Determining Your Newsletter’s Purpose, Part 1: Five Key Questions to Ask at the Beginning

from Newsletters Plus

Everyone knows you need a newsletter, right? But where do you start?

You have been given the important task of starting a newsletter for your company, department or organization. Where to start? How do you begin? How do you avoid being overwhelmed?

Start with the basics, of course! Borrowing a few of the open–ended, fundamental questions of journalism* can provide the steps toward a productive launch for your newsletter. The original five W’s of good journalism are: Who, What, When, Where and Why:

• Why does your company / department / organization want and need a newsletter?

• Who is the audience? What are the audience demographics? Is the audience for your newsletter homogenous (mostly the same types of readers) or heterogeneous (readers of diverse backgrounds)?

• What primary and secondary purpose(s) will your newsletter serve? What organizational / departmental / company / business needs will it meet or is it expected to meet?

• How will the newsletter serve or benefit the audience? What audience / reader needs will be met?

• How will it benefit the publisher (company / department / organization) creating and distributing the newsletter? What publisher / business /organizational / departmental needs will be met?

• Where will it have an impact? What are the outcomes / consequences / actions desired? What are the anticipated and likely outcomes? What actions are likely to be taken as a result of the newsletter? What are the benefits of the newsletter whether actions result or not?

• When will it reach the readers or targeted audience? How often will it be produced? How much lead time is needed for each issue?

• Who is responsible for the newsletter? Who will oversee the production? Layout and design? Content/articles/photos? Timeline?

* Other questions for creating a newsletter include: How, how much, how many, how often, how to measure newsletter characteristics such as: worthwhile/valuable/informative?

It's up to you to determine (and document) which purposes your newsletter will serve, but the time spent analyzing and focusing before starting it will save you many headaches along the way. These tips are offered as a way to help you get started, to encourage your group to do some brainstorming and to help you gain some clarity regarding the all-important purpose of your newsletter.

Future topics will include decision-making tips regarding your newsletter publication frequency, publishing schedule, choosing a printer length/size, layout, design, and very importantly — editorial guidelines: how to determine the content of your newsletter: types of stories, articles, columns, images, charts and the process of deciding what to include (or reject or avoid). Effective planning includes how to present the content and information which help achieve the purpose of your newsletter.

Your Newsletter’s Purpose, Part 2

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