Have something to say? Then, publish it with Microsoft Office Publisher.

Publisher is a desktop publishing application that is part of the professional and business editions of the Microsoft Office suite. It offers a wide selection of templates to help you create professional-looking publications. With hundreds of basic templates, you can easily create business cards, flyers, newsletters, websites, and a variety of other publications, and then customize those templates to meet your needs.

The following 5 tips will help you easily create effective publications using Publisher:

1. Choose a template. Templates allow you to quickly create publications that are well-designed. You don’t have to spend hours deciding where to place text, which font to use, or what colors will look good together.With more than 50 newsletters, 85 brochures, 140 flyers, 300 greeting card template, and a variety of other publication types, you can’t say that Publisher gives you a limited number of choices. Spend the time to review the available templates and you’ll likely find one that appeals to you.
2. Change templates while designing. Have you ever started a project and realized halfway through that you didn’t like it? In Publisher, this isn’t a problem. For example, if you select Flyer Template A, enter all the text and graphics into the placeholders, and then decide you don’t like it, Publisher allows you to change Flyer templates.Publisher will transfer the text and images from Flyer Template A to the new flyer. Simply choose Publication Designs from the Task Pane and apply another design to see the template change instantly.
   
3. Customize a template. Templates don’t have to be used “as is.” You have the ability to customize a template for a specific use. Don’t like the AutoShape on the template? Delete it. Need an extra text box? Add it. Want to use a blue font color instead of black? Change it. You can still reap the benefits of using a template and add your own “personality” to it.
4. Use the Color and Font Schemes options. You can change a template’s color and/or font schemes to have a dramatic impact on the publication’s look. This is an easy way to keep the same design layout, but choose colors and fonts that work best in your publication.

5. Review the preset options for each template. If you choose to use a template, it will have a variety of options associated with it. For example, you can format calendar templates in portrait or landscape, display it in a monthly or yearly format, and include a schedule of events. You can choose to add graphics, contact information, coupons, order forms, response forms, and more to flyers. These options are preset in individual templates, and you can access these in the Task Pane.

Publisher gives you the ability to create publications from scratch; however, the real beauty of Publisher is that it allows design novices like me to create publications that look like they were created by a professional. Take a little time to explore our Publisher tutorial and see how you might be able to use this dynamic application.