Newsletter issue formats

Purpose

A newsletter lives or dies on its recurring issue. Readers return when the issue is useful, quick to scan, and consistent. Curation is an easy way to publish regularly, but a list of links with no commentary is not worth reading. This skill sets a format for each issue type and a production process the owner can repeat every week.

When to use

• A newsletter needs a regular issue format.
• A weekly roundup is planned, or an existing one has become a list of links.
• A social post has worked well and the owner wants to turn it into an issue.
• The owner needs a list of issue ideas for the coming months.

Route elsewhere when:

• The question is the welcome sequence. Use newsletter-subscriber-onboarding.
• The question is the subject line. Use email-subject-and-copy-review.
• The question is the newsletter's positioning. Use newsletter-positioning.

Inputs

• The newsletter's audience and the series format chosen.
• The owner's own posts or social content, for turning into issues.
• The reading or material available to curate that week.
• Past issues, so the format stays consistent.

Procedure

Choose a format, build the issue structure, then follow the production process. Use the post and idea sections when they apply.

The five roundup formats

• Link roundup: the best articles or posts from the week, each with a short comment on why it matters.
• Lesson roundup: what the owner learned that week, with one or two examples.
• Tool roundup: tools the owner has tested, with what each is good for and what it is not.
• Content roundup: the owner's own content and that of others, grouped by theme.
• Hybrid: two or more of the above in one issue, with a clear section for each.

Pick one format per series, and keep it for at least several issues so readers know what to expect.

Issue structure

1. Intro: two or three sentences on the issue's theme, in the owner's voice.
2. Curated items: three to six items, each with the owner's own comment. The comment says why it matters to this reader.
3. One closing call to action: one next step, such as a reply, a resource, or a link to a related piece. Not several.

Keep the whole issue scannable: short paragraphs, clear item headings, and no item longer than a few lines of the owner's comment.

Production process

1. Collect candidate items during the week, in one place, with a note on why each might matter.
2. Select three to six items, dropping any the owner cannot comment on from experience.
3. Write the comment for each item in the owner's voice.
4. Write the intro last, once the items are chosen.
5. Check that every item carries a comment. An item without one is removed, not published.
6. Schedule the send at the same time each week.

Turning a post into an issue

A social post that worked has already been tested on the audience. Expand it into an issue by adding the reasoning the short post could not hold, a practical example, and a single closing call to action. Credit the original and do not reuse another person's post without permission.

Idea list

To generate issue ideas for a year, list the reader's recurring questions, the owner's recent lessons, and the tools and content the owner uses. Group the ideas by format, and schedule the formats so no two heavy issues run back to back.

Output

• The format chosen, with a sample issue outline.
• The production process as a weekly checklist.
• For a conversion, the expanded issue draft.
• For an idea list, the ideas grouped by format and scheduled.

Quality bar

Every item carries the owner's comment. The issue has one call to action. The format stays the same for several issues. Other people's posts are credited and reused only with permission. Watch for link lists with no commentary, several calls to action in one issue, and a format changed every week.