What Kinds of Newsletter Articles Should You Write?

Award-winning writer Kathy Widenhouse has helped hundreds of nonprofits and writers produce successful content and has gained 600K+ views for her writing tutorials. She is the author of 9 books. See more of Kathy’s content here.

Updated 5.30.24

“I don’t know what to write!”

Yes, you do! Newsletter articles celebrate your organization’s successes. They can and should be fun, energizing, and inspiring to read!

There are dozens of article ideas to use to tell the story of what you’re doing.

Feature Stories

Lead off your newsletter or e-zine with a powerful feature story that shows the impact of your wonderful work. People love reading about people. Your donors especially enjoy hearing about how your organization has impacted the individual people your serve and those who serve them. Use photos and captions to help tell the story.

• First-person testimonies
• Beneficiary case history
• Program stories: how one of your programs has impacted its target audience
• Introductions: introduce a new program, a new branch
• Update story: “1 year later”
• History: show program growth
• Reports in story form that show outcomes
• Videos
• Donor highlights
• Volunteer profiles
• Staff stories
• Frequently asked questions about your organization or your cause

Events

Look back at recent events and forward to the next one, telling the story of their impact.

• Stories about the impact of recent events
• Previews of your upcoming events
• Photos and captions from your events
• Relevant community events or partner events

Practical Information

Readers love information that they can use. Always test these articles by asking this question: does this content relate to my cause and advance it – and can readers use it?

• How tos: how to volunteer, how to connect your services to a beneficiary
• Reviews: product reviews, book reviews
• Ways to give: donate, give in-kind gifts, planned giving information

Organizational News

Readers want be in the loop about what’s new in your organization. Yet a word of caution: don’t go overboard with these kinds of newsletter articles. While you may care about the inner workings of your organization, your readers care more about the impact of what you’re doing.

• A message from the president
• New board members
• New staff members
• Financial update
• Testimonials from beneficiaries, volunteers, community partners, sponsors, and donors

Fillers

Fill extra bits of space as small pullouts or sidebars, providing short snippets of information that help educate readers about your cause and tell a story.

• Milestones: numbers served, services provided, time served
• Statistics: facts and numbers that show the need for your cause or the way you solve the problem
• Tips or advice related to your cause
• References to your organization in the media
• Blogs that mention your organization or your cause

---

More Tips for Writing Articles

How to Write An Article: Get Started With These 12 Steps ...

Learn To Write Content When You Learn To Write an Article ...

Choose a Story Angle Using These 3 Tips ...

Article Writing Tips: News Story vs Feature Story – What’s the Difference?

Write an Article or Write a Book? Here’s How to Decide ...

Writing Articles FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions ...

Include these 5 different types of articles in your newsletter ...

Top newsletter article tips: how to make sure your articles get read ...

How to Write a How To Article that gets read from start to finish ...

Tips for writing a hook ...

How to write a conclusion: 3 tips ...

The Inverted Pyramid: Article Writing Format for Online Content, Too ...

How to Write a Sidebar that Adds Value to an Article ...

10 Commandments for nonprofit newsletters ...

What's a listicle and how do I write one that sticks?

Top article writing tip: The One Point Rule ...

Top tip on writing a newsletter: feature a heartfelt feature story ...

What are ezines and do I need to publish one?

Email and ezine terms for writers, leaders, and newbie copywriters ...

Your nonprofit ezine: why should readers subscribe?

How nonprofit ezines build exposure ...

More writing tips on our Writing Newsletters Pinterest board ...

Return from Kinds of Newsletter Articles to Nonprofit Copywriter home

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Powered by SBI! Learn more here.