• long newsletters;
• short notes or announcements;
• media releases

You name it – there is no limit.

1.   create a new update

Login to your updater account and find and click the button that says ‘create new update’.

1.   adding your text;

Simply type your content in the field provided. We have created a box for you to paste into. This will ensure the newsletter is the correct width to fit the page. We recommend you design your newsletter to be no more than 600 pixels wide.

If you have already written your text you can copy and paste into the area. If you are copying from a Microsoft Word document please use the ‘copy from word’ function (its an icon with a “w” on it), this will remove the hidden code and make formatting it easier for you.

For ease of editing you can make the edit box resize to the full size of your screen. To do this, locate the “Full Screen” icon. Clicking this icon when in full screen mode reduces the box size.

2.   formatting text;

Formatting text can be as easy or as complex as you want it to be. From changing colour to inserting html code. Its all possible.

I think the key to good formatting is simplicity. I recommend you create your own rules for formatting text, write them down and stick to them. This also makes your newsletter familiar to your viewers. I think familiar is good. Some things to write down include:

• What font and size you want for the body, main headings and section headings. A larger font is easier to read.

Keep straight lines – use preset columns in your text, one or two is recommended. The more boring it looks the chances are the easier it is to read. The easier it is to read, the more readers (viewers) you are likely to have, and the more time they will spend reading. This makes you more valuable to advertisers.

 

Many of the keyboard short cuts that you may use in word also work on our system including "[Ctrl] C" for copy and "[Ctrl] V" for paste.

We can offer you professional assistance with layouts if you would like it. Simply contact us with your request. My details are on our contact page - click here to open it.

c. adding images;

Our image adding tool allows you to store your images on our system in a way that you can easily reuse them in your subsequent newsletters. You simply load them to our site then select the one you want to appear in your newsletter.

To add an image use the ‘image’ icon.

Remember, keep your images to under 60kb and they will load quickly in most cases. The smaller the file size the faster it will load. I have discovered a good product that helps me to easily resize images in terms of their file size (i.e. kilobits) and also their physical size (i.e. pixels). Here is two links to it, its called the Advanced Jpeg Compressor. I only use the resizing components and so I can help you to use it for this purpose.

 

Click here to visit the Win Soft Magic - Advanced Jpeg Compressor web site.

 

Click here to download a trial version of the Advanced Jpeg Compressor.

d. adding videos

You may add videos to your newsletters in the same way you add an image.

e. creating tables;

Use the “insert table” icon to create a table wherever you want. Simply click the 'Insert Table' icon. Tables are great for organising your content like listing items. After you insert your table click inside it and the 'Edit Table/Cell' icon will become available so you can position the table, create an outline, adjust spacing etc.

 

The title of your update and the keywords serve a dual purpose:

1.       To help visitors to UpdateTime to find your Update;

The internal search feature of UpdateTime looks at the title, keywords and content to return to the searcher the most relevant updates.

Our search listings are based on what we deem to be most relevant to least relevant based on the number of times the search criteria is contained in your Update.
To determine relevance we use the following heirachy:

1. the title;

2. the keywords;

3. the number of times the phrase appears in the content.

2.     To help the search engines to list your Update.

The title of your Update is used to populate the Title of the web site that is your update, this is the phrase that the search engines list when they return their search results. Placing the most relevant keyword in your title will help you to generate more search engine traffic.

The keywords you submit will populate the meta content of the page as keywords which again is used by search engines to identify your page. You should reproduce your keyword from your title in this section.

The first sentence (or 100 characters) of your Update is also very important as we use this to populate the meta description of the page. Search engines use this as their text under the heading to let searchers know about the content of the site.

So each update you post is its own one page web site. 

 

If you haven’t completed your newsletter by the end of your allocated time you can save it as a draft and return later to complete it. Like any software we recommend you regularly saave your work as a draft while you progress. You can never be too sure.

 

Saving as a draft is also a good way to allow multiple people to edit the newsletter to complete their section before publishing it.

 

Remember that you can add links to other web sites in your newsletters. Links can help you with your search engine ranking.

Writing a professional newsletter is not a complicated process however does require some skill in both word craft and formatting.

If you have any questions or need any help please contact me by phone or email. My details are on our contact page - click here to open it.