by Anna Cruz

Created on: October 21, 2009

Anyone can write a newsletter and publish it either on their home printer or with the help of a professional online printing company. Newsletters can be customized to many layout formats, for personal or business news, and for any industry or family. If you are new to newsletters, here is a quick list for how to write and distribute yours successfully.

Step 1 choose a topic

The topic for your newsletter is determined by why you are writing. Some people write newsletters to keep family and friends informed of the happenings of life. Some newsletters are business related, keeping customers updated on what is happening in the industry as a whole while also promoting their business or products. Other newsletters are more like a public service announcement, alerting citizens of social or community issues.

Step 2 brainstorm
Once you've settled on a topic, you are ready to start gathering the data for your newsletter. For family newsletters, this will be a list of events in each family member's life over the last year or quarter. For businesses, the options can be more broad. There may have been exciting new technological advances that can be reported in your newsletter or other industry news. For general public service newsletters, topics can range from controversial or social topics that have recently been in the limelight or perhaps a refresher on public safety or seasonal interests.

Step 3 design and write
When you have a list of information to include in your newsletter, you are ready to design your layout. A booklet printing layout is a fabulous idea for newsletters whoever your audience is. For family updates, a booklet layout adds interest and offers unique formats for grouping information. Booklet printing layouts are intuitive to any business or social interest newsletter because we almost naturally organize such topics in a very businesslike manner. Using a booklet printing layout for a newsletter design does not add any extra expense when you use standard 8.5x11 sized paper with a tri-fold technique. For business newsletters, consider including coupons or discount codes for online orders, etc.

Step 4 edit
Take a break before editing. It is easy to overlook mistakes after working on a project for some time. A fresh perspective is helpful. Be sure you have included your personal or business or non-profit organization's website address for readers to visit.

Step 5 - promote
Promote your newsletter on your website or Facebook page. This will create awareness of the availability of your newsletter. Make sure to give viewers instructions on how to sign up for your mailing list.

Step 6 mail it!
An easy way to distribute personal and business newsletters is through the use of an online printing company. Most online printing companies can print and mail your newsletter for you and may even provide a mailing list. This can save you both time and money if you have a large quantity of newsletters to distribute.

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