Bulletin

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  • Take ownership of the bulletin@thoughtfulfoods.org.au adress
  • Compile, format and proof-read the bulletin content that is sent to the bulletin address
  • Send out the finalised bulletin to the announcements list each week on Wednesday. This includes uploading a copy of the bulletin to the website. (I'm unsure whether the responsibility for pestering others to submit content is the bulletin writer's job or not.) Instructions for using the bulletin email address and uploading to the website are given by the IT coordinator.

Content below is waiting on update

Writing an effective bulletin (waiting on update, transfer to wiki afterwards)

Please bear in mind this is a list of guidelines & reflects my process. Writing the bulletin in a way that works for you & reflects your personality is of the utmost importance. Along with the thing making sense.

Structure The structure of the bulletin is important. • An introductory paragraph to engage & amuse your audience is essential. No one wants to just read a list of information. Boring! • Any vitally important news should immediately follow. Centering & enlarging a header (especially for an event) is useful. Really, any co-op "news" should follow the intro, since news is usually a one-off thing you need to convey clearly to a lot of members. • Next, you want to put the most important weekly stuff, namely eggs & veggies. Any changes should be either italicized or in colour. This grabs people's attention. • I think community news should go after that. I try to put it in chronological order by event. • Always write a closing line or two to reconnect with the content, your audience, and if possible your introduction. • It helps to put two returns between each topic-area; helps 'em breathe.

Headings Using headings clarifies topic areas & makes it easier for people to flip through the bulletin to find the information they want/need. It doesn't matter if you use bold, italicize, or use colours, so long as you're consistent. It's sometimes important to use sub-headings. Again, consistency is key. You want the bulletin to be as easy to read as it is fun.

Content This is pretty basic: • There are essentials: news, eggs, veggies, hours etc • There's extras: community dinners, speaking engagements, workshops, conventions etc. • They are equally important in many ways. Try to make everything sound interesting (which it is). • Also, it's really helpful to embed hyperlinks. So, instead of saying visit http://www.thoughtfulfoods.org.au for more information, you can just hyperlink Thoughtful Foods. Bless gmail for making this so simple. It keeps the bulletin clean, sleek & organized. Style The second most important thing to do when writing the bulletin is to be yourself. The most important thing is to keep in mind that words are easy to misinterpret and that offending people is not okay. No accusations, finger-pointing, snotty remarks etc. Inside jokes, gentle teasing (indirect), humor, anecdotes: those things are good. When you share your life with others--not the gory details, but a story or insight--they feel more connected to you. This is a trick writers use to draw audiences in. The co-op is special 'cause it's got a familial quality to it; we're a physical as well as social community, so it's important to seem real. Also, personal stories remind the members that coordinators & management committee aren't superior, that we're all equals in this beautiful food experiment.

Spelling & Grammar It counts. Spell check. Do it two or three times. Read over your sentences to ensure they make sense; read over your paragraphs to be sure they're clear & simple; read through the whole bulletin at least twice to see if you're abusing certain phrases, repeating yourself, failing to make sense, etc.

Devil's in the Details • Always include the logo, hours, and contact details at the top of the bulletin. The website & email should be hyperlinked. This is very important. • Always include the remove-me info at the bottom. Make it small & keep it a few lines below your sign-off. • Make sure your hyperlinks are all correct. • Quadruple check your spelling. • Be nice & play fair. No matter how grumpy you might be it's never okay to be abusive in the bulletin, or sarcastic & cynical (unless it's funny & lighthearted). Your goal is to make people smile & connect with our community, so keep that in mind always-always. See, not so hard. (It sure would be spiffy as a weekly pdf. with a few pictures.)