Form groups to discuss the newsletter-writing group project. First issue is due October 13.

Much of what I and a former student put in "Writing Effective E-Mail: Top 10 Tips" also applies to e-newsletters, but people are much more likely to scan (or trash) newsletters that seem irrelevant.

I like e-mail newsletters because they are self-contained -- I can print them out and read them offline, or I can download them to my digital organizer (which doesn't have internet access) knowing that I can read it while standing in line at the grocery store or during my son's piano lesson, and I won't feel disenfranchised by the fact that I can't click a link.

Review the e-newsletters that you signed up for in Exercise 1-2.

How does an e-newsletter differ from other similar sources (such as a newspaper article or a weblog)? What is the purpose of an e-newsletter?

How would you describe the writing style of an e-newsletter?

Consider Mike Arnzen's prize-winning "Gorelets" (horror)

Langalist (hardware and software tips and troubleshooting)

E-Mail Newsletter Writing Tips

• What A Newsletter Can Do For Your Business
  
• 7 Formulas for Writing Articles that Get Read
  
• Writing E-Newsletters that Sell
  
• Targeted Email Newsletters Show Continued Strength
  

Topic for your newsletter? The ones I can think of right away: Success at Seton Hill University;

Value to readers? Your friends and family members may read your newsletter simply because you wrote it... maybe your teammates will care about a newsletter devoted to your club... but what kind of newsletter would a wide range of people, who are just as busy as you are, actually bother reading? What concrete benefit will your readers get? (Will you be able to save them time, by doing research for them? Save them money, by pointing them towards good deals and away from bad ones?)