HOW TO WRITE A COLUMN

HOW TO WRITE A NEWSLETTER
	The main objective of a newsletter is to spread awareness and raise public support for the organisation and its cause. It serves to keep members abreast of the organisation's activities and other related developments in the field, to inform them of forthcoming activities and motivate them to participate and contribute towards these projects' success. Newsletters are usually distributed free to members. However, if yours is a charitable organisation, you can print an appeal in the newsletter requesting contributions from readers towards printing and distribution costs, of perhaps a nominal amount of Rs.5/-per issue.
NAME
	The simplest is to name the newsletter after the organisation e.g. PEOPLE FOR ANIMALS-DELHI NEWSLETTER.
SIZE AND FREQUENCY
	Since an animal welfare organisation should not spend more than the bare minimum on printing/production, the most workable size is to take a 20" by 30" sheet and fold it over. This will give you four 10" by 15" pages and save the cost of any binding. The paper should be newsprint or equally thin so that it can be folded easily for posting.Unless the organisation has the staff and money to print more frequently, quarterly/monthly publicaitons are ideal. These are regular enough to keep members in touch with the organisation.
CONTENTS
	Since the newsletter is going mainly to a readership already converted to the cause, refrain from preachy, moralistic articles about the cruelty and unfairness of man's behaviour to animals. Instead concentrate on recent news and information that highlight the organisation/cause, work that has been done during that period, provide members useful directions/guidelines and specific knowledge on particular issues e.g. nutrition, animal laws and so on. The newsletter can include a few regular features such as - Letter from the Editor/Issue of the day - Q & A column. This could be a vet's first aid column or of a more general nature including legal questions. - Good and bad events to have happened during this period both locally and nationally. - Local activities roundup. - Model of Compassion : Choose a public servant like a policemen or government official who has in some way helped an animal cause. This will motivate more participation by officials. - Profiles of people working in the animal welfare field. - Donors - Upcoming events, what help is required and what members can do. - Helplines, adoption information. - If you run an ambulance/shelter, interesting cases and how people have called, paid/not paid, etc. - Legal information. - One important area of cruelty in the region and what should be done about it.
COST OF NEWSLETTER
	To reduce costs, the formatting and design of the newsletter can be done on a computer in-house. If you do not have the expertise yourself, ask a local advertising agency or computer firm to help out for free. To keep costs as low as possible, use only black and white pictures. You can access pictures from the internet and create a very interesting magazine. You can get a ready-to-print layout from the computer. The next step is to get it printed. The cost will depend on the number of copies - the more copies the lower the per unit cost. See if you can find a sponsor for the newsletter. Approach local companies, veterinary medicine distributors, even successful vets, veterinary chemists, pet product stores, the local Jain community. Since the cost should not be more than a few thousand rupees per issue, you can probably find someone who will sponsor it for six months. In return the newsletter can carry the sponsor's name prominently. As mentioned earlier, costs can also be met through individual contributions solicited from readers. A third way to cover newsletter costs is to accept advertisments. Again try veterinary product manufacturers, vegetarian restaurants and so on.
MAILING LIST
	Apart from members, the newsletter should be sent to opinion and policy makers. This includes members of the local administration like the DM, police chief and Municipal Commissioner, local MLA and MP, influential members of the press, community leaders, leading industrialists, school principals, teachers and potential donors. You should also send copies to vets and fellow animal welfare organisations.