Writing a newsletter
Write and lay out a post in the editor, with thumbnails, authors, tags, embeds, comments and version history.
Starting a post
On Newsletters, click Start Writing. A window opens with two tabs:
- Template library: ready-made layouts. Filter them by category, or search.
- My templates: layouts you or your team saved.
Click Preview to see a layout first, then Use this template. Or click Use template to go straight to the editor. To begin with an empty page, pick Start from scratch.
Either way, a new draft is created and opens in the editor. See the Template library guide for more on templates.
The editor
Across the top of the editor are its steps: Compose, Audience, Email, Web and Review. You can move between them in any order. This guide covers Compose. The other steps are covered in the Publishing a newsletter guide.
Some steps only show when they apply:
- Email is hidden for a post set to Web only, and once the post's email has gone out.
- Web is hidden for a post set to Email only.
Click Exit to go back to the post's page.
If you can see a post but not edit it, its page shows View only and there is no Edit Post button. Your role decides which posts you can edit.
Saving
Everything saves on its own as you type. The badge at the top shows where things stand:
| Badge | What it means |
|---|---|
| Synced | All your changes are saved. |
| Syncing | Saving now. |
| Error | The last change didn't save. Check your connection and keep the page open. |
Your team can work on the same post at once. Everyone's picture appears beside the badge, and their changes show up as they type.
Title, subtitle, thumbnail and tags
- Title and Subtitle sit at the top of the page. If you clear the title, it goes back to "New Post".
- Add thumbnail adds a picture above the title. It is used for your post in your website's feeds and when it's shared. Hover over it to Change or Remove it. Only image files are accepted, and 1200 x 630 pixels is recommended.
- Add Content Tags files the post under topics. Search and tick the tags you want. Changes are saved straight away. See the Content tags guide.
Your post's web address is made from the title. While the post is a draft, it follows the title as you change it, unless you have set the address yourself on the Web step.
Authors
Click Add Author under the subtitle. You can choose from:
- Add author: people on your team.
- Add guest author: writers who aren't on your team. Use Manage guest authors to add or change them. See the Guest authors guide.
Tick or untick names. Changes are saved straight away.
If your email settings use Use Newsletter's Author Name as Sender Name, the email is sent from the author's name. With several authors it shows the first one, followed by how many more, for example "Sam +1".
Writing and adding blocks
Type / on an empty line to open the block menu. Alongside headings, lists, tables and other basics, you'll find:
| Block | What it does |
|---|---|
| Pull Quote | A styled quote with an attribution. |
| Poll | Embeds a poll readers can answer. A draft poll goes live when the post is published. |
| Recommendation | Recommends another publication. |
| Referral | Shows your referral program. |
Two more shortcuts:
- Type
{to insert a personal detail: First Name, Publication or Unsubscribe Link. Each reader sees their own. - Type
[to link to another of your posts. Pick it from the list.
Select text to bring up the formatting toolbar.
The block menu
Hover over a block and use the handle on its left to open its menu:
- Duplicate, Copy to clipboard and Delete
- Reset text formatting
- Visual settings: spacing, borders and colours for that block
- Visibility: Both, Email only or Web only. Use it to show a block only in the email, or only on your website.
- Anchor: give the block a name, so you can link straight to it with
#and that name - Group to section and Ungroup: keep several blocks together as one section
The toolbar
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Undo and Redo | Ctrl+Z and Ctrl+Y. |
| Find & Replace | Ctrl+F. Search the post and replace words. |
| Backlinks | Links between this post and your other posts. |
| Comments | Your team's comments on the draft. |
| Version history | Earlier versions of the post. |
| Save as template | Saves this post as a reusable template. |
Backlinks
The Backlinks panel has two tabs:
- Outgoing: posts this one links to. Use the pencil to open one, or the bin to remove every link to it from this post.
- Incoming: other posts that link to this one.
Comments
Select text to leave a comment for your team. The Comments panel lists them under Open and Resolved. Readers never see these comments.
Version history
Versions are saved on their own:
- after 10 minutes without any edits
- every 30 minutes while you keep editing
- every time you publish
Pick a version to preview it, then click Restore to bring it back, or Cancel. Restoring replaces what's in the editor. Changes you made since the last saved version may not be kept, so copy anything you want to hold on to before you restore.
Save as template
Give the template a name and click Save Template. It copies the title, subtitle, thumbnail and content. It then appears under My templates.
After publishing
Once a post is published, readers see the version you published. You can still open the editor, but changes you make in Compose are saved to the draft only. They don't change the email that went out, or the post on your website.
Troubleshooting
The badge says Error: your last change didn't save. Check your internet connection. Keep the page open until it says Synced again.
I can't find the Email step: the post is set to Web only, or its email has already been sent.
There's no Edit Post button: your role doesn't let you edit this post. Ask someone on your team who can.
A block shows in the email but not on my website, or the other way round: check the block's Visibility setting.
"Please select an image file": thumbnails have to be image files.