🏡 Nurturing your neighborhood

How long has it been since you've been outside? Smelled some roses? Touched some grass? The world can be an anxiety-inducing place, but that doesn't mean you have to disconnect from your surroundings to feel at peace. In fact, your neighbors need your written words now more than ever, and they're ready to be inspired. This week's newsletter is about supporting your city with a local newsletter, awakening your community awareness, and writing to inform. Let's go!

In this week's issue 📨

• Starting a local newsletter
• Connect with your community
• Newswriting best practices

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Living la vida local

Local journalism is back in a big way! While traditional print newspapers have experienced some challenges in the age of the internet, local news is experiencing a resurgence in the form of email newsletters. If you're an independent writer or journalist looking to keep your neighbors informed, entertained, and connected, we've got the digital scoop for success.

Let's examine what it takes to start a local newsletter as an independent publisher and how you can cultivate growth.

Local audience

• The first step in creating a local newsletter is deciding who you want to serve. Whether in a small town or a big city, being a voice for your local community should always be a primary focus. Try centering on citizens who live close by, have ties to the locale, or are considering moving to that area.
• Consider the size of the population you plan to attract. If you live in a small town, you may try broadening your scope to your entire county. If you're in a major city, do the opposite and hone in on a specific region within city limits to create more targeted content.

Unique content

• No matter what type of newsletter you create, it's always possible to develop a geography-based version. You can publish original long-form stories on local issues, curate work from nearby creators, or even provide recipes and cooking tutorials using local produce.
• Start defining the problems you're looking to solve with your content. What's everyone talking about, and how can you help? Deciding on the what (the problems) and the how (the type of content) will allow your work to be naturally unique, useful, and trustworthy.

Business strategy

• There are lots of ways to make money from your content in today's digital world, but for your local newsletter, consider your neighbors when deciding on a monetization method. You'll want to strike a nice balance between the availability of your content and how you'll sustain your business.
• The internet is packed with content, and people are busy going through the problems you're trying to solve. If you want to be known, you need to know your neighborhood. Focus on relationship-driven growth by attending in-person local events. Invest time away from your computer and be a person!

Publishing expectations

• You get to decide how frequently you publish. Some news publications release content daily or even multiple times a day, but this doesn't have to be your path. No matter what schedule you set, consistency is key! Try sticking with the same sending patterns to ensure the most eyes on your emails.
• If you're unsure of your sending schedule, the length of your content can help. If you're writing thousand-word pieces of original research in every issue, it would be impossible to release them daily. You'll want to choose a length and format that sustains your business for the long term.

Interesting stories & ideas 📚

• Community engagement 2.0 – Journalism.co.uk
• Social media detoxification – Embedded
• What's still here? – Jason Fried
• How to write engaging subject lines – Stripo
• Black Twitter's journalistic impact – Nieman Lab

Love thy neighbor

Writing with your community in mind requires that you be a part of it. You're probably itching to get started on your local newsletter so you can positively impact the world around you, but you'll need to actually put your boots on the ground first so your written words resonate. If you're not already engaged with your region on a political level, now's the time to start.

Sören Fillet, content marketing manager at Go Vocal, breaks down how you can become an active community member so your newsletter thrives.

#1 Stay up to date on local politics by reading your local newspaper, getting familiar with your local politicians, and attending town meetings. Be a nosy neighbor in a constructive way so you have lots to write about.

#2 Create space for those less fortunate than you. If you want your publication to be an uplifting community voice, you should stay informed on topics that don't affect you directly. Check your privilege, open your mind, and be humble.

#3 Get your hands dirty by volunteering in your community if you want to directly and positively impact your subscribers. Start with volunteering at organizations, charities, and businesses that align with your values.

#4 Vote in local elections! Participating in the political process is one of the best and easiest ways to create positive change in your city. Not everyone everywhere gets a chance to let their voices be heard, so take advantage of your advantages.

#5 Support local businesses by making conscious purchasing choices. Rather than going to major chains, spend your hard-earned money at local shops instead. Keeping your town's cultural spark alive makes for great content.

#6 Take matters into your own hands on any topic extra close to your heart. Once you've built a solid foundation of loyal newsletter subscribers, use this muscle to drastically change and improve your community. The power is yours!

Good news is good news

Just like every other type of blog, newswriting has its own special vibe. If you're looking to inform the masses of the happenings in your hometown using your local newsletter, there's a preferred journalistic writing style that you must harness. Millions of people purposefully avoid the news daily, but if you report the right way, you can capture community consciousness in no time.

Tiffany Fowell, content writer at Grammarly, shares newswriting best practices so your words are read and neighboring voices are heard.

‣ The way you format your news articles can be key to maximum absorption for your readers. Start with the most important details to make the main points easily digestible, even if they don't read the whole thing. You can fill in all the details and include more context later in the post.

‣ Use an engaging lead to set the tone of your story and deliver the core facts. The opening paragraph of your news article should be as compelling as possible so you don't lose your audience before they can taste all the essential ingredients. Getting people excited about reading the news is critical.

‣ After your rousing intro, explain why the story matters and tie all of the facts to the bigger picture so your subscribers can connect the dots. People care about the things that impact them on a personal level, and it's your job to break down why they should be empathetic to a particular cause.

‣ Use simple language so that your followers feel informed instead of overwhelmed. While newswriting can be very serious business, try to keep things light using plain language instead of lots of jargon and technicalities. If you need to say something fancy, take the time to explain in layperson's terms.

‣ Organize the body of your post with facts and context. Keeping things clear and logical throughout will support the main points you laid out in your lead and keep your readers engaged. Try using topic sentences and transition phrases to take them through the path you've built.

‣ Your writing should always showcase your personality and authenticity so your readers know they can trust you. If you want to raise your reputation, use quotes and attributions to highlight key perspectives and add valuable insight to your stories. Just be sure to always double-check that quotes are accurate!

Curator's pick ✍️

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