Email newsletter ideas

Once you have started writing an email newsletter, the pressure is on to keep writing it on a regular basis. The following ideas may be of use to you, particularly if you are suffering 'writer's block' and finding it difficult to keep your newsletter going.

Keep a 'newsletter ideas' list
Subscribe to and read other email newsletters
Develop a theme
Take a break!
Write your newsletter in stages
Plan in advance
Ask your subscribers for suggestions

Keep a 'newsletter ideas' list

If you plan to maintain a regular timetable for writing your newsletter, it can be hard to come up with original topics to write about. Try keeping an ideas list of potential articles on your PC, personal organizer or in a notebook. When you think of an idea, jot it down. When the time comes to write your newsletter you will at least have a starting point to generate something.

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Subscribe to and read other email newsletters

It's a good idea to subscribe to similar email newsletters in your particular field. This might help to generate some potential articles for your own offering, perhaps your own interpretation of an article you have read elsewhere.

A word of warning though - don't steal content on the internet, even email newsletters. Unless the author permits it, using someone else's content is poor form and shows a lack of originality on your part. You are also violating copyright laws by engaging in this practice - so don't!

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Develop a theme

Your readers will appreciate a consistent format to your newsletter. You don't want a 4 page PDF file file one month and a 5 paragraph text email the next. Work out what you want your newsletter to achieve and write with that in mind. For example our emailed newsletter has the following format every month:

• introduction
• article 1 (usually on writing)
• article 2 (usually on internet/computer issues)
• other web sites of interest

It's not a big newsletter but it is designed as regular light reading that can be read at any time or deleted if the recipient is too busy (we hope this doesn't happen often!).

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Take a break!

It's your newsletter, so don't be afraid to take a break sometimes if you feel like it is a strain or you are too busy with other work. Your readers will come to expect hearing from you regularly, so let them know in advance if you plan on skipping an issue at Christmas for example.

It can be a challenge to keep your newsletter going but it also provides a reason to write something every month that you can send to your clients and contacts. This can be extremely valuable and serve to remind people you are still in business. Clients we haven't done any work for in a while will occasionally ring us a few days after receiving our newsletter.

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Write your newsletter in stages

Sitting down to write your monthly newsletter can become a chore. But if you write for 15 minutes a week, 4 times a month that's a small commitment and the hour of writing will not seem such a daunting task.

Write your newsletter in stages. Get a rough draft done and the final polish can be done a day or two before you send it out. Take a few days to do some other work, then come back to your newsletter and see if you can improve on what you wrote before.

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Plan in advance

Having your newsletter contents planned out in advance make a lot of sense. It will save you time when it comes to writing it, and it allows you to match particular stories with others or to the time of year.

Use a simple spreadsheet and work on a schedule of having the next three months at least partially planned.

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Ask your subscribers for suggestions

You can also ask your subscribers to contribute content to your newsletter. This could be in the form of a competition, suggestions for articles or actual contributions for inclusion. Some of your readers may appreciate the chance to get involved - if there are some frustrated writers amongst them they may relish the opportunity to help you out occasionally.

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See our guide to writing email newsletters…