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RMT Newsletters: Grabbing Attention

Submitted by janine on Tue, 13/01/2009 - 21:42

Headlines should attract people to read your article. For main articles it is a good idea for a headline to be a complete sentence containing a verb; to tell readers what the article is about and why it should interest them. Poor headline: This year’s pay claim. Better headline: Union demands substantial pay rise and shorter working hours. Shorter pieces can have shorter, snappier headlines.
In longer articles, use subheadings: they add visual interest; make articles easier to read by breaking long text into manageable chunks; and provide ‘entry points’ into your article.
Consider whether a photo with a caption might do a better job than a longer article. A photo of a picket line with a caption summarising the issues behind the strike and the success of the action may have more impact than a longer piece with a verbal description of the picket.
Consider running an article – or even a whole leaflet / newsletter issue – in a ‘question & answer’ format. Base it on actual questions that staff have asked you.
With longer articles, consider using a box with the article, containing a quote; a key sentence extracted from the text; a summary of your main points; or a few relevant facts and figures.
Once your text is written, edit and proofread it to improve the writing, ensure that it makes sense, and is free of typos and grammatical errors.
Many newsletters are too wordy, with the result that fewer people read them all the way through. Cut out lots of words without cutting out any substance.
Get rid of unnecessary words and repetition.
If you notice that you have included a sentence that says the same as a previous sentence but in different words, delete it.
Replace long words and multi-word phrases with smaller words where possible. Don’t write crucially important; crucial means the same thing and is shorter.
Cut out unnecessary phrases like It is a fact that, The truth is that, ...
When you finish going through your newsletter cutting out text, go back and do it again. You will find more words you can cut out.
Once you have edited and proofread your newsletter, ask someone else to look over them and suggest any further corrections, changes and cuts.