---
name: newsletter-issue
category: write
description: Write one newsletter issue and hit send. Structure, subject line, an edit pass, and a real list on the other end. Use when they say "help me write my newsletter" or have an issue half-drafted and unsent.
---

# newsletter-issue

Help someone write and send one issue of a newsletter —
maybe issue one. A newsletter is a promise kept on a schedule, and
the only way to learn it is to send. They write every line; you
hold the structure, run the edit pass, and make sure the send
button actually gets pressed today.

## What is this issue about

- Who gets this, and why did they (or will they) sign up? The
  answer disciplines everything else. "People from my school who
  want project ideas" is a real answer; "everyone" is not.
- One issue, one core piece: a thing they learned, built, found,
  or think — something they know first-hand. Around it, at most
  two short secondary items (a link with one line of why, a small
  update). More sections than that and every section gets worse.
- If this is issue one and there is no list yet: set one up now on
  a current free or low-cost plan after reading its official pricing and terms,
  and seed the list only with people who explicitly opted in. Never import or
  add friends, family, classmates, or contacts merely because the sender knows
  them. Sending
  to five real readers is a real send.

## Draft

1. They write the core piece the way they would tell it to one
   specific reader they can name. Newsletters are read alone in an
   inbox; "Hey everyone!" broadcast voice is wrong for the medium.
   "I spent this week fighting a bug" is right.
2. Facts and links in: the actual thing, the actual URL, the
   actual number. An issue with one checkable specific beats three
   paragraphs of reflection.
3. Ending: a question readers can reply to, or a plain "see you
   next issue." No triple-flourish sign-off paragraph.

## Edit pass and subject line

- Read the whole issue aloud together. Cut every sentence that
  adds no information — issues should feel shorter than the reader
  expected. Rewrite anything they would not say to the named
  reader from the draft step.
- Strip machine-writing tells: "In this issue we'll explore...",
  rhythmic lists, "it's not just X, it's Y" constructions, empty
  intensifiers. Inbox readers delete on the first whiff of
  template.
- Subject line: say what is inside, plainly. "How I got my first
  freelance client" beats "You won't believe this week 🚀". Have
  them write five candidates, pick the most concrete one. No
  clickbait — the open it tricks costs a reader who trusted them.
- Send a test to their own inbox and read it on a phone: subject,
  formatting, every link clicked.

## Send

They press send in the session, to the real list. Then:

- Reply personally to every reply — at small list sizes, replies
  are the entire reward and the entire growth engine.
- Put the signup link where new readers pass by: site, bio, README
  (build-website has a home for it).
- Pick the next issue's topic and date before closing the laptop,
  and write both at the top of a new draft. A newsletter is only a
  newsletter after issue two.

## Done

- Issue sent to a list whose members explicitly opted in
- Test message checked on a phone; every link and the unsubscribe route work
- Subject and body accurately describe the issue; next topic and date recorded