Writing for Newsletters

Content Writing for ImpactA Youth Summit Workshop

Hosted by BLS Youth CAN and MIT May 19, 2007

Nancy DuVergne SmithEditorial Director, MIT Alumni Association

What makes a newsletter great?

Content: What you present

Information that meets readers’ needsRelevanceUrgency

Timely topicsConversational voiceRelevant factsFirst person stories

Readability: How you present it

Scanable: headlines, subheads, summaries

Chunks: short sentences & paragraphs Readable type Photos: tell the story Graphics: make a point

Who is your audience?

What interests them?What are your goals?What topics connect their interests to

your goals?What actions can they take?

Story ideas

Brainstorm five story ideas Interesting InformativeEngaging

Describe each idea in a sentence or two

Why write a good headline?

"Three little words (the headline, I mean) are the highest-value and highest-risk design decisions you make…."

Jacob Nielsen, Web usability guru

http://www.useit.com/

Powerful headlines

Using headlines & subheads Invites scanningRespects readers’ timeUnderscores the point

Student headlines

The Paly Voice

Palo Alto High School, CA

http://voice.paly.net/

Student headlines

The Grizzly Gazette

Granite Hills High School, El Cajon, CA

http://www.grizzlygazette.net/

Topic to headline

Write a headline for one or two of your story ideas

Headline basics:Eight words or lessActive verbCaptures main idea

Dynamic writing

Writing about serious issues

“Local suicides cause concern in Newton”

The Lion’s Roar, Newton South High School, Newton MA

http://www.thelionsroar.com/index.php?method=article&id=2706

Writing tips

Be respectfulGive examplesOffer voices--expert or personalEmphasize solutionsShow, don’t tell

Inverted pyramid lead

Paragraph includes ConclusionWho, when, why, where, & howMakes sense on its ownFlavor

Inverted pyramid example 1

Does milk ruin tea?

Here's a ray of hope for milky-tea drinkers: new research shows that the quaint British custom of adding milk doesn't ruin the beneficial properties of the traditional drink.

www.nature.com

Inverted pyramid example 2

Sixteen Cities To Go Green Under Clinton PlanSixteen cities around the world will begin cutting carbon emissions by renovating city-owned buildings with green technology under a program spearheaded by former President Clinton's foundation.

Environmental News Network, www.enn.com/

Inverted pyramid example 3

Climate Change Linked to Higher Rates of Disease

Scientists fear that rising temperatures due to climate change may jeopardize the health of millions of people living in Colombia's mountains.

Conservation International, www.conservation.org

Your inverted pyramid

Please write an inverted pyramid lead for one or two of your topics

B.L.S YOUTH C.A.N. brainstorm

Resources

Campus WeblinesNYTimes guide to high school news writing

http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/specials/weblines/index.html

Resources

Poynter Institute OnlineWriting and editing tips and articles from noted journalism institute

http://www.poynter.org/subject.asp?id=2

The end

Thank you!