A newsletter is a printed or electronic report or news concerning the activities of a business or an organization, that is sent to its members, customers, employees or other subscribers, or a communication containing individuals' personal opinions or interests.
Newsletters generally contain one main topic of interest to its recipients and may be considered grey literature. E-newsletters are delivered electronically via e-mail and can be viewed as spamming if e-mail marketing is sent unsolicited.
The newsletter, sometimes a periodical, is the most common form of serial publication. About two-thirds of newsletters are internal publications, aimed towards employees and volunteers, while about one-third are external publications, aimed towards advocacy or special interest groups.
The first full "newspaper" was Relation of Strasbourg, printed in 1609 by Johann Carolus. Many rivals soon followed, such as the German Avisa Relation oder Zeitung and the Dutch Nieuwe Tijdingen. When received unsolicited, they can be seen as spam.
Newsletters are also used by organizations to inform their members of ongoing developments.
The New York Times noted in 2014 that new ways people are consuming media online have led to a resurgence of e-mail newsletters, some of which are distributed exclusively via email and some that are published on websites like Substack. In 2025, Inc. magazine reported a new email newsletter boom amongst startups and tech companies.
Production
Many paper newsletters are letter-size pamphlets, sometimes made of side- or corner-stapled letter-size paper, sometimes of saddle-stitched (stapled) tabloid paper.
Until the early 20th century, newsletters were generally produced by letterpress. The development of spirit duplicators and mimeograph machines in the early 20th century made short-run reproduction more economical. In the 1960s, xerographic photocopying became ubiquitous.