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Communications |
Right here, right now!
1 March 2010 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| 15
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
Having helped Claire and Ian deliver a workshop on service user
publications at the
DDN
/Alliance conference, they asked us to
write a few lines on the subject for this special edition. We started
producing
Morphin’
(now a 20 – 24-page ’zine style newsletter)
about six years ago as a way to get ‘dodgy gear’ warnings out to
local people. If you’re thinking of starting a magazine or
newsletter, here are a few things worth considering.
Target audience – who’s it aimed at?
Drug/service-users
: you need to use appropriate language and
make the content relevant. Bear in mind that slang terms can
change radically, depending on where you are (‘Subbies’ is used
for Subutex/Suboxone locally, for example, whereas in Hull
they’re called ‘Reckitts’ – after the manufacturer).
Drug/service-users and workers
: You may need to explain some
of the slang and drug-related terms, so everyone understands
what you’re saying!
Format and medium
What size (A4, A5…?) and number of pages? Colour, black and
white – or both? What font size and type? And what about
alternative formats (such as large print, electronic, tape/CD)?
What type of printer it’ll be made on affects how you put it
together, whether you’re producing it yourself or using
professional printers. Some print both sides and have other
settings that make life easier (such as ‘booklet format’). The
number of copies also influences which machine printers use,
and the programme you use affects the final colour that comes
out of a printer – some combine red (magenta), yellow and
blue (cyan) to make them all up, while others also use black.
NB: Good proof reading is essential.
Content
This can be difficult to get from others, so it’s unwise to rely on
contributions. Don’t commit yourself to producing them more
regularly than you’re going to be able to! Obviously everything
should be as accurate and up-to-date as possible – especially
harm minimisation advice – there are enough urban myths out
there already! We also check the source of anything we’ve not
written ourselves, and confirm with contributors if/how they
want to be name-checked.
Funding and charging
Newsletters can be costly to produce (and mail out) – especially
if you want glossy, colourful affairs. Keep an eye out for
funding opportunities and grants you can apply for. Once
you’ve decided on your format, get plenty of quotes before
you choose your printers. Look for good deals on paper if
they’re ‘homemade’. You’ll need to consider whether/how
much to charge for it, how the money will be collected and
whether to have and charge for advertising. There are pros and
cons to them all: charging may mean you don’t reach who’d
benefit most from drug warnings/harm minimisation
information – although recouping your costs could help finance
the next one (donations are always gratefully received!).
Distribution
How are you going to get it ‘out there’? Mailing ‘hard’ copies
has cost and time implications, and can become quite an ordeal
if you’re also doing the folding, stapling and printing addresses
of lots of copies. We use the post for individuals and smaller
batches, and deliver the larger orders by car. This way you
know people are getting what you intended – digital versions
have their own issues. You sometimes have to use fonts that
are on all the computers it’s being read/printed from (such as
with Word docs) – and if people are printing it in black and
white when it’s done in colour, it can change the appearance.
Printer’s imprint
Under the Printer’s Imprint Act 1961, as a rule, it’s a legal
requirement to have the ‘name and usual place of abode or
business’ of the printer on things for public consumption – they’re
old, seldom-used laws, but we had someone on our case about it!
Copyright and disclaimer
This must be borne in mind when reproducing other people’s
stuff. We include a general ‘disclaimer’ that states we can’t be
held responsible for the actions taken by people as a result of
reading our newsletter.
Newsletters can be a great way to reach (a lot of) people you
may not otherwise encounter, and very enjoyable to produce.
We hope you find this of some help ...and good-luck!
Get online!
‘There are so many free resources out there at the
moment, you don’t need to resort to expensive Apple
Macs and software to create a magazine or
newsletter’, adds Ian Ralph from
DDN
. ‘You can use a
freeware version of Photoshop, available at
www.gimp.org and Open Office provides an
alternative to Microsoft Office.
‘If you don’t have the time or resources to
produce a hard copy newsletter, there are many
alternatives to help you get out there using social
networking.
DDN
has its own Facebook group and
Twitter feed, which gives a free and instant way of
keeping in touch.
‘On the home page of the
DDN
website,
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com registered users can
set up and create their own pages, with photos, video
and whatever text they want. Some of the service
user groups are already taking advantage of this to let
people know about their activities.
‘We’re just about to launch a completely new
website called www.daisywheel.com which will
provide an online magazine creation system.’
Start the presses
Sue and Si of Southampton service user group Morph
took part in a communications workshop to explain
how they set up their popular publication
Morphin
’.
Here they give their tips for getting started