Excerpted from Quick and Easy Newsletters:

Quick-Start: A Letter-Style Newsletter in an Hour
Ready, set, launch in an hour. The power launch newsletter is the fastest, easiest way to test your newsletter with your community of readers.

It’s essentially a “news letter”—a letter format filled with news and printed onto your organization’s stationery. It’s a newsletter that you can write, edit and produce in an hour (see page 30).

This format is a great way to send the most personal, one-on-one greeting that keeps your clients, prospects, volunteers, employees, donors, sponsors, and members of your club, group, board or troop informed.

Create a Quick-Start Letter-Style Newsletter

1. Take out a sheet of your letterhead.

2. Open the file called letter. The margins are set at one-inch to the left and right and one-half inch to the top and bottom. you will use <Return> or <Enter> to move text down on the page. If you need to adjust the right or left margins:

In MS-Word: Under the File menu, select Page Setup. Click on the tab that says Margins and change the margins to fit your letterhead.

In WordPerfect: Under the Layout menu, select Margins. Change the margins to fit your letterhead.
In Works: Under the File menu, select Page Setup. Click on the tab that says Margins and change the margins to fit your letterhead.

3. Type in the current date in the area marked “Month/Year.”
Go to the “Dear Client” area and either leave as is or …
> Change “Dear “ to one of the following options:
Hi, Welcome, Greetings, Hello, or another salutation
> Change “Client” to:
Valued Customer, Friend, Volunteer, Member,
Colleague, Associate, Neighbor, Families, Parents,
Supporter, Patron, Buyer
> Or, give your letter a name and change the salutation to “Welcome to the <Newsletter Name>.”
Create a newsletter name by combining your organization’s name or the main subject that your newsletter covers with one of the News Words listed on page 115. Skip over to Step 2, page 37, for other naming tips.

4. Go to the bar titled, “What’s New?” Either leave the words as is or change them to one of the sample News Section names for the News category that are listed under Section Headings on page 120.

With your mouse, place your cursor after the second paragraph ending with “When did it or will it happen?” Press the Enter or Return key and start answering the questions listed in the paragraphs above where your cursor is flashing (see page 6 for illustration). When you’re finished, delete the questions above your responses. If you need ideas for what to write about, turn to Step 3 on page 47. Write your headlines by using the guidelines on page 88.

Go to the next set of questions under “What’s New” and use them to create one to three more news items.

5. Go to the bar titled, “Who’s News?” Either leave the words as is or change them to one of the sample Section Headings for the People category listed on page 120. Follow the same procedure you did for the news section.

6. Select over the words “Type in a quote…” Enter a quote you like, your organization’s motto or one of the quotations listed in “What’s on the Disk, page 125.” If you don’t want to include a quote, select over this area (highlight it with your mouse) and press <Delete>.

7. Go to the bar titled, “What’s Happening?” Either leave the words as is or change them to one of the sample Section Headings for the Event category listed on page 121. Follow the same procedure to write up your events as for the other sections.

8. Go to the bar titled, “What Do You Know?” Either leave the words as is or change them to one of the sample Section Headings for the Education category listed on page 121. Follow the same procedure as for the other sections.

9. Go to the bar titled, “What’s the Answer?” Either leave the words as is or change them to one of the sample Section Headings for the Entertainment category listed on page 121. Follow the same procedure to write up your news as you did for the other sections.

10. Proofread. Then, laser print or photocopy your newsletter onto your letterhead. Fold and mail in envelope or handout. Your newsletter is completed.