Plan before you publish
If you're interested in preserving your family's history, sharing your heritage or just keeping in touch with your own electronic newsletter, a little planning upfront will pay off down the line. Ask yourself:

• How often do I want to publish?
• How long will the newsletter be?
• Will I be the sole writer or will I ask for contributions from other family members?
• Will my newsletter have a specific focus, such as family genealogy?
• How much time and effort am I willing to invest?
• Will I include ongoing columns on specific topics?
• What format will I use for the newsletter?
• What will I name my newsletter?

Most family newsletters are quarterly. If you're the sole writer, editor, publisher and chief bottle washer, and uncertain of the time commitment, you may want to publish sporadically. Or you may be lucky enough to have a family so actively involved in the project that you can publish weekly.

Not everyone likes to write; some people hate it. To get your family actively involved in your newsletter, assure them that you aren't expecting Pulitzer Prize-winning prose. Let them know that you're more interested in their stories than their writing style.

It's tempting to cover everything you know in your first issue. But if you have a publication calendar—a rough outline of what topics you want to cover in each newsletter during your first year—it will help make each issue shine with an interesting mix of family tidbits, stories and news.

If you don't want to be a solo act, e-mail your family members and ask for help. Someone who's never seen a family newsletter may not know what type of information you're after, so make it easy for them by listing the articles you want and a ballpark deadline of when you need them. Most of us lead busy lives, and deadlines can be forgotten, so send e-mail reminders to those who have promised articles.

Naming your newsletter will probably be your easiest decision. Many use the family surname, like Hendrickson Newsletter; others may be more creative, like Climbing the Hendrickson Family Tree. It's your newsletter, so have fun naming it.