In today’s fast-paced world, staying connected with loved ones can be challenging, mainly when family members live in different cities, states, or even countries. However, this cannot always be the case. Family newsletters can prove very beneficial to anyone facing this situation. These regular updates provide a way for family members to stay informed about each other’s lives, even if they can’t be physically together all the time. If you need a way to strengthen bonds with your clan or simply want a fun way to connect with your loved ones, a family newsletter can be an excellent tool to achieve this.
This article thoroughly explores family newsletters, including what they are and the benefits of creating and maintaining them.
Family Newsletter Templates
You can download the following templates for free:
What is a Family Newsletter?
A family newsletter is a periodic publication that is created and distributed to the members of a family.
It can be a physical letter mailed or hand-delivered to each family member or sent electronically via email or a website. A single member of the family primarily heads the newsletters. The party in charge gathers all pertinent information, creates the newsletter, and sends it to the rest of the family. In most cases, newsletters are sent once or twice a year, but they can also be dispatched as often as necessary.
Family newsletters are often created and distributed by a family member who always seems to be current with what is happening in everyone’s life within the family. However, sometimes, a team of contributors may collaborate to create the newsletter. Still, they will identify a central editor who will review and edit the bulletin before distributing it to the rest of the family members.
Other responsibilities of the newsletter’s editor include; deciding what content appears in the newsletter, soliciting family members for news updates and images, and determining a suitable distribution frequency.
4 Reasons Why You Should Make Family Newsletter
Creating a family newsletter may seem intimidating, but the benefits of these brief bulletins surpass the time and effort it takes to design them.
The following are four key reasons why you should make family newsletters:
- Family newsletters are a great way to stay connected with your family members no matter how far you live from one another. They can be used as reminders of family’s special occasions, such as anniversaries, graduation parties, birthdays, etc., enabling you to contact family members in a lighthearted and timely manner.
- With a family newsletter, every single member of your immediate or extended family is given a single point of reference for information and updates related to the family. Instead of searching and contacting family members separately or depending on your own memory, you can send regular updates that will reach everyone.
- Sharing personal updates and connecting with loved ones periodically through a newsletter can strengthen relationships with family members. It can also bring everyone closer together, even relatives who may feel isolated.
- Creating and reading a family newsletter can be much fun. It is a chance to be creative and to share interests and passions with your loved ones. Besides, it is an excellent way to bond and spend quality time conversing with relatives.
Pre-Considerations for Making Family Newsletter
Before you start creating a newsletter for your loved ones, there are specific factors that you should consider to ensure that the newsletter is informative, engaging, and well-received by the intended audience.
These include:
Planning your newsletter ahead of time
First, you will need to determine the purpose of the newsletter and what you intend to achieve with it. Is it to keep family members informed about current events and updates, or is it a fun and interactive way to stay connected? Next, consider the audience and determine the most relevant content for them.
Finally, decide on the frequency of the newsletter (e.g., monthly, quarterly, annually), then select the most appropriate distribution format. Once you have this information handy, creating the family newsletter will be much easier.
Deciding on the focus of the newsletter
The greatest challenge in creating any newsletter is determining its scope. Some newsletters cover almost all aspects of family life, incorporating updates about careers, hobbies and interests, and significant accomplishments and life events from a whole family branch. Others only focus on a single nuclear family or a close-knit group of relatives. Regardless of your scope, you will want to plan the newsletter’s content and gather all the necessary materials and news items before getting started.
Asking your relatives for pictures and news
The most effective way of creating an interactive family newsletter is to request news and photos from your relatives. Encourage your family members to provide news about upcoming events and occasions. You can also use an interview format to gather information about family members’ opinions or fun facts about a particular topic/issue. Moreover, you can ask them to submit images and photographs to make the newsletter more visually appealing.
Searching for talent in your family
Consider using the newsletter to promote your family member’s talents and interests. This is an effective way of enhancing family cohesion and engagement. Ask relatives to submit stories about their hobbies and pursuits for a regular column in the newsletter. Family members with artistic abilities can also create illustrations for the newsletter, while those exceptionally gifted in computer graphics can create a video presentation that will be included in the digital version.
Family Newsletter Sections and Features
The key to creating a family newsletter that everyone in your family will look forward to reading is to keep it personal, informative, and fun. This can be achieved by including sections or features that appeal to your family members. The overall content and outlook of the newsletter will generally vary depending on the specific family.
However, typical sections and features that are usually incorporated into family newsletters include the following:
Title
The title is the first thing the readers will see when they open the newsletter. Therefore, you will want to choose a catchy title that captures the audience’s attention and inspires them to read the newsletter. Your newsletter’s title can be a simple name such as “The Brown Family Newsletter” or as creative as “Greengoski’s Greenhouse- Growing Happier Relationships Every Month!”
Family reunions
If you recall any past family reunion meetings, you may want to include the highlights or key moments from the previous year’s reunions in the newsletter. Recapping past family reunions in a newsletter is a great way to build excitement for future events and provide updates to members who could not attend. Moreover, it serves as a reminder of the fun and memories that were shared at previous reunions and served as an excellent historical document for future ones.
You can designate a section of your newsletter to include information about attendance, highlights from activities and events (including photos and videos), and any important announcements or decisions made during the reunion. If there are any upcoming reunions, you can also include relevant information about the event.
Interviews with family members
Consider inviting some of your family members to submit short interviews or stories on a particular aspect of their lives and include them in the newsletter. Interviews are an excellent way for family members to share their perspectives on a specific issue or event, which can become the basis of a discussion in the newsletter. This can help generate lively discussions and foster greater awareness among family members.
Funny stories from the past
Sharing stories or anecdotes from the past is another way to add fun and enjoyment to your family newsletter. Re-telling these stories repeatedly can inspire laughter, create a sense of nostalgia among family members, and help them connect with significant life events and milestones.
Recent achievements
Mention any recent accomplishments of family members in the newsletter. This is a great way to build admiration and respect for your family members and promote a sense of pride. Talk about recent achievements such as a promotion at work, a new business venture, a degree earned, buying or moving to a new house, or an award won.
Poetry corner
The family newsletter also encourages family members to express their thoughts, opinions, and feelings through poetry. Encourage relatives to submit original or well-known poems that are meaningful to the family. Sharing poems from others may help readers participate in a reflective exercise and contribute to the family’s sense of belongingness and identity.
Funny photos and videos
It is great to have a section in the newsletter that showcases funny photos and videos from your family’s archives. This encourages laughter and devolves family members to recall the fun and memorable experiences from their past. It is recommended that you post your family’s photos and videos on your family reunion website and attach the relevant link if you are emailing your newsletter. If you send a physical copy, provide the actual URL.
The photos and videos could cover any topic, from a silly moment caught on camera to a milestone like graduation, etc., so everyone can relive the special moments. However, be sure not to include any videos that might embarrass any of the family members. Keep updating the website as you collect more videos and photos. This is essential in ensuring that you have an archive that everyone can access and that provides a visual history of your family as it grows.
World war II memories
When crafting your newsletter, include a section that recalls your relatives’ experiences during World War II. Encourage family members to submit their recollections, which can include stories about family members who were active in the war and how they survived. Such accounts will help other family members understand the hardships that previous generations faced and endured and show appreciation for their sacrifices and contributions.
Newly found cousins
Add a section that profiles your recently discovered cousins in the family newsletter. Such a feature can be helpful if you have recently become aware of a long-lost cousin or a whole branch of your family that had not previously been in contact with one another.
Family recipes
Some families have recipes taught from one generation to the next. If you have any family recipes you would like to share, write a short description and demonstration of how these dishes are prepared and attach them to the newsletter. Excerpts of the recipes can be included in regular cooking columns or on recipe-oriented pages in the newsletter.
Births, deaths, or other significant family changes
If you have experienced any births, deaths, or other significant family changes within your extended family, including a section in the newsletter that talks about these family events. This is essential in ensuring that family members are informed on what is happening in the lives of other family members and in keeping your family members connected more personally.
Genealogy research
It is a good idea to include a section in the newsletter that expounds on your family history. This section can include information about the research and projects related to the family tree and the names and details of ancestors found. You can also include an excerpt from your family’s genealogical records if you have detailed family records. However, including this section in the newsletter is only recommended if your family is interested in genealogy research topics. If this is not the case, it may be wise to avoid it altogether to ensure you do not bore your audience.
Family websites
Your family members may have personal websites. If you are interested in promoting a website created by one of your family members, this newsletter section can be used to highlight and promote the website.
8 Best Practices to Consider
Creating a family newsletter can be fun and rewarding to keep family members informed and connected.
The following are the best practices for creating an effective family newsletter:
Add fun facts
When drafting the newsletter, consider including interesting or amusing fun facts about your family or events that have happened to make the content more engaging and appeal to the readers.
Include games
Adding games or puzzles to the newsletter can be a source of entertainment for the family members and give them something to do while reading the newsletter
Write clearly and precisely
You must clearly and concisely convey the message or information you want to share in the newsletter. This will help your readers to follow, understand, and remember the information more easily. You can add humor to the newsletter, but avoid sarcasm or poking fun at anyone in particular.
Write brief captions for photos
Attaching photos to your newsletter can make it more visually appealing for the readers, but be sure to include brief captions to explain what is happening in the picture. Keep captions for photos to two-three lines maximum and avoid providing obvious information.
Include news on business and family
Your newsletter should include updates on the business and personal aspects of your family. This can include updates on work, school, and any other activities or events that have happened.
Format your letter
Write and format your newsletter information in a legible and easy-to-understand manner. Afterward, proofread the document, then choose a preferred method for distributing it to your target audience.
If you decide to distribute the family newsletter electronically, consider creating it using a word processing program or design tool and add the newsletter information and images as part of the email’s body. If you send a longer newsletter, make a sharable slideshow or attach a video newsletter featuring your family members. For print family newsletter format, use decorative, legal-size envelopes to avoid folding them.
Length of the newsletter
Keep your newsletter brief and to the point. Your readers likely have busy schedules and may not have time to read a lengthy newsletter. A two-page letter will be ideal if the newsletter is addressed to a nuclear family. However, if it is intended for your extended family, you might need four to six pages maximum to share everyone’s news and updates.
Use a template
You can write your family newsletter from scratch, but this is often time-consuming, and you may forget to include some critical details. A template is an effective way to create a professional-looking family newsletter with minimal effort. Many newsletter templates are available online, including this website, that you can use to customize to fit your needs easily.
Bottom Line
A family newsletter is one of the most effective ways to connect with your nuclear or extended family members, especially if you haven’t had face-to-face contact with them for quite some time. Family newsletters are essential to building and maintaining strong family relationships. They are also vital in enabling family members to stay connected in more personal and meaningful ways than simply texting, calling, or using social media. However, these bulletins should be written well to maximize their effectiveness.