Welcome to ARCHETYPE's free bimonthly e-bulletin and get ready to THRIVE! This month we are celebrating our fourth anniversary, and we'd like to extend a special THANK YOU to all of our clients. We appreciate your business and look forward to working with you for many more years!

THRIVE! contains a number of marketing tips that we hope you will find helpful as you promote your business or nonprofit. We welcome inquiries from potential clients. Please feel free to contact us to receive more information on our services and a free estimate on an upcoming project.

We would appreciate hearing from you if you have comments or questions or would like for us to send this information to a colleague. If you do not wish to receive the e-bulletin, simply e-mail us, and we will take you off of our list. We do not share our e-mailing list with anyone, and you can unsubscribe at any time by sending us an e-mail.

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Take care and happy marketing!
Tom and Elizabeth Forsythe, Owners

ARCHETYPE GRAPHIC DESIGN & WRITING SERVICES
"A great place to start when you want to make a lasting impression"

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Newsletters: A great way to make new friends and keep the old ones

We are big believers in newsletters and have witnessed firsthand the success they can bring. Both businesses and nonprofits must constantly remind customers and prospects that they exist, and one relatively low-cost way to accomplish this goal is with a well-done newsletter that is targeted to your primary audience. If your business becomes a source of helpful information as well as a source of quality products or services, you'll gain respect and increased loyalty from your customers. For example, the owner of a store selling women's clothing and accessories can use a newsletter to tell customers what's hot in the fashion world, give make-up tips, and explain how to put together a great wardrobe on a limited budget. By positioning themselves as a company that really knows fashion, the women's apparel shop gains credibility and differentiates themselves from the competition.

How can I produce an affordable newsletter?
You can save money by sending your newsletter as a self-mailer (no envelope). Another way to conserve funds is to have a masthead professionally designed and print a large quantity of templates. Printing in one, two, or three colors of ink is less expensive than using four-color (full-color) process, but four colors are recommended for high-end products or services that require a large investment such as home building and restoration. You can also try co-marketing. Several businesses that complement each other (such as a landscaper, carpenter, and electrician or a bridal shop, a florist, and a beauty salon) can combine their efforts and create one newsletter that will benefit all three. You can also produce an e-bulletin such as this one.

Is your newsletter a real snore?
Newsletters are often boring. Don't let this happen to you! Most people have a distinct voice in their speech, but many lack this voice in their writing, except when they're composing a personal letter. You want your writing to be as unique and recognizable as your speaking voice. A newsletter is like a letter to a group of friends--try to put some of yourself into it!

Tips

* Decide on a manageable newsletter schedule and stick with it; your target audience must receive your publication regularly in order for it to be effective. Publish at least quarterly (preferably bimonthly or even monthly).

* Provide a coupon in each edition.

* Advertise specials, sales, and anything NEW.

* Invite your customers to an open house or other special event that you host at your place of business.

* Let folks know about local events of interest that are related to the product or service you provide.

* Include client profiles; this benefits you and them.

* Use testimonials.

* Include the main benefits of your product or service in each issue.

* Make it easy for people to contact you for more information.

* Proofread your newsletter carefully; it is a reflection of you and your organization.

* Once you have a professional design that works, stick with it.

* Your newsletter is a selling tool, but it should provide useful info for readers too. Don't just fill it with advertising--you'll turn the reader off.

* Have specific goals in mind when you create your newsletter. It should have a focus and a consistent voice. If you're confused about its purpose, your readers will be too.

* Write for the space you will have in the final piece. A rough estimate of the maximum number of words appropriate for a page size of 8 1/2" x 11" is 500 words. This allows room for the designer to create a pleasing design and leave some white space as well.

How's it going with your newsletter? E-mail us with the details, and we'll feature you in THRIVE.

TECHNICAL stuff

It helps to know the lingo when dealing with graphic design, copy editing, and printing. Below are some commonly used terms:

1. Specs: short for "specifics," these are all the details about your printed piece, such as the finished size and the number of ink colors.

2. Weight: refers to how darkly a typeface will print; the designer may choose the light, medium, semibold, bold, or ultrabold weight of a given typeface depending on the desired effect and the weights available in a given font.

3. Halftone: the simplest means of printing a black and white or continuous tone original. The image is converted into dots of ink of various sizes that are spread with uniform density to form the printed version of the photo. The dots are so small that your eye cannot distinguish them from a distance, and they therefore create an illusion of continuous tone. Contrast and detail are compromised to some degree.

4. Four-color (4/C) Process: the printing technique that creates any color using the four process ink colors of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black. A piece of film is made for each of these colors, and the film is used to make four plates, which are put on the press. Each of the plates prints one of the colors, and the colors then combine. Four-color process is generally more expensive than one, two, or three-color printing.

5. Typeface: a distinctive alphabet, usually designed by a specialist; may have several variations such as bold, roman, or italic within the family of the typeface.

6. Serif: describes a typeface with fine lines projecting from the main stroke of each letter, especially one of the fine cross strokes at the top or bottom of a letter. Serif typefaces are generally considered more elegant and old-fashioned. Most books and magazines use serif typefaces for running text because they are easier to read.

7. Sans Serif: describes a typeface consisting of letters in which the main strokes of each do not have any extra strokes or "feet". Sans serif type is generally considered more modern. Can be difficult to read as running body copy but is often used for headlines.

8. Press Check/Press Proof: occurs when you visit the plant and look at the job on the press; the proof refers to the sheets pulled from the press as the job begins to be printed. Most changes are very expensive at this point. You can, however, make sure that the job is on the correct paper, the correct file is being printed, and the ink is the right color and going on smoothly. It's your last chance to catch an error before the job is printed.

9. Justified Type: a column of type where both margins are even and all the lines are the same length.

10. Spiral Binding: process in which a wire in a spiral form is inserted through holes punched along one side of a piece, binding the pages together.

Using Photos Effectively

When should you use photos and when should you use illustrations in your printed materials? Illustrations may be the better choice when you're featuring a complex item such as a piece of machinery or a cross section of a building, but photos are generally considered to be more effective for most types of publications, especially when you don't have the option of four-color printing. Photos are only better, however, when they are of high quality.

Conventional wisdom in the advertising world is that the most compelling photos are those of people, especially people's faces. Photos can show real events and people. They appeal to the ego of the people featured and create word-of-mouth advertising. They're fairly inexpensive to produce, assuming you can do your own photography in house. They break up copy and add interest to the page. Most people look at the photos and read the captions before reading the rest of the text.

What makes a good photograph? A good photographer! Purchase an automatic, 35 mm camera and designate one person on your staff who has a good eye to record events and document the daily aspects and special happenings at your business/nonprofit. A sturdy 35 mm automatic that takes great photos costs as little as $100 to $150. If one person is in charge of photography, she will have the opportunity to practice and improve her skills. Your designated staff photographer can practice by taking a number of shots of the same subject, which increases the odds of getting a great photo. Take candids instead of posed shots whenever possible.

Good photographs have:

* sharpness (clarity) of the image

* good contrast.

* appropriate perspective

* no more than three subjects whenever possible

* little background clutter; try to focus in on the subject(s)

* individuals in action

Integrating photos into your design

* Using a few large photos is generally more effective than using many small ones in your layout (unless you want a collage effect).

* Designers can sometimes crop photos to make an okay shot into a great one. They can also lighten some shots and correct color.

* Do not try to reproduce a Polaroid in a piece that will be printed on a press!

* When taking a cover shot in which the edges of the photo will go to the edges of the paper (called a "full bleed"), remind your photographer that it's a good idea to have a fairly large uncluttered background space around your subject in this case. The designer will need room for the headline and other type so that they don't obscure the main subject.

* Make sure that your photographer takes both vertical and horizontal shots so that the designer has some flexibility.

* Ask your designer and printer to make sure that photos of people with dark skin won't turn out too dark.

* Try to avoid cropping at the joint of a limb; cropping the top of the head can be okay in a tight shot.

You'll often need a model release when taking photos of people. The specifics of your release will vary depending on the circumstances, and parents' permission should always be obtained when photographing children.

Client Profile:

Body Balance Therapy and the Pilates Certification Center

"Physical fitness is the first prerequisite of happiness."
J.H. Pilates (1880-1967)

Body Balance Therapy (BBT) and the Pilates Certification Center (PCC) are two businesses with the same owner, Blythe McNamara, and the same goal: to help the individual achieve optimal health and well-being. BBT offers Pilates instruction and yoga classes, as well as ballet workouts and massage therapy (including Swedish, deep tissue, trigger point, and myofascial release). PCC provides weekend workshops that qualify fitness professionals to teach a Pilates class, include Pilates in the regimens of their personal training clients, and incorporate Pilates moves into other group fitness classes such as yoga and aerobics.

ARCHETYPE has provided a number of services to the two companies, including designing a logo, conducting several photo shoots, writing and disseminating news releases and media advisories, and providing design and writing/editing for a variety of printed pieces (how-to manuals, registration packet, business cards, letterhead, a postcard, an image brochure, and other promotional materials).

BBT is located at 3900 Merton Drive, Ste. 100 (off Six Forks Road near the 440 Beltline) and serves as the current hosting studio for PCC. Call (919) 787-0508 or visit www. BodyBalanceTherapy.com and www.PilatesCertificationCenter.com for more information.

Coming in the Next Issue of THRIVE