Writing a Homeowner Newsletter

Newsletters immediately spring to mind, but before you start down that road, determine if you have the people, energy, and resources to support writing a homeowner newsletter or neighborhood e-blast. Consider carefully if the community newsletter really has to be a monthly publication, whether it can be labeled An Occasional Publication as part of its charm, or whether bi-monthly or quarterly will work fine.

Consider too whether a paper edition distributed by mail is the right format for your newsletter. It's very expensive. If most people in your neighborhood have Internet access, you may want an e-mail edition as an alternative that saves paper and postage, or as the only way that the newsletter is available.

You may want to sell advertising to support the newsletter. One of the new hyperlocal media outlets is even making a profit. If you have local businesses, give them a bulk rate for a year of ads to cut down on the number of contacts necessary. Exercise judgment and tactfully reject any ads that defeat the desired image for your community.

If you decide on the e-mail newsletter, someone with a word processing program can generate the newsletter, ideally saving it as a .pdf file that can be opened by both PC and Mac users. Standard 8.5 by 11 inch paper is probably the best format.

If you can afford to contract with an online company that specializes in sending bulk e-mails, they will deal with the technical difficulties that arise. Otherwise make sure the person sending the newsletter stays current on defeating anti-spamware that often rejects large mailings.

Even though we called this page a guide to homeowner newsletters, with a nod to the growing proportion of folks who live within a homeowner association environment, neighborhoods should make a special effort to include tenants in your mailings. Tenant involvement is key to their respecting the neighborhood and its goals.

Here are some editorial tips to keep in mind for writing your homeowner newsletter:

1. Graphic interest is always advisable, so use photos and free or very inexpensive clip art just to make your newsletter more appealing. If your homeowner newsletter is electronic or you can afford color printing, it's a no-brainer to incorporate some photos. Two columns is usually more interesting than one column, and an office grade word processing program makes forming the columns a snap.

2. Give every article a headline (title), and try not to have more than three or four articles on a page. Longer is not better, so keep the length of each article down to what is necessary to convey essential facts.

3. Make your neighborhood newsletter sizzle with personality. If different people write the different articles, one option is to ask the likely frequent authors to decide together if the style will be informal, formal, breezy, fun-and-funny, or what have you.

4. Having said that, almost any newsletter usually sounds better if one person does most of the writing, or at least most of the editing.

If you need to have multiple authors, then give extra attention to making sure the graphics and other elements of the newsletter are unified. As a last resort, turn huge style differences between articles into an advantage by giving each author a by-line (placing their name under the headline) and making the differences part of the personality.

In organizations that have a committee structure, asking each committee to contribute an article for each newsletter can be a relatively painless way to generate the content you need.

5. If you or someone writing for the homeowner newsletter has a tendency to write lengthy articles, insist on the newspaper format where the most important information is conveyed at the top of the article. Then cut the article off at some point, and conclude by saying, "For further information, contact Jim at xxx-xxxx," or "To discuss this matter further, speak with any board member."

6. If you have enough events to show a calendar, that's a winner. You can pad the calendar by showing holidays, winter solstice, first day of school at Smith Elementary, or whatever the personality of your newsletter will bear.

7. Lastly, provide terrific content.

Content for Neighborhood Newletters

Depending on your community, tap into these ideas for content:

A. News of park improvements, street projects, changes in speed limits or laws affecting your area, zoning changes, any change in crime trend, new city policies, foreclosure trends, and development projects

B. Reminders to homeowners about maintenance and seasonal tasks

C. How to complain to the homeowners association or city hall

D. Columns from your colorful characters or elected officials, or occasional op-ed pieces from leaders

E. News from neighborhood schools, libraries, places of worship, or educational or cultural institutions

F. Promotions of upcoming events and fundraisers for your own or neighboring organizations

G. Information useful to your community, which might vary from energy saving tips to social services to crime-fighting to preparing your home for re-sale. Pet issues, parking, noise complaints, yard waste, and rat, deer, or bird problems should be addressed, usually in a factual manner.

H. News about new or relocating businesses, significant new product lines or new services, changes of hours, facade renovations, new managers, and upcoming entertainment.

I. Organizational happenings, from new officers to strategic plans to office procedures.

J. Holiday themed articles

K. In most environments, it's best not to allow politicians to have a forum for unedited comments. You know your community; in some places, you really have to let the silly campaign promises be published verbatim. But usually avoid taking sides. If you have a hotly contested battle, you might choose an in-print "debate" format, where you ask each candidate the same questions and limit their answers to a certain number of words.

After the name is settled and a basic homeowner newsletter or neighborhood rag has been established, another issue that will arise from the members or the public is a logo. Realize that many important organizations have survived without a logo. Do not allow the logo discussion to de-rail other important work. If you have a graphic designer in your midst, ask him or her to design a logo free. If not, you can pay for this work, and some logo design services are available on the Internet.

If the cost of a logo is a questionable expense for you, consider also simply a graphic way that you always write your organization's name. For instance, it could be Southern Heights Neighbors.

But you can be more inventive than that. You can find ornamental forms of lettering, called fonts, on most computers, so your solution might be as simple as finding a font that reflects the feeling you would like for your organization. Certain fonts recall particular historic periods, formality or informality, elegance or a contemporary attitude, or an industrial or homey feel. But please don't go crazy with showing off all your fonts on one page, or even one edition.

Distributing Printed Newsletters

Paper newsletters may be distributed by hand, but if you do so, remind distributors that it is illegal to put them directly into mailboxes. So they will need to be tied to doorknobs, placed between a screen door and front door, or other such method.

You have the option of distributing newsletters only to your paid members, but you may want to consider distributing them widely as inexpensive advertising if you have decided to be a dues-supported organization.

Altogether the newsletter is the key piece of most neighborhood associations' communication policy.

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