About this publication

Tin Letter is an independent online publication about email newsletters. It is written for the people who end up running them: a charity's one communications volunteer, a club secretary, a small firm's owner, a writer with a growing list.

We are not a law firm, an email provider or a regulator, and nothing here is legal advice. We read the regulations, the Information Commissioner's Office guidance and the technical standards, then try to explain them in plain English with examples. We link to the sources so that you can check us, and when the rules change we want to know. If we have got something wrong, please tell us at [email protected].

Who writes it

Articles are written and edited by the editors of Tin Letter. Some articles may come from outside contributors through our write for us page. Any contributed or sponsored piece will say so.

How we choose what to write

We start with a question somebody running a list would actually ask, and we answer it near the top of the page. Examples in our articles, such as the history society in our sign-up form letter, are invented for illustration unless we say otherwise.

Why the postbox

A newsletter is a letter that someone has agreed to receive. It seemed a good idea to keep that in view, so our pages are envelopes and our articles are letters.

Painted still life of old letters, calling cards and an envelope with a pencil and a cigar stub — A Still Life of Letters, Alexandre Thomas Francia, 1880. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Image credits

Home page: Snow on a pillar box - geograph.org.uk - 6840757. Philip Halling, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Newsletter consent in the UK: In wall letter box, Portsmouth. Tim Sheerman-Chase, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
SPF, DKIM and DMARC for newsletters: Postmark Washington DC 1950-07-07. Post office, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
How long should a newsletter be?: Olympia Simplex. Sammlung der Medien und Wissenschaft, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The soft opt-in explained: 21st Floor Door Knob and Letter Slot. Peterjm1989, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
How often to clean an email list: PO boxes at the historic Chico Post Office (2024)-L1005460. Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Newsletter sign-up form wording: Letter Box. Diarmid Lambert, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
This page: A Still Life of Letters, Cards, an Envelope, a Pencil, a Match and a Cigar Stub, 1880. Alexandre Thomas Francia (French, ca. 1820-1884), public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.