Writing a newsletter is a daunting task. Whether your non-profit sends its newsletters by snail mail or by email, it is essential to produce a quality newsletter that doesn’t take up all of your time. Charity Fundraising Blog offers 3 steps to help produce amazing newsletters…
1. Create a Plan
It is essential to plan the “what, who, and when” of your newsletter.
• What: what are you planning to include in this issue? Outline the newsletter to see what article topics, pictures, data, and upcoming events like benefits or auctions that you may want included in your newsletter.
• Who: who will help you create your content? Assigning tasks to your team can help you accomplish your task in a realistic and manageable timeframe.
• When: do you have a set deadline for your newsletter? Even if you are creating the newsletter yourself with no team in your organization, set firm deadlines, and stick to them!
2. Create, Collect, And Edit Content
Creating the content for a newsletter is, by far, the longest of the processes. However, most non-profits don’t leave a sufficient amount of time for collecting and editing the created content. Part of the editing process is holding a meeting to discuss items that your team has turned in – What was most interesting to your team throughout the writing process? Did your team’s work help them think of possible future articles for later issues? Could the team’s combined efforts come up with some better phrasing for the main articles? Also, remember to delegate editing the content for spelling and grammar errors through two people to double check the clarity of your newsletter.
3. Confirm Final Edits
Editing content continues into the final stage of writing a quality newsletter. Whether your newsletter is electronic or on paper, ALWAYS do a test trial of your newsletter. For e-newsletters, look on your computer AND on some different mobile devices to make sure your email is compatible for all types of platforms. For paper newsletters, make one final detailed edit to ensure proper spelling, capitalizing, and making sure the tone, look, and feel of the newsletter fits your organization.
