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The two most important questions

1.  What is its purpose?
2.  Who is it for?
The answers should be clear and will be a solid guide for the copywriter.

Successful newsletters have certain things in common

• The content is varied and includes interviews, top ten lists, human interest stories and/or votes & polls
• The newsletter has a publishing frequency. Set a schedule and distribute your newsletter without fail. Readers will learn to expect it.
• Create a style and personality for the newsletter. Dry verbiage may contain a lot of good information but will not get read.
• Insist on top quality content that is useful and entertaining
• Establish your publication as a trusted source of information. Your integrity and honesty in your conversation with the reader will foster loyalty and subsequent subscriber growth.

Some specifics

• Tell your readers that you don’t sell their information to anyone – ever!
• Include a link to unsubscribe
• When mentioning links to other sites or articles check if they work before distributing the publication and write out the entire URL starting with http://…
• Include people. We are social beings; so recounting actual stories are interesting.
• Ask a guest to contribute content (but make absolutely sure s/he is a credible source)
• Invite readers to ask questions, share stories and generally participate
• Include an FAQ section, even if it’s only one question
• Adding an off-topic, more light-hearted article creates interest
• Do include news about your business, statistics, etc. but beware of writing an advertorial.

Seriously consider subscribing to a distribution site such as iContact or ConstantContact (or MailChimp, which is free for the basic version). These companies offer a variety of templates, so you don’t need to hire a designer. They also make managing your database easy, so you can send different content depending on the recipient target group or industry.