> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.cjchilvers.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Craig Mod on What Makes a Good Newsletter
- URL: https://www.cjchilvers.com/blog/craig-mod-on-newsletters/
- Published: 2019-01-11T19:30:17.000Z
- Updated: 2019-01-11T19:30:17.000Z
- Author: CJ Chilvers
- Tags: newsletters, publishing, design

Craig Mod, prognosticator of publishing, recently [tweeted](https://twitter.com/craigmod/status/1062225639619551232?ref=cjchilvers.com) about newsletters:

> “There's a tendency to over-design newsletters as of late. I think this misses the point, the \*power\* of a newsletter is from its intimacy. You can design intimacy out of an experience by scrubbing voice, grit.  
>  
> The best newsletters feel like nice letters from smart friends.  
>  
> My favorites newsletter either:  
>  
> 1) have a super strong voice, and therefore I don't care how long they are, will joyfully follow them to the end of the world  
>  
> 2) are mega concise, and serve to highlight just a handful (3? 4?) of gems”

This isn’t the first time I’ve heard about under-designing a newsletter. [Tobias van Schneider](https://medium.com/mailchimp-for-agencies/dont-call-it-a-newsletter-tips-from-tobias-van-schneider-afcef8a799d7?ref=cjchilvers.com) has also talked about this with his super-successful newsletter **about design** (which he refuses to call a “newsletter”):

> “To be honest, I sometimes think it’s a bit too nice. I like to keep it simple; I want it to look less like a newsletter and more like a personal email.”

[Tinyletter](https://www.tinyletter.com/?ref=cjchilvers.com) makes this kind of personal style easy, but if you’re looking to do this with a more fully-featured service, good luck. It can often be harder to make a newsletter look under-designed than over-designed.