6 Elements Enhance Success of
Municipal Newsletters

It is easy and inviting to read. Articles are well written, brief, and to the point. Headlines grab attention with action words. Graphics, including photographs, are used appropriately to attract attention, illustrate, and add to the newsletter’s visual appeal. Newsletters are read only when they are appealing, interesting, and provide information of value.

It is written with the reader’s interests in mind. The best newsletters avoid telling residents and businesses what city officials believe they are supposed to know. Instead, they focus on what readers want to know. Everyone needs to know when trash pickup day changes because of a holiday, of course, or when the chipper will arrive on the block. Most people are interested in plans for development. They care about plans to alleviate traffic and improve roads. They like to know what the city is doing to improve the quality of life and make the most of scarce economic resources.

It has specific objectives. Some of the most effective municipal newsletters are published by cities that have developed visions of where they want to go. The newsletter keeps the focus on that vision and updates stakeholders on progress. Another objective might be to increase citizen participation in city government; another to demonstrate the value of municipal services. Articles or photos that do not serve the objectives are weeded out.

It can help to humanize government. Many newsletters feature long messages from mayors or village presidents but not much from anyone else. The better ones show that it takes more than a mayor to run a city. There’s City Council, a city manager, a public works director, a police chief, a fire chief, a city attorney, city clerk, and lots of important people whose titles aren’t so impressive. A successful newsletter lets these people speak directly to the people they serve.

It becomes an important part of the City’s identity. Surveys in one municipality we serve consistently identify the newsletter as the major source of information about the city. Residents look for it and read it. It may be the most important contact many residents have with the city.

It builds excitement and a sense of ownership in local activities and events. Promoting activities and events in each issue and featuring highlights—with photos— afterward communicates that this is a fun community in which to live. Readers are inspired to join in the fun.