How long should each story in a local newsletter be?

When I reviewed a new operator's newsletter, the main story was too long. My note: it could realistically be half as long. Everybody has short attention spans now.

"They don't need to get all the news from my newsletter. They can click on it if they care more in detail."

How many words is too many?

I think in paragraphs, not word counts. Two paragraphs is the ceiling for most stories. If a reader wants more, they click.

Space in a newsletter is limited for good reason: it has to be easy to read. That means being much more careful about what goes in and what stays out.

How should the text look on the screen?

Never more than two sentences without a paragraph break. People don't like to see a wall of text.

• Add a photo and think visually. Even with the same amount of text, break it up.
• Use horizontal images. Newsletters are vertical, so vertical images eat a lot of space.
• Keep the editorial short too. The personal note at the top shouldn't turn into an essay.

What is Smart Brevity, and should a local newsletter use it?

Yes. Smart Brevity is the idea of answering two questions fast: what is this, and why do I care? We call ours "the gist" and "why it matters."

The gist: [One or two sentences. What happened, where, when.]
Why it matters: [One or two sentences. What it means for people who live here.]
[Link: Read more at the source]

I started doing it because I like it as a consumer. Readers get the point faster, and the ones who care click through. We built a custom GPT that turns a source article into that format.

Will short stories hurt clicks?

The opposite. A full story inside the email gives people no reason to click. A short summary with a link gives the curious ones a reason. They click to learn more anyway.

What about the whole issue?

Same logic. More issues that are shorter tend to beat fewer that are longer, because people get tired out. The James Clear newsletter, about five or six sentences, is the model for concise. Mine is still too long, which is one more reason I want to break it up.

People glance at your email to see if there's something they like, and then they're off. Write for the glance.

How do you add new sections without making the issue longer?

Wait, and plan. When a solo operator asked me about adding a pet feature and other new sections, my advice was to write those ideas down and save them. Don't add them until you have help and you're sending twice a week.

Then split by day instead of stacking everything into one email. Events and news one day. Pets, restaurants and the rest another day. Whoever helps you is creating the same content as before, just across two issues. Save each day as its own template.

Does the subject line follow the same rule?

Yes. Subject line and preview text exist only to earn the open. One line, maybe two. If all they can see before opening is that line, everything after it is wasted.