Upgrading Your School Newsletter: School Branding and Credibility

A school newsletter generally consists of a thoughtfully curated list of updates and essential information for parents and staff members; so, there is nothing more frustrating than when they are left unread.

In this series, we discuss how you can use a school newsletter template to enhance school branding that will, in turn, increase credibility and improve readership.

First impressions. First impressions. First impressions. This is the “location, location, location” of communication strategy, including school communication. Using strong school branding in your school newsletter will build trust, create urgency, and strengthen your message. Here are 5 items we've learned from the most successful Smore users to make sure you are maximizing the potential of your school communication strategy:

Custom background - To boost school spirit and reader enthusiasm, a background with a picture of the school, the school's mascot, or a picture of the football field will go a long way (no pun intended)!
Templating - By creating ready-to-use templates, you can make sure your whole staff stays on brand without spending too much time focusing on design
School email domain - As a representative of the school, make sure there is a brand official way for you to share your school newsletter; it will drive trust and urgency amongst parents (just remember how you react to an IRS envelope).
Consistent format - A consistent format will put the reader at ease. When there is a lot of information, people like to know that there are at least some aspects that they can predict and expect.
Predictable day and time of receipt - Stick to a 'share' schedule. It will increase your readership and both parents and staff will highly appreciate the consistency (sometimes without even realizing it was what they needed).

Existing Smore users can achieve this using the 3 features detailed below:

Custom Design
Smore provides various design and “Custom Background” options to achieve your school branding goals. You can create your own school newsletter template and use the duplication feature to ensure your whole staff joins in.

For example, create a back to school newsletter template using an appropriate back to school background. Teachers can then click on “duplicate” at the top right corner of each newsletter thumbnail and upload their teacher welcome letter. It allows your staff to change the content, but keep the same design format.

Shared Folders
You can use shared folders to effectively organize and share every school newsletter template you’ve created.

Custom Email Domain
If you are on a Smore for Teams plan, you can email your school newsletter directly from the Smore site using your school email address; and if you are on an educator plan, you can embed the newsletter into your email message through whichever email service you use.

With Smore, you can let parents and staff know exactly when and what to expect from their school newsletter. Through good parent communication, they will feel confident that they are being properly informed on the important matters concerning their children.

How a School Newsletter Template Influences School Branding and Credibility

Using Smore's School Newsletter Template Tool