When you’re a writer and you’re married to a writer, avoiding the holiday newsletter is not an option. It goes against your very nature.
It can be a challenge to keep costs down on your holiday newsletter – especially if you also like to include photos. And you have to remember there are postage costs, too!
In order to save on holiday newsletter costs, I recommend using a free template to design them, printing one color copy of your newsletter, and then finding a place that makes inexpensive color copies. You’ll save a lot of time having someone else print them, and the cost of photo copies is cheaper than buying your own printer ink and paper.
Another alternative for those of you who like to do photos and newsletters is to include a simple snapshot (or create a 4×6 photo collage) with a newsletter that is printed in black and white. Printing in black and white will also save money, and you can print 4×6 photo prints quite cheaply (or even free if you’re a new member to an online photo company).
You can also send postcards instead of cards or newsletters, which will save a lot of time and money for postage. We have friends that have used the photo postcards to direct family and friends to their family website. It works well!
And of course, there is the greenest option: Send an e-newsletter! You can send cards or newsletters via e-mail for free, and it’s good for the environment, too.
Here are a few resources for holiday newsletters. There are good holiday newsletter tips and freebies here:
HP has a great guide for putting together a good holiday newsletter. They also have free templates to help you create your newsletter.
Microsoft Office – the ol’ industry standard for all things letter-like - has its own collection of free holiday newsletter templates.
Google Docs also has a variety of free designs for holiday newsletters to download.
Epson’s Creative Zone also has a collection of free templates to download for your holiday letter.
Do you do a holiday newsletter? How do you save money on your newsletter?
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