Ideas for Newsletters

Shalom and congratulations!

As a USY Communications Vice President, you have the incredibly challenging and important job of making sure that USYers know exactly how amazing USY is and how to become more involved. A newsletter will help not only publicize USY and its events but it will also help recruit new members and keep current members actively involved and excited.

Please use some of these sample ideas for a newsletter to help create or improve your own USY newsletter. Have fun and b'hatzlacha!

Sample Ideas of What to Include in a Newsletter:

• Event Reports:
  This is possibly the most important part of your newsletter. When reading event reports, active members will remember how cool the events were and feel special to have been there. Those who missed the program will be kept included and up-to-date. Plus, potential members will know how much fun events are from these reports and may feel like trying the next one. Also, advertise your upcoming events. Interview the event chairperson about the planning of it or just place a catchy ad stating the basic necessary information. Make sure to give all the info: what, where, why, when, cost, and deadline. For example:

  USY Dinner Party!
  On Saturday, January 11th at Temple, USYers will come together for a night of fun, food, and discussion of the Jewishness of body-piercing! Bring $3 for food and Tikun Olam and please RSVP by Monday, December 30!

• Regional and International News:
  Review past regional conventions and give info/deadlines for upcoming conventions. Invite regional officers or convention chairpeople to write guest articles. Publicize International Convention either through an article or just an ad, then have a member share their amazing experiences afterwards. Invite the members who went on USY summer programs to explain their itineraries and share their impressions of the summer. Also, include pictures from regional conventions, international convention, and summer programs!
• News and Schmooz:
  This is a nice column honoring USYers for achievements made outside of USY. Recognize people who have just received their eagle scout or won a merit scholarship or whatever. It is always fun to see what USYers do when they're not doing USY!
• Random thought:
  Publish a USYer's d'var torah!
• USYer of the Month:
  A USYer of the Month column is a great opportunity to honor USYers who put in a lot of time and energy for USY but don't seem to get much recognition. For example, interview the USYer who raised the most money for Tikun Olam at your last event. Or you might want to just interview a USYer at random. Ask about most and least favorite things to do/eat/smell/swim with and have a fun time with it! Make sure that you ask permission before you interview/print anything!
• President's Message:
  A President's Message (or USY advisor/staff) is a good addition to a newsletter since their message will connect them as leaders to the rest of USY. The messages should be in article form (not in letter form) so that they say more and are more interesting. A president might draw connections between events in Israel and events locally or between current social movements and local USY activities. For an example of a President's Messages, check out your next issue of Achshav!, USY's newsmagazine.

• The SA/TO Column:
  Find out if any area chapters are doing great tzedakkah work and make a regular column out of it. Invite SA/TO VP's from any level of USY to contribute to this column and include stories of great social action projects going on. For more ideas, read your 613 Club SA/TO newsletter.
• Officers' Reports:
  These are a great opportunity for chapter/regional/subregional officers to teach about or explain a facet of their position. For example, ask your regional Communications VP to write an article about Judaism and the World Wide Web or have the Religion/Education VP submit an explanation of an upcoming Jewish holiday. Avoid publishing simple letters that really don't add to the content of your newsletter. Make sure that the articles are relevant and interesting to your USY audience.
• Other Fillers:
  List upcoming birthdays, include a cartoon or joke with Jewish content, add pictures or drawings, teach a Hebrew word of the Month, or include the words to a popular ruach song. Sell one-liners to raise money for Tikun Olam and then publish them in your newsletter. People can write one-liners congratulating friends on accomplishments such as getting into college or just leave a message.
• Calendar of Events:
  A calendar is a quick and easy reference of all local, regional, and international USY events for members and a simple but great addition to a newsletter! Make sure to include all the relevant info!

Some technical stuff to keep in mind:

• Title:
  Come up with a fun and catchy title! Try to include your chapter/region/subregion name or mascot in the title and toss in some Hebrew. Some chapters use names like "Kol Ruach Chadash" (which means the Voice of Ruach Chadash) or "The Schmoozer!" The newsletter's name should catch people's attention. A really neat name just might be the thing that convinces people to sit down and read your work.
• Getting Articles:
  A great newspaper will reflect many different views about topics relevant to its audience. Include a wide variety of articles to catch many different people's interests. The best way to do this is to directly ask many different types of members for short, informative articles. What's the latest news from the Middle East and what do USYers think? Ask people to write about a recent movie or book with Jewish content or submit work they've already done, like a poem or story for school.
• Layout:
  Keep the layout basic, uncluttered, and consistent. If you have features that will appear in every issue, such as messages, calendars, regular columns, etc., put them in the same place in each issue. For instance, the calendar may always appear on the bottom right of page two and the TO column on the top left on page three. Select easy to read fonts for articles and headlines and make sure that your colors are easy to read (print black on very light colored paper, avoid loud colors that are hard on the eyes).
• Scheduling:
  It is extremely important that your newsletter is produced on a somewhat regular schedule. You will need to give people plenty of time to write articles plus you need lots of time to layout, print, and distribute the paper. Decide ahead of time if you want to publish monthly newsletters or four for the whole year. Make a plan and stick to it!
• Distribution:
  Send your newsletter to all paid and potential members. Mail copies to your local, regional, and international office. Also, leave issues in your synagogue, especially in the youth lounge.
• For more information, see Helpful Hints for Good Publications.