Using sweeble
1. Why do you collect so much information about my group before we can print a newsletter?
2. What happens to the information you collect about me and my group?
3. I’ve got a suggestion for how you could improve sweeble or make it easier for me to use – are you interested?
Using the newsletter creation tool
1. How many pages can my newsletter be?
2. Why can I only add four pages at a time, not one or two pages?
3. I’ve just started and it’s asking me to pick page layouts for the first four pages, what do I do
4. Can I change a page layout?
5. Why are the templates only in A5 size, what about other sizes?
6. What if I don’t like what I’ve done so far in a newsletter – how do I change it?
Creating and adding articles
1.
All the stories in our newsletter appear with me as the author, can I change that?
2.
What do you mean by me being responsible for what’s in our newsletter?
Adding images
1. How do I know that a picture I add will look ok when the newsletter’s printed?
2. How do I change a picture after I’ve added it to a page.
3. What about picture copyright?
4. Are there some types of pictures we shouldn’t use, such as ones with children in them for instance?
Cost of using sweeble
1. So how does it work, and is it really "Free"?
2. But do we rip you off by overcharging for the print production?
3. What if I want to use a printer I know?
4. How can you say it’s free when I’m paying for your sweeble adverts taking space in my newsletters?
Sweeble websites
1. Our group has already got a website, do I have to publish our sweeble stories to our sweeble website as well?
2. What does it mean when it asks if I want to make my story ‘public’? What’s sweeblenews?
Q Why do you collect so much information about my group before we can print a
newsletter?
A We need that information so we can find you potential sponsors. If someone is
interested in advertising in your newsletter, they need to know who the audience
is likely to be and therefore who might see their ad. That means knowing how
many copies you’re likely to print (the circulation) and what your group or club
is involved in (for instance: school, sports) as well as where you are based and
the likely distribution area of your newsletter.
Q What happens to the information you collect about me and my group?
A Our Privacy Policy details how we use the information you give us or that we collect as you work on newsletters etc, but in summary we only use it either to deliver potential advertisers to you, or to improve the service we deliver to you. We do not rent or sell the information to anyone, we do not share it with other companies for marketing purposes, and we will not give it up to third parties unless forced to by a court.
Q I’ve got a suggestion for how you could improve sweeble or make it easier for me to use – are you interested?
A Absolutely! Email us, feedback@sweeble.com please and we’ll respond as quickly as we can.
Q How many pages can my newsletter be?
A As few as four and as many as you like, but always increasing in multiples of four.
Q Why can I only add four pages at a time, not one or two pages?
A So your newsletter prints correctly. It’s printed on both sides of a page and each page has to match up with its ‘pair’ in the print layout. Imagine a sheet of paper folded in half – you have four surfaces to fill. Imagine that folded sheet of paper as the start of your newsletter. Now add more sheets, all folded too, and put them one inside the other – that’s basically how your newsletter is built for printing.
Q I’ve just started and it’s asking me to pick page layouts for the first four pages, what do I do?
A Firstly, the front page is fixed by the template design you picked, so you don’t need to worry about that. Next is to pick a back page layout and drag that onto your page four. There are different types of layouts – some with ads, some designed for listing results, pick the one you think you’re most likely to need.
Fnally, pick a layout for page two and page three. Think of these pages as the two inside surfaces on a folded sheet of paper – there’s a left-hand side and right-hand side. Again, you’ve got different choices of designs but, if you’re picking one with an ad on it, make sure you put a left page layout on page two and right page layout on page three so the ad appears on the outside edge of the page. Follow the same principle if you add more groups of pages to build up your newsletter.
Q Can I change a page layout?
A Yes – you can choose a different page layout within the correct group. So, for instance, if you want a different back page layout you can choose one of the other back page options within the template style you’ve chosen – just drop the page layout over the top of the one you’ve got. The only exception is the front page, which is fixed according to the template design.
Q Why are the templates only in A5 size, what about other sizes?
A We’ll be introducing A4 soon. Right now we want to concentrate on delivering one thing really, really well before we start to build the range of template sizes and designs. And, actually, we like A5 – it looks good and (we hope) uses less trees.
Q What if I don’t like what I’ve done so far in a newsletter – how do I change it?
A You can change any article or picture on a page just by dropping a new one on top of the old one, or by editing the article itself. If you want to change the design or the layout of several pages, you’ll probably find it easiest to just start again and set up a new newsletter. Your articles and pictures are still in your sweeble archive and you can drop them into the new newsletter. Sweeble will allow you to use the same name/title for your new newsletter, but you should delete the old one so it doesn’t get confusing.
Q All the stories in our newsletter appear with me as the author, can I change that?
A Whoever created the article in sweeble is automatically listed as the person who wrote it. What that means is that is that if someone else sends you an article and you copy that into a new story box within ‘Manage articles’, you are creating a new article and the system assumes you wrote it and puts your name on it in the newsletter or website.
You can’t change this, but you can use the ‘Create sub-account’ function to let
selected people create articles and add pictures, which you can edit and control
so they’re published when you want them to be. That way, the author name stays
with whoever created the original article.
Q What do you mean by me being responsible for what’s in our newsletter?
A If your club or group decides to print a libellous
story about a local business, or comment on an ongoing court case, or make
racist remarks – you’re likely to be breaking the law and someone will be held
responsible. Almost certainly that someone will be the person who checks the
content before it’s added to your newsletter – the editor – who registered as
the main user in sweeble.
Have a look at the Terms of Service for
more information on content and responsibility. We recommend that you avoid
publishing anything where the intent is to be malicious or cause harm to
individuals or companies, or which uses language that could be seen as racist,
obscene or encouraging others to commit violence or crimes.
Q How do I know that a picture I add will look ok when the newsletter’s printed?
A First, start with good quality picture. In most cases, this will be the original picture downloaded from your camera onto your computer, rather than an image taken from another website which will almost certainly not be good enough
for printing. Never increase the size of a picture from the original size, but
it's ok to reduce the size of a picture to fit a space.
This means that, if for instance you’re adding a picture to one of the full picture front page templates (such as Magazine Contemporary) – which is the biggest image size you’ll need in sweeble - you need a picture that is at least 560 pixels by 610 pixels (15cm x 16..5cm, or 7.5 inches by 8.4 inches) in physical size and around 2 MB in file size. Obviously other picture spaces will take smaller images, but if you need to stretch the picture to fit the space on the page, you’re likely to be disappointed with the printed result.
Q How do I change a picture after I’ve added it to a page.
A Just drag across the new picture and drop it on top of the old one of the page
– it will automatically swap over.
Q What about picture copyright?
A Stick with pictures taken by you or another member of your group. Basically, whoever takes a picture
has copyright over that picture (an exception might be if they were paid to take
the picture, for instance as part of their job). If you use a picture taken by
another member or your group or club, make sure they know you plan to use it in
the newsletter and they’re happy for you to do so.
By the way, unlike some other websites out there, we don’t hold or share
copyright with you over any picture or article you publish through sweeble –
it’s all yours.
Q Are there some types of pictures we shouldn’t use, such as ones with children
in them for instance?
A There are some grey areas in the law, but not nearly as many restrictions as a
lot of people think. If you’re worried, read up on photography and the law –
there are plenty of guides and books out there.
The key point to be aware of is that you’re ok as long as you’re taking the
picture in, or from, a public space (except in a court or some similar places).
Pictures can be taken on private land, but you generally need permission. There
is no right to personal privacy (but there are laws governing harassment) and
you don’t need permission to take someone’s photograph – even a child’s – as
long as you’re in a public place.
You have the right to sell any picture taken in a public place, but there are
rules governing how you use it if it could be seen or pornographic, or abusive,
or of use to terrorists – although all of this is especially ‘grey’ in terms of
UK law, so check
Q So how does it work, and is it really "Free"?
A Yes, it's free. We do not charge you anything for using sweeble's newsletter
tools, we do not charge for your sweeble club website. The sweeble site, tools
and club websites are all paid for by us.
Q But do we rip you off by overcharging for the print production?
A We spend a great deal of time trying to find printers who are both competitive
AND reliable. We may not choose the absolute cheapest print-pirate on the web -
but take a look around and you'll see our print costs are competitive. We pass
through the print charges at cost - we do not add a mark-up. The reliability
aspect is not to be underestimated. You will be uncompromising about print
quality, and turn around time - we try to choose print partners who can deliver
on all fronts.
Q What if I want to use a printer I know?
A We are happy to take recommendations from you regarding printers. We can't guarantee to adopt every suggestion, but we'll always take a look at your suggestion and give you feedback. (Please note: this may take some time, and unfortunately doesn't mean we can switch on a new print supplier for you current newsletter - we won't rush into something as important as this).
Q How can you say it’s free when I’m paying for your sweeble adverts taking space in my newsletters?
A Not true. This is the beauty of Sweeble - we pay you to carry a small number of adverts and we pay you roughly double the print cost. So for example, if the printing/paper costs for a quarter page colour advert is, say, one penny - we'll pay you two pennies. You actually profit from carrying our advert. This is deducted from your printing costs - reducing your overall print bill so our advertisers are effectively part-sponsoring your print run.
Q Our group has already got a website, do I have to publish our sweeble stories to our sweeble website as well?
No - you choose whether you publish the content you create in your sweeble archive to a newsletter, or to your sweeble website, or to both. If you only want to use sweeble’s newsletter functions, you don’t have to even set up a sweeble website. And you own the content you create in sweeble, not us, so you can copy and paste it into any other website or publication you want to use. >
Q What does it mean when it asks if I want to make my story ‘public’? What’s sweeblenews?
Sweeblenews is our ‘sister’ website (strictly speaking, big sister because it came first!). It’s a site that lets anyone share their news and, if you want a particular news item about your group to automatically go onto a global news website, clicking the ‘public’ button after you’ve published your story will automatically send it up to sweeblenews where anyone can read it and where search engines may be able to find it more easily.
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