Choose an eye-catching design.

One of the first things that people will see when they open up a newsletter via e-mail will be the design. Choose a format that will be user-friendly. This means paying attention to colors that are used as well as layout, etc. Spark their curiosity by making your newsletter something that will set itself apart from all of the other junk emails that may be in their inbox.

Be consistent with your design.

Of key importance will be choosing a design that is consistent every time someone opens their email. Choose clean lines and web-safe/friendly colors that won’t be too harsh on a person’s eyes. For example, you might choose to have one main header for your newsletter followed by 3 separated columns underneath and a footer. Whatever it is you decide to put into your design, keep your audience in mind. Experiment with different templates and ask for audience feedback if you are unsure. After all, they are going to be the ones who potentially read your newsletter. And remember, Consistency is what helps to organize and unify a good newsletter design!

Experiment with different font faces.

People hate to read through tons of text that looks exactly the same. Don’t be afraid to use different font faces such as serif and sans-serif in order to emphasize certain aspects of content that you want to highlight. The same goes for bold, italics and underlined text. For example, you may want to put the header in bold, the kicker in italics and subtitles in underlined fonts. Whatever you do, keep it consistent with each subsequent newsletter, and also be sure not to overuse any one font face as it may add to unnecessary visual clutter.

Choose content that your readers will actually read.

Content is and will always be king. The aforementioned points are simply tips and tricks to get your readers to the meat of the operation: the content of what you are trying to say. Therefore, it is important to take time out each time prior to composing a newsletter. Make sure that you actually have something worthwhile to say! Don’t be afraid to use photos or illustrations in your newsletters. Make use of quotations, and always give credit where credit is due. Invite reader responses, and perhaps make an effort to publish these responses in upcoming or future newsletters in a special section.

When was the last time someone hacked into one of your online social media profiles? Your e-mail? A different online account? It’s not uncommon for search engines to take information from people and use it to build a profile of its users. For example, all it would take is an email address or account with a particular website and *POOF*! Suddenly, you’re being monitored. However, while some of it is harmless, there are other people out there who will use the information that they find out about you to do bad things (i.e. hack into your profiles, etc.). To this end, the following are a few quick tips for protecting yourself while surfing the web:

1. Automatic Logins- Although they can be incredibly convenient, it’s probably for the best if you leave this box unchecked the next time a website prompts you to “remember you” for the next time you login. If anything, give your brain a little exercise by trying to remember your own password without the computer’s help.
2. History- Always make sure to clear your history of the sites that you’ve visited at the end of each day. Doing so will help prevent others from seeing what sites you were on.
3. IP Address- Your IP address is like a personal stamp telling others who you are. If you’re really concerned about someone tracking your online trails, you can always invest in software to help prevent this from happening. Software such as Mask My IP (MMIP), or Anonymous IP may help.
4. Cookies- Everyone loves cookies; but when it comes to the Internet, cookies can be a bad thing as they often allow websites and/or marketers to create a profile of you based on the information you have provided and your browsing patterns. Therefore, you’ll want to make sure that when you clear your history, you also clear your cookies as well.
5. Auto Complete- Again, this is a really helpful tool (especially when you can’t remember the full name of something you’re looking up). However, when you have auto complete as well as automatically saved logins, then you have a recipe for disaster. Make sure you change the settings on your computer to turn this feature off!

The following are five ways in which you can improve your work-from-home (WFH) experience to make things a heck of a lot sweeter!

1. Know Your Company’s Policies- Working from home is one thing, but actually getting the work done is another. Obviously, if your boss trusts you enough to work from home, then he or she trusts you enough to know that you are reliable and will follow the usual business ethics to make sure that your work is done in a timely manner and in the way in which it was originally specified to you to be done. The last thing that you want to do is ruin that balance of trust with your employer, so always make sure that you go above and beyond to do your best.
2. Maintain Some Semblance of a Schedule- Just because you have the luxury of working from the comfort of your own home doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t keep up a regular work schedule. I’m not saying that you have to work a strict 9-5 schedule; but at the same time, you don’t really want to be working in a few hours here, a couple of minutes there and then the rest of your hours in the middle of the night. Keeping a rough schedule helps to keep you organized, and it also keeps your body trained to get work done during a certain time frame. Plus- it allows you to better set your schedule for doing other things such as, I don’t know, having a social life for starters!
3. Cut Out the Distractions- For me, this boils down to one of two things: my cell phone or Facebook. Whatever it is for you, get rid of it (at least while you are working). For instance, when I am hard at work, my cell phone is usually turned off or is turned to silent and placed in another room. As for the social networking sites, I usually have a schedule in front of me on one screen and my tasked work on another, which leaves very little wiggle room for social networking sites. In between work breaks, I will try to check my cell phone or relieve some of the work monotony by checking out the latest social media stuff.
4. Take Breaks and Get Out- I have a tendency to work for long blocks of time, which is not good for several reasons; the main one being that when I eventually peel myself out of my chair, my back is killing me and I suddenly realize that I’m starving. Some of the tendency for those of us who work from home is to shut ourselves indoor all day until we finish every last drop of work. You don’t have to do this! Breaking up your work day is a great way to stay fresh and on point so that work doesn’t begin to drag you down. Get out and go for a walk or head to the gym or meet up with a friend for lunch and then come back to your work. Schedule breaks for yourself!
5. Protect Your Computer- If you work from home, then you will no doubt want to invest in a secured internet connection to protect your wireless network. Also, make sure that you back up whatever files you are working on just in case the power goes out or there is inclement weather.