How to generate professional quality e-mail readings?

GryffinSong said:

Many people seem to want the reader to tell them what's what, what to do, and how it's all going to turn out. I don't feel that another HAS that power.

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I circumvent that, when necessary, by saying something like:

"Ethically, I can't tell you what to do in the situation. But given what I've just said, I'd think very carefully about the likely outcomes of doing A and the likely outcomes of doing B, and make the decision that is going to be most beneficial to you, even if it is not what you would like on the surface."

nisaba said:

I circumvent that, when necessary, by saying something like:

"Ethically, I can't tell you what to do in the situation. But given what I've just said, I'd think very carefully about the likely outcomes of doing A and the likely outcomes of doing B, and make the decision that is going to be most beneficial to you, even if it is not what you would like on the surface."

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That sounds like a great way to handle it.

For Mac and Linux users, there's a nice program called Scribus that you can use to create layouts. Microsoft Publisher would probably be similar.

Inkscape is a really nice free graphics program that you can use to design headings, borders and so on.

Office documents can look professional if you use a nice font (don't use five different ones) and keep things well spaced with a bit of white space around the edges. I'd suggest trying to create a template - if you use the same spreads all the time, then you can just swap out the images. A very small image would be sufficient for most people, to give them a rough idea without taking up too much bandwidth.

Amanda_04 said:

Honestly, I've had so many people tell me not to even bother sending images. They don't care... it's the information they want.

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This is so true! I don't understand it either, ha. I usually send the image anyway
My opinion is that a program is nice but I wouldn't spent a lot of money on one and I don't think it is necessary. I write up the reading in word and attach the file, and I have a really nice camera so I attach a photo of the actual reading and this has done the job!

JBerry said:

Being able to show a graphic representation of drawn cards is one big advantage that e-mail readings have as a long distance reading method. I'm very interested in any techniques that other readers have found for generating professional quality e-mail readings that incorporate scanned images of the cards used in the reading.

Do any great word processing or e-mail programs exist out there that do a beautiful job. I like things to look really attractive and well done.

I'm a Mac person living in a PC world. Mac affords the ease of being able to drop and drag graphic files on to a page and then float text around. I am then converting a document that I create to a PDF file and sending this as an attachment. It does preserve the appearance of the original document.

It would be nice to create a very professional and attractive product that goes beyond this. Any ideas to share? Thank you.

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I've been doing this for years. My best suggestion, that works wonderfully for me, is to get IncrediMail. Which is an e-mail program that rides on your regular e-mail. You do not need a new e-mail address to use it.In fact you can configure your IncrediMail to accept many different e-mail addresses. And it lets you use all kinds of fancy backgrounds to your e-mails. As well as all kinds of other fun things that are not relevant to your question though.

IncrediMail is a pure joy even if you are not a reader. It's just fun and I could not be with out mine. Then get the IncrediMail Letter Creator. It lets you create your own e-mail backgrounds to use. I have both.

When I do a reading, I take photos of the cards on my digital camera, sometimes of the spread if I used one. I then transfer them to the computer. I then edit them to make them look their best. If you do not have a good photo editing programme, I highly recommend PhotoPerfect. I love mine.

Then when I get the photos looking just as I would like, I open my Letter Creator and create the background using the photos. It does not just add them in, it creates an e-mail background. EG you can type words in. I tend to add the first photo and then write "Card 1" underneath, then the second photo with "Card 2" underneath. etc.

It also lets you add in a nice background colour to match the colours in your cards. Before you know it something professional looking. Altbough I have found through experience that the background colour may not show up in certain e-mail programs.

Anyone wanting to see what one of my readings looks like, PM me your e-mail and I'll send you a sample of how it looks.

That is my way of doing it anyway,

Babs

Great advice

"For Mac and Linux users, there's a nice program called Scribus that you can use to create layouts.
Inkscape is a really nice free graphics program that you can use to design headings, borders and so on."

Thanks so much for these recommendations. This was exactly the type of advice I'm looking for. I did download Scribus, but haven't had the time to delve in deep with the tutorial, etc. I do have a Mac. The downside of that is that less good software is available.

More great advice!

SunChariot said:

I've been doing this for years. My best suggestion, that works wonderfully for me, is to get IncrediMail. Which is an e-mail program that rides on your regular e-mail. You do not need a new e-mail address to use it.In fact you can configure your IncrediMail to accept many different e-mail addresses. And it lets you use all kinds of fancy backgrounds to your e-mails. As well as all kinds of other fun things that are not relevant to your question though.

IncrediMail is a pure joy even if you are not a reader. It's just fun and I could not be with out mine. Then get the IncrediMail Letter Creator. It lets you create your own e-mail backgrounds to use. I have both.

When I do a reading, I take photos of the cards on my digital camera, sometimes of the spread if I used one. I then transfer them to the computer. I then edit them to make them look their best. If you do not have a good photo editing programme, I highly recommend PhotoPerfect. I love mine.

This sounds great. I'm looking forward to viewing your sample and trying this out. Thanks for sharing with us.

Sounds good. I'll check it out. Thanks for sharing with us.

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IncrediMail

SunChariot said:

"IncrediMail is a pure joy even if you are not a reader. It's just fun and I could not be with out mine. Then get the IncrediMail Letter Creator. It lets you create your own e-mail backgrounds to use. I have both."

The sample e-mail that SunChariot sent me is lovely. Placing images of Tarot cards on a colored background does add a special touch. Regrettably IncrediMail is a PC program. Does anyone know of a similar e-mail program for Macs?

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