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Women's Ministry Promotional Tools: Newsletter Design Tips

Written by Sammie Barstow and Tep Lim

If you're hoping to create a newsletter for your women's ministry, check out these practical tips on designing this important communication piece.

First, find a lady in your church with a layout/graphic design background. This would be a perfect opportunity to ask for her involvement. You (and your leadership/volunteers) need to decide not only on the look and feel of the newsletter, but also the number of pages, type and color of paper to use, layout of the pages, and so forth.

Let's take these things one at a time.

Number of pages: An 11x17-inch sheet of paper folded in half makes four 8.5x11 pages; two of those sheets make eight pages, and so forth. You may want to start with something smaller, depending on how much time and money you can invest.

Other possibilities: an 8.5x11 sheet printed on both sides or several pages stapled together; or an 8.5x14 sheet folded lengthwise in half (or several pages folded and saddle stapled). Start conservatively and grow as you need more space.

Paper: Choose white or colored paper. If you wish to use a color, experiment a little before committing. Some colors, especially darker shades, overpower the print. Yellow or "goldenrod" are especially good. White, buff, or light gray are good choices and give a professional look.

As far as the weight and feel of the paper, 20-pound weight paper is acceptable and less expensive to use. But 60-pound weight is more durable and the print from one side does not “bleed” through to the opposite side. Again, you may want to experiment.

Art and page layout: Develop a simple, uncluttered masthead or banner for the first page, which will remain the same for each issue to give continuity to your publication.

Include your women's ministry logo, if you have one, the name of your church, the city and state, and the volume and issue numbers. (Usually volume represents the year since publication began, and number represents the month: For example, "Vol. 1; No. 8" identifies says this is the first year of publication and the month of August).

You may want to include the church's telephone number, pastor's name and/or the women's ministry leader's name.

Here are some quick tips about the other elements on the pages of your newsletter:

Leave enough white space between elements to make the page easy to read.
Use no smaller than 11-point font (typeface).
You can vary the fonts you use, but be aware that many different fonts make the page look confusing.
Use at least 0.7-inch margins.
Experiment with borders around text boxes for emphasis.
Collect and use clip art. You may purchase clip art programs or use free clip art found on the Internet.
Take digital photos of or scan photos of women who write articles or testimonies so others will be able to identify them readily. If you have a yearly event, such as a banquet or conference, promote the upcoming event by including photos taken the preceding year.

Again, a person in your ministry with design experience can lend a great deal of insight and expertise to this process if she sees this as a way for her to serve.