few homeowners will find the
time to seek out information concerning the news and events about
their own homeowners association. This, in turn, invariably leads
to an increase in apathy in the community, and a further burden
on the few homeowners who are actively involved in administering
the affairs of the community. One way to help prevent this from
occurring is to keep the homeowners better informed.
Whether you want to update your homeowners about
ongoing issues, inform residents of upcoming events, or simply
provide them with essential information, one of the best methods
of disseminating information to your community is to publish
a newsletter. Association newsletters can be amazingly successful
tools in getting more homeowners actively involved in the community.
To be effective, a newsletter must always be clear
and concise. Clarity helps to avoid misunderstanding or confusion
which endangers the newsletter's credibility. Conciseness saves
time for both the reader and writer, and will help to enhance
the clarity of the message.
The text of the newsletter should focus on five
primary guidelines: Content, Grammar, Clarity, Conciseness, and
Style.
Content:
After writing the text of your newsletter, the
next step is formatting the layout. This step will require the
selection of typeface, font size, alignment, type style, and
paragraph formatting.
The goal in selecting a typeface and font size
is choosing one that has a smooth transition and is easy to read.
Use of 12 point type is normal for most text, although headlines
and subheadings should be significantly larger. Always follow
the hierarchy of type by decreasing the font size for headlines
as you move down the page because those stories tend to be less
important. And, try to avoid the use of too many different font
types, as it often becomes confusing and distracting to the reader.
Alignment affects both appearance and readability.
We generally see most professionally printed documents justified
on the right edge; however, studies have shown that a flush left/ragged
right type is sometimes more readable because the equal word
spacing helps the reader move more easily through the story.
Type style refers to the use of boldface, italics,
bold italics, underlining, and small capitals. These can be used
to emphasize certain words, sentences, and paragraphs. Both boldface
and italics should be used sparingly within the body of the text
because they can easily dominate the page when overly used. Underlining
should generally be avoided in desktop publishing because it
reduces readability by obscuring the bottoms of some lowercase
letters. The use of small capital letters (approximately 80 percent
of the height of uppercase letters) can be effective in adding
emphasis to a few words without darkening the page as boldface
will.
Paragraph formatting can be accomplished in two
ways—by indenting the first line of a new paragraph, or by skipping
a line between paragraphs without indenting. Either style is
acceptable, but it is important to be consistent throughout the
newsletter. Skipping a line between paragraphs implies a more
formal atmosphere, and is typically used with justified type.
Indented paragraphs are considered more conversational and are
usually used with a flush left/ragged right type style.
Before you start laying out your newsletter, it
is imperative to rank your stories. The stories should be placed
in descending order throughout the newsletter according to their
importance.
When designing the pages, it is easier to start
with the artwork and build your page around it. The artwork might
include photographs and other graphics. Design options often
become clearer once the photographs and graphics are in place.
Varying the size and shapes of the photos and graphics helps
to add variety and visual appeal. Always use a mixture of vertical
and horizontal elements to add variety to the newsletter. It
is important to cross the page at least once with type so that
the page is not divided by a vertical gutter running all the
way down the middle. You should also avoid stacking articles
and stories on top of one another. Doing so will not allow either
story to stand out properly. It is also important to always balance
an appropriate amount of text and graphics in the available space.
Newsletters are a valuable way to communicate with
your homeowners and help to ensure that everyone is properly
informed about their community. An informed homeowner is more
likely to take an active role in the administration of the association,
and is less likely to present a negative influence toward the
Board of Directors and management.
