Community Newsletters – A Complete Guide

Newsletters remain one of the most effective ways organizations communicate with their members and the greater community. Your newsletter is the spot people look for important updates, seasonal event announcements, messages from your leadership, information about services, images, recaps of recent events, and more! Done right, it should reflect the personality of your community and reinforce your mission.

Inside this Guide, You’ll Find:

• More Than a Mailing: Why Community Newsletters Still Deliver
• Digital or Print? Why Newsletters Belong in Both Worlds
• The Content You Should Include
• Tips for Organizing Your Content and Layout
• Ways to Work Smarter, Not Harder and Keep Costs Low
• How to Get a Free (Ad-Supported) Monthly Newsletter from LPi

More Than a Mailing: Why Community Newsletters Still Deliver

With trust in online media dropping every day, your newsletter has the potential to become an even more important and credible source of information for your community. Newsletters give you a direct line to your audience, and give them a direct line to you, fostering community and greater belonging. No algorithms to navigate, no outside competition, just clear, focused communication on your terms. In fact, your newsletter can even boost trust in your organization’s online presence — driving traffic to your website and social media from people who are already engaging with you and looking for more.

Newsletters also create multiple touch points when other forms of communication, like a social media post or a banner announcement on your website, might only get someone’s attention once. Instead, your printed newsletter goes home with people and can be revisited repeatedly. The digital version of your newsletter will land in their personal email inbox and be accessed on the cellphone they take everywhere. It will likely sit in their inbox or on their counter, available for multiple revisits! For these reasons, newsletters help your organization stay relevant to folks even after a member has left your building or event.

Digital or Print? Why Newsletters Belong in Both Worlds

Both print and digital newsletters play an essential role when it comes to community communication. A gorgeous, environmentally responsible, full-color printed copy is perfect for handing out at your front desk or mailing to members who prefer something tangible — especially seniors — and makes your organization look professional and on top of your game. A digital version, on the other hand, makes it easy to reach people who are on the go, out of town, or prefer to get their communications online. It should never be one or the other, though, as excluding one type of newsletter can seriously limit your audience! Your newsletter needs to be offered in both print and digital mediums.

The good news? If you print your newsletter with LPi, a digital version is automatically created and distributed for you when you upload your design to print — with no extra work required on your end!

Use this digital version to reach even more of your community online.

Here are a few simple ways to share it:

• Email it to your members and include potential members, too. LPi will email it automatically for you every time you publish!
• Text a link to members who’ve opted into text updates.
• Post it on your social media profiles for wider visibility.
• Use LPi’s “set it and forget it” widget to embed the latest issue directly on your website. This way, it updates automatically every time you publish!

Creating both print and digital options ensures your message reaches people, however they prefer to stay connected. If the printer you are working with to make your newsletters doesn’t have an automatic option for this, it’s time to partner with a better printer!

The Content You Should Include in Your Newsletter

Effective community-building newsletters go well beyond a calendar of events — they often include content from a variety of sources. Consider tapping your staff, volunteers, and members for contributions. Engaging with many different viewpoints and perspectives will draw even more people into your publication through stories that help your community grow and thrive.

Consider these additions to your monthly newsletter:

• A letter from the director
• Member spotlights
• Event recaps
• Notices of community milestones
• Art created by members (visual and written)
• Spotlighting community partners
• Health and wellness tips
• Personal stories from members and staff
• Volunteer recognition
• Highlighting keynote speakers and others who contribute to your event
• Contests and challenges
• Puzzles and Games
• Recipes
• End-of-year recaps and Impact reports

Only you know what matters most to your community, so be sure that the content you choose to incorporate into your publication isn’t just what you, the editor, prefer. Instead, think about what kind of content your members will love. This being said, don’t skip out on the fun stuff! Balancing informative content with fun content is key.  

Tips for Organizing Your Content and Layout

Now that you have your content gathered, it’s time to talk about how to present it to your readers. First and foremost, you will want to consider your audience and keep them in mind when designing your cover and layout. For example, if your newsletter goes out to an audience of mostly older adults, you will certainly design it differently than if it were specifically for young families.

To use this example, in a newsletter focused on a senior community, you might consider your design’s visual accessibility. A smart design for this demographic would include contrasting colors, enough space between design elements to easily digest articles and images, and a font size that isn’t too small to read at a glance.

After you consider your audience, it’s important to answer these design questions:

• What size and kind of paper is your newsletter being printed on?
• Is your brand being used in the design’s font and color decisions?
• How many columns are you using on each page? (No more than three, hopefully!)
• What content is most important to present first? What comes after that?
• Do some pages always contain the same information each month?
• Is your cover professional-looking and inviting, or is it too busy/includes too much content?

Remember, your newsletter should feel polished and purposeful. Why? Because if it looks “homemade,” people may gravitate away from it rather than dive in. Your audience is already trained to recognize professional, good design. They see it all around them wherever they go. If your newsletter isn’t up to par when it comes to design standards, your organization will look like it is disorganized and doesn’t care.  

Design best practices, like including enough negative space and omitting any images that might be fuzzy or low-quality, are essential no matter who your audience is! A well-organized, professional design helps guide the reader’s eye, highlights your most important updates, and makes your organization feel trustworthy.

If you want a hand with the layout and design process, some companies offer a free newsletter template or a free redesign by their professional designers when you choose to print with them!

For a more in-depth discussion about newsletter layout best practices, head over to read our article: Reader-Friendly Newsletter Layouts.

Ways to Work Smarter, Not Harder and Keep Newsletter Costs Low

Designing a clear, engaging community newsletter is a whole lot easier when you don’t have to start from scratch every single month. Many editors spend hours putting together their monthly content, so having access to a content library is crucial to saving time. Whether you need a short spotlight piece, seasonal message, crossword puzzle, inspirational quote, or graphics to make it all pop, having access to ready-to-use professionally written and designed content keeps your newsletter on top of its game… and helps keep your newsletter editor happy and stress-free!

In this next section, we’ll highlight the types of stock content every newsletter editor should have in their toolkit and why. If you're not sure where to begin, WeCreate offers a curated library of content designed to support the voice and mission of community organizations just like yours. All of the following essential content pieces are available in WeCreate — just a click away. Easy to find and even easier to use. Let’s get into it!

A Good Newsletter Content Library Should Include:

1.       Written Content:
We’ve all been there — you’ve got one last column to fill, but nothing left to put there. That’s where stock-written content can be a lifesaver. Whether you need a full article, seasonal message, inspirational quote, or a simple recipe, having access to ready-to-use written material helps keep your layout clean and consistent.

2.       Graphics:
Designing custom visuals for everything in your newsletter isn’t always realistic. It becomes especially challenging if you aren’t a graphic designer! This is why having access to a library of professionally designed stock graphics is a game-changer. With illustrations, event headers, icons, and more at your fingertips, you can enhance your layout without professional design software, the skills, or the time it takes to create those designs.

3.       Stock Photos: The same concept applies to stock photos. Ideally, any images you include in your newsletter would be of your own community and members. Still, it’s not always realistic to set aside the time and expertise to take those images. Stock photos offer a solution so that you can still include photos where you want them if you don’t already have them.

4.       Puzzles and Games:
We hear it time and time again from our newsletter customers: “I admit it! I turn directly to the puzzles first!” Including fun elements like puzzles not only allows for a fun way to break up longer written articles but also serves as a great way to engage a wider audience. WeCreate offers a number of puzzle options uploaded each month for those readers craving a new challenge!

5.       Infographics:
Break up the text, image, text, image pattern with a beautifully designed infographic. This type of graphic combines written content with a beautiful design to make your newsletter look better than the average publication. Using infographics will certainly help you stand out from the rest!

6.       Comics:
Last, but not least, is the humor section! If your content library doesn’t include options for comics, it might be time to subscribe to WeCreate. The comics in WeCreate are one-of-a-kind and can’t be found anywhere else. Round out your content with a smile.

If you’re still not sold on the idea of a content library subscription, you can see the value for yourself in this free sneak peek of the kind of content you’ll have access to in WeCreate. Every month, we feature free selections of downloadable content on our website, available to anyone — no subscription required! It’s a great way to explore what WeCreate has to offer and try out a piece or two in your next issue before you subscribe to the full library. https://www.lpicommunities.com/free-community-art

We should note that all organizations that partner with LPi for their print and digital newsletters receive full access to WeCreate to use whenever they need a content boost. It’s included!

How to Get a NO-COST Monthly (Ad-Supported) Newsletter from LPi

Community organizations that partner with LPi receive their print and digital newsletters at no cost, thanks to support from local businesses! Through our ad-supported model, LPi connects your organization with small businesses and sponsors in your area. Their ads help fund your newsletter, so you can focus on connecting with your members, not your printing budget.

When you publish your newsletter with LPi, you also get access to these valuable tools:

• A custom-designed newsletter template tailored by our in-house multimedia team to reflect your organization’s personality. View a few of our sample designs here.
• FREE access to WeCreate — our digital content library filled with graphics, photos, seasonal articles, puzzles, and more newsletter-ready written content. We update it monthly, so you’ll always have fresh material to work with.
• A digital version of your newsletter, automatically created and published in high resolution on MyCommunityOnline.com. You can link to it on your website, text it to members, send it out via email as a digital newsletter, or post it to social media. Plus, LPi stores your previous editions for easy access.
• Real human support. When you work with LPi, you’re never left to figure things out alone. Our customer service team is here to help with your questions, walk you through processes, and celebrate your wins.
  
  

We know you’re committed to keeping your community informed and engaged, and we’re here to make that easier! Every article, layout tweak, graphic and photo you include in your newsletter helps bring people together. When you partner with LPi, your newsletter becomes a vibrant, lasting tool for communication and community building. We’re proud to support the work you do.

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To join the many senior centers, civic groups, and local organizations already partnering with LPi or to simply find more resources, visit us online at www.LPiCommunities.com/newsletter-services

Or head over to the newsletter tools section of our blog to find more articles about creating the best newsletters possible!