404: Bits, Bytes, or BLOGs- How to get the Word out? Cell B: Newsletters

2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Introduction Mark Stickel Sea Scout Ship 1001 Tiwahe Lodge, San Diego-Imperial Council Email: mstickel@alumni.ucsd.edu 2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Cell B: Newsletters

2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Goals of this session Understand the place and purpose of newsletters in the digital age. Examine a model committee structure. Discuss issues of content. Analyze fundamental design concepts. Learn to maintain a successful newsletter with solid readership. 2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Cell B: Newsletters

2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Why Have a Newsletter? Are newsletters obsolete in the 21st century? What are the benefits of a newsletter? Are there any drawbacks to using a newsletter (vs. other forms of communication)? Newsletters don’t write themselves… Are newsletters obsolete in the 21st century? – let audience think about this but don’t solicit answers – come back to this question after next question What are the benefits of a newsletter? – solicit answers from audience and write on whiteboard or flipchart 2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Cell B: Newsletters

2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Committee Structure There are several ways to set up a newsletter committee How does your lodge set up its committee? Lodge Editor and contributing writers Lodge Officers submit articles Chapters submit articles “One-man” newsletter team How does your lodge set up its committee? Get responses on whiteboard / flipchart. Next discuss the benefits and drawbacks of this type of committee 2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Cell B: Newsletters

2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Common Problems What difficulties are encountered when producing a newsletter? Centralizing all the work on too few Arrowmen Over-reliance on advisors to accomplish tasks youth should be doing Lack of (serious) deadlines What are some possible solutions to these problems? Solutions to lack of deadlines – have “buffer” time built in after the deadline to get last-minute or late articles in, BUT be sure to enforce the original deadline. We discourage putting in blank placeholders such as “no article from the Vice Chief” – do you ever see this in a newspaper or magazine? 2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Cell B: Newsletters

2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Time Management Ever read a newsletter that consists of old, outdated articles? What tools are available to help with newsletter time management? Have helpers pass out backdater samples 2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Cell B: Newsletters

2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Exercise: Backdaters In a group, brainstorm and fill in the backdater with your ideas What tasks need to be performed? What order should these tasks be performed in? When should these tasks be performed? Allow a brief group period (maybe 3-5 minutes) for brainstorming. Have a Scout in each group be the spokesperson and share the ideas; write these on the board for the whole class to see. Depending on class size, we might not have time to get to every group. 2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Cell B: Newsletters

2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Newsletter Team Roles What roles play a part in the production of the newsletter? Can we determine roles from the tasks on our backdaters? 2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Cell B: Newsletters

2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Some Possible Roles Here are some possible roles: Editor-in-chief (possibly the Lodge Secretary) Managing Editor Layout Editor Copy Editor Writers Photographers Production Editor / Publisher Mailing Team Editor-in-chief – heads up the whole team Managing Editor – responsible for the budget, similar to ed-in-chief Layout Editor – someone good with layouts and software that can organize the newsletter and arrange articles, photos, etc Copy Editor – proof-reads the content, applies style guides, and makes changes as needed Writers – provide content Photographers – take pictures at events; to be used with articles written by writers Production Editor – responsible for printing and copying Mailing Team – coordinate mailing labels, sorting, etc. REMEMBER – not all roles are needed; some can be combined. Use your judgement based on the size of your lodge, frequency of publication, number of interested volunteers, etc. 2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Cell B: Newsletters

2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Structure: Summary Adapt your newsletter committee structure based on factors: Lodge size Newsletter budget Frequency of publication Youth-run, from brainstorming to mailing What is the role of the adviser? Don’t let the discussion on adviser’s role take too long. Want to get across that #!: the adviser’s job is to make sure the youth can get the job done. The youth and adviser should work together to split up tasks such as layout if the youth is not knowledgeable about layout. 2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Cell B: Newsletters

2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Newsletter Content What are some typical content areas of a lodge newsletter? Put yourself in the reader’s shoes – what do you want to read about? Tailor your articles to your readers Newsletter is a marketing tool – sell your events Content ideas – what are some unique things you’ve seen? Get audience input for types of articles that belong in a lodge newsletter. Some of these can include officer reports, committee reports, chapter news, calendar of events, photos, event registration forms, contact information Brainstorm some original article ideas 2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Cell B: Newsletters

2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Design & Layout What are some important principles to remember when designing a layout? Some things we came up with: Simple Eye-catching Continuity of layout across issues “clutter control” Give credit to your writers – use by-lines Software What are some important principles when laying out a newsletter? – write audience responses on whiteboard Get user input on software (software programs they use, ease of use, learning curve. Suggest that Microsoft Word is all you really need if you don’t have access to fancy layout software) 2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Cell B: Newsletters

2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Competition Many sections have lodge newsletter competitions If you were to hold a competition, what would your judging criteria be? 2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Cell B: Newsletters

2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Electronic vs. Paper Are there benefits to having an electronic newsletter instead of a paper newsletter? What is lost by doing this? 2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Cell B: Newsletters

2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Electronic vs. Paper A mailed newsletter is something readers can hold and read, and can be exciting When it shows up in the mail, a reader is “forced” to do something with it Emailed or posted newsletters might not get read at all (think of how much email you read and how much you simply delete) 2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Cell B: Newsletters

2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Other Newsletters What about chapter newsletters? Section newsletters? 2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Cell B: Newsletters

2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Case Study Critique and analysis of some of your lodge newsletters NOTE: before the session starts, open up some electronic copies of newsletters from the audience’s lodges. If no members have newsletters, analyze saved newsletters (incl Nat’l Bulletin) 2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Cell B: Newsletters

2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Summary How to organize a newsletter: TEAM - Build the team! TIME - Plan ahead using a backdater CONTENT – relevant and interesting LAYOUT – keep it simple and consistent, use pictures and graphics to make it eye-catching Print and mail copies to members – e-newsletters are useful but shouldn’t be used exclusively 2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Cell B: Newsletters

2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Summary 2 What newsletters accomplish: Getting event information to your members Selling the lodge and its events Cheap and fast method to communicate with a large number of members at once Provide a means of participation and leadership roles for youth on the team 2006 National Order of the Arrow Conference • www.oa-bsa.org Cell B: Newsletters