Build the calendar around decisions
List the association’s expected newsletters, meeting materials, financial packets and other recurring pieces. For each, record the content owner, expected file-ready date, approval contact and requested completion or mailing date. Confirm feasibility with the shop for each job; a date on an internal calendar is not a production commitment.
Leave room for review and corrections before the requested handoff. If a notice has specific requirements, the association should establish those instructions before production is scheduled.
Carry forward specifications, not stale content
A prior order is a helpful reference for size, stock, color and finishing. It is a poor substitute for confirming current content and quantity. On a repeat order, explicitly identify:
- The previous job or issue being used as a reference.
- The new file and its revision date.
- The finished size, page count and number of copies.
- Any changed inserts, envelope details or mailing instructions.
- The person responsible for proof approval.
Check recurring details such as meeting locations, contact information, return addresses and website links. These can remain unnoticed in a familiar template long after they change.
Use one consolidated correction list
Ask contributors to send changes to the association’s designated reviewer. That person can resolve conflicting edits before sending a single correction list to the shop. Identify each change by page and heading, and distinguish required corrections from questions.
When the revised proof arrives, review the changes and the surrounding text. A longer paragraph can shift a date, image or page break elsewhere in the document.
Close the issue before starting the next
Keep the final approved file and actual order specifications in the association’s records. Note any quantity changes or production questions that would help the next issue. Ask the shop how to reference the prior job when reordering; do not assume an online account contains editable files or automatic repeat-order tools.
If newsletters make up most of the schedule, our newsletter production calendar explains the content and proof handoff in more detail.