Marketing with Newsletters: A workshop by Ned Potter on January 8th, 2026

Having been on several of Ned’s sessions in the past, this one-hour refresh reiterates his message on successful marketing.    

Here’s what to consider when we’re preparing our newsletters…

Try to avoid calling it the ‘library newsletter’

Your title and opening paragraph matter. Name it after your most important piece of news, for example, Win a winter warmer hamper – Library News.   

It’s about quality over quantity

Include only the essential things; there is no need to pad it out. A short newsletter is fine.

Intentional Content

Keep your newsletter short and scannable, with links that lead to more detail. Ned recommends keeping your newsletter as an email is preferable to an attached PDF or document.   

Market one thing at a time

Stick to one issue about enquiries, one for e-resources, one about your training offer, for example. We risk losing our reader’s attention when we overwhelm them with too many things.   

Showcase the benefits, not the features

Use a strong call to action: Ned cited an example of their library space promotion at the University of York. The campaign focused on how the library space makes people feel more scholarly, so enables them to work better. Seeing our peers working around us makes us work harder. This resulted in a 60% increase in people using the library for study.   

Regularity is good, but…

It’s not necessary to stick to the same day every month. Send out your newsletter when you have something to say and not just for the sake of it.  

It’s a matter of timing

Receiving a newsletter at 9 AM and 4 PM might not be the best time. Just before lunch might be better, as people are more likely to be checking their emails around then.

Don’t be discouraged

If people don’t read your newsletter, across the industry, only 17% are read and in education this increases to 27%.

In a nutshell…a strong title and regular structure is vital, frame the message then time it well and make it easy for readers to sign up. But don’t rely on one source of information to work the magic; reinforce your key message using other marketing channels.

Sarah Woodhall 

Library Operations Manager, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust