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This service is for faculty and staff.

Include a brief description about service here to provide context for article.

How to use Outlook new Newsletter feature to send internal emails.

1. Access to the Outlook Newsletter feature:

a. For Windows users:

First, please ensure that you have enabled the “New Outlook” by clicking the “New Outlook” radio button on the top right corner of your window.

Then, you can click on the “Newsletter” button from the drop-down menu. Or you can click on the “Newsletter” radio button on the left side of your window.

b. For Mac users (same as Web users):

You will need to use the web version for the Newsletter feature since Mac Outlook does not yet support this new feature. Follow the instructions below, section c.

c. For Web users:

Microsoft also offers the web version for users who prefer the website. You can access Outlook for the Web (OWA) Newsletter feature using this link: Newsletters. Or you can access it through the “Newsletter” button on Outlook for the Web (OWA).

2. Create a Newsletter:

a. Getting Started:

Video Tutorial Below:

The below tutorial will go over how to create a Outlook Newsletter, covering similar information.
How to create an Outlook newsletter

After accessing Outlook, the "Explore" tab is the first tab you will be in. This tab is where you can create, manage, and browse newsletter series.

b. Create a newsletter:

To create a new newsletter, click on the “Create newsletter” button on the top left corner of your screen.

A “Newsletter” page will appear after clicking on the button. This page is where you manage the settings of your newsletter. You can brand it with a cover and logo, define its purpose with a title and description, and set visibility and subscriptions on this page.

c. Changing the background image and logo image:

When selecting the header image for your newsletter, we recommend using your department logo lockup as your background image if you want your email to have a formal look and feel. This will look like a letterhead. For an informal or you already established brand image, you can upload the image file of your newsletter here.

If you choose to upload an image as the background, you will need to upload a logo.

Your background image should have a ratio of 4:1 for width-to-height to be fully represented. Your logo should have a ratio of 1:1 for width-to-height.

If you do not have your school or department logo lockup, go to the link below to download. Logo and Lockups You can edit your image using the “Paint” app for the correct size to apply for the background image and the logo image.

If you need to edit your logo to match the correct dimensions, watch the below tutorial:
How to prepare images for Outlook Newsletters

After clicking on “Edit image” button, a pop up will appear to show you options of image. Click on “Upload image” button to choose your department logo lockup. Remember to choose the image with the correct sizing ratio for best performance.

After you choose the image that you want to use for your newsletter background, a pop up for adjusting your image will appear. You can click on the image and drag it to adjust the position of your image to which part of it you want to use. You can also use the arrows on the bottom left to adjust the position by clicking on them. The slider bar on the bottom right allows you to adjust the sizing of your image, you can zoom in and zoom out your image. The default set up of this bar is the smallest scale so usually, you can only zoom in your image. We don’t recommend zooming in your image because it will break the clearness of your background. So, using the correct sizing for your background image is highly important.

Once you have done with adjusting your image, click on the “Done” button to save it. Otherwise, click on the “Cancel” button and start this step again if you want to use another image for your newsletter background.

If you choose another image instead of your department logo lockup for background, a logo image will need to be used. To import your logo image, click on the logo image space like below.

A similar pop up to the one for background image will appear after that. Click on the “Upload image” to choose your logo. Remember that your logo must have a ratio of 1:1 for width-to-height for best performance.

Next, you can start to adjust your logo image using the features in the “Adjusting your image” pop up. Once you finish adjusting your logo, you can click on the “Done” button to save. The “Cancel” button will be used if you want another image for your logo.

Your newsletter should be similar to the picture below after setting up your background image and logo image.

d. Adding newsletter title:

Create the name for your newsletter or any time of email communication that want to have a template. You can use the newsletter feature to create image and text rich email templates but not have to use them as a “Newsletter”.

You can’t leave the title field empty. Your title should be short, clear and recognizable. For example, “School of Education Monthly Newsletter”.

e. Adding a brief description:

This field is a short summary that tells readers what the newsletter is about. You should keep one or two sentences, highlighting the value or purpose of the newsletter. For example, “Monthly news updates of the School of Education”.

f. Adding co-owner:

This is where you decide who will be responsible for the newsletter. By default, this field shows the account of the person creating the newsletter. You can add multiple accounts as co-owners in this field by entering their name or email address.

Owners and co-owners are the only people that can edit the newsletter and its editions.

g. Set visibility:

This field determines who can view and subscribe to the newsletter. The Outlook Newsletter feature provides 3 options for setting up your newsletter’s visibility:

Private – Only you can view.
Unlisted – Only those with the newsletter’s link can view and subscribe.
My organization – Everyone in your organization can view and subscribe.

Choose one from the drop-down menu to set your visibility.

h. Set subscription option:

This is a switch that controls whether people can opt-in as subscribers. If turned on, then users can subscribe to your newsletter, and they will get notified when a new edition is published. If turned off, then users cannot subscribe to your newsletter when they see it.

i. Save the newsletter:

The last step is to save your newsletter by clicking on the “Save” button on the top left conner of your screen.

or the “Discard” button if you don’t want it.
Once done, a pop-up message “Newsletter successfully created” will appear at the bottom center of your screen.

3. Create an Edition:

a. Getting Started:

Video Tutorial Below:

The below tutorial will go over how to create and edit an Edition, covering similar information.
How to create editions for Outlook Newsletters

Once you have created your newsletter, you will be directed to your newsletter’s main page.

b. Create an Edition:

To start creating new edition, click on “Create edition” button. You can find this button on the top left conner of your screen or at the right center of the screen.

Either button will be fine to use.

The “Create edition” will lead you to the “Select a template” page. This page is where you choose a template to be the basis of your edition. The Outlook Newsletter provides users with 5 original templates to use, which cover most of the needs.

c. The templates:

The “Creator” template

The “Basis” template

The “Modern” template

The “Stack” template

If the other 4 templates aren’t satisfied your needs, then the “Blank” template will be the one to use. You will use it to create your own custom template to use for your future editions.

For more information, please see "7. How to Create New Template" step.

d. Choose template:

In this tutorial, I will create a newsletter similar to the “Newsletter 2” model in the Email Message Mockup Builder from How to Design an Email Using the Email Message Mockup Builder.

For this model, the “Basic” template would be the most suitable.

After clicking on the “Create edition” button, I will choose the “Basic” template. Then, a pop-up screen will appear.

e. Enter edition title:

You will add the title of your edition, for example: “September's Featuring Events”.

f. Edition type:

Then, on the first drop-down menu, select “Edition”.

g. Select newsletter:

The second drop-down menu will let you choose where to store your edition in. Usually, it will show the newsletter that you are working with. However, if the second drop-down menu isn’t showing the newsletter you want to create an edition for, change to the correct newsletter.

I will not change since it shows the correct newsletter.

h. Save edition:

Now, you can click on the “Save” button to save the edition.

A pop-up message will appear to let you know that your edition is successfully created and saved.

4. Edit an Edition:

a. Getting Started:

Once your edition is created and saved into your newsletter, you will be navigated to the editing space of your edition. Here, you can start editing your edition.

b. Change thumbnail image:

First, let’s change the thumbnail image. We recommend using your department logo lockup as your background image if you want your email to have a formal look and feel. This will look like a letterhead. Usually, the Outlook Newsletter will pull the image from the newsletter’s header image, so you don’t have to change it.

For an informal or you already established brand image, you can upload the image file of your edition here.

Your thumbnail image should have a ratio of 4:1 for width-to-height to be fully represented.

After adjusting your image, click on “Done” to save it.

The edition now looks like this.

c. Text only section:

The first section of this edition is a text only section. To edit it, click on where you want to edit and start editing.

There is a tools bar on top of your screen. You can use the tools there to edit your text:

The "Edition" bar: You can use this bar for general editing. This bar includes the most common use tools when editing text.

The "Insert" bar: You can use this bar to insert images, links, etc. into your edition.

The "Format Text" bar: This bar focused on editing text format. In this bar, you can find more tools specified for text editing than in the "Edition" bar.

Please follow our brand guidelines while editing. You can find them using the links below:

The image below shows you how the section looks like after editing.

d. Text and image section:

We will continue to the second section. The second section is the combination of both text and images.

To add images, click on the image icon button.

Then, repeat the same process as adding thumbnail image. Your image ratio should be 1:1.

To edit the text, click on where you want to change, then delete the previous content and type your content there.

After that, we should adjust the size of text and images. To do so, hover your mouse over the component you want to change until a pop up like the image below shows up.

Click on the arrow to see a drop-down list, then choose medium size.

The image below shows the second section after editing.

e. Add department footer:

Finally, you should add your department footer to your edition in the last section. Since this section is also a text only section, repeat the same steps as when you are editing text only section above.

For your department footer, the name of your department should be Arial font size 14 with color #9e28b5. The address of your department should be Arial font size 12 in black color.

f. Save your edition:

You have done editing your edition.

Now, since Outlook Newsletter feature offers auto save for you while editing editions, therefore please make sure that your internet connection is great while working with Outlook Newsletter. Otherwise, you can manually save your edition by click on the Save button on the "Edition" bar on the top left of your screen.

5. Preview an Edition:

a. Getting Started:

Once you have done editing your edition, you can enter the “Preview” view to see what your edition will look like when you send it to your subscribers.

b. Open “Preview” view:

Click on the “Preview” button to open the “Preview” view.

You will be navigating into “Preview” view.

c. Subscription buttons/links:

“Preview” view shows that there are 2 subscription buttons/links on the top and bottom of your screen. Whether they are buttons or links will depend on what version of window you are using.

You can subscribe to the newsletter by clicking on the buttons, while the links will take you to the newsletter main page to subscribe to your newsletter once your edition is published.

On the top:

On the bottom:

d. Reaction icons:

There is a reaction icon on the bottom right of each section of your edition on the “Preview” view. This icon is deactivated in this view but will be active once you publish your edition. Your viewers will be able to react to each section.

e. Comment section:

The comment section is located at the bottom of your edition, allowing viewers to leave comments. However, this will only activate once your edition has been published.

f. “More from Outlook Newsletters” section:

Located under the comment section, this section will show you other editions from the newsletter.

g. Send preview:

A preview version of your edition will be sent to you for testing purposes. To send a preview, click on the “Send preview" button.

An email will be sent to you. There you can see how your newsletter edition will behave on phone and computer.

The features introduced above are activated now, so you can interact with your newsletter edition.

6.Send an Edition:

a. Getting started:

Once you are done editing and/or previewing your edition, you can start sending your edition to subscribers.

To do so, click on the “Next” button on the top right corner of the screen.

You will be navigated to the sending setup page. This page will let you manage the delivery details before sending.

b. Select sender:

You can choose to send an edition on your behalf or on others’ behalf.

If the edition is sent on your behalf, the “Ask to send” button will be deactivated.

If you are sending the edition on other’s behalf, the “Ask to send” button will activate. Before sending the edition, please double-check with the person you’re sending it on behalf of to make sure everything is approved. You can use this “Ask to send” button to do so.

c. Select recipients:

The Outlook Newsletter requires you to have at least 1 person as your recipients. To add your recipients, you can do the same as adding recipients for emails.

d. Select replier:

Usually, the email address used for the sender will be the email address that received replied to. However, if that is not the case, then you can change the email address to whom you prefer.

To do that, click on the “Add a custom email for replies” button.

Another line will be added under the Bcc recipients line for the replier email address. Now, you can add email addresses by entering their name or email address.

e. Set visibility:

You can also set up the visibility of the edition just like the newsletter. You can choose between:

Private – Only you can view.
Unlisted – Only those with the newsletter’s link can view and subscribe.
My organization – Everyone in your organization can view and subscribe.

f. Change title and thumbnail image:

This is your last chance to change the title and thumbnail image of your edition before publishing it.

To change the title, click on the text and type another title you want to use.

To change the image, click on the pencil icon button and follow the same steps as when you changed the image in the editing edition part.

g. Additional options:

For “Display other editions selected by Newsletters in email footer”, when enabled, links to other selected editions of the newsletter will automatically appear in the footer of your edition. This helps your subscribers discover and access related editions more easily.

For “Allow comments and reactions on this edition”, when enabled, subscribers can leave comments and express reactions (such as likes or other feedback) directly on this edition. This option encourages engagement and interaction with your content.

h. Send edition:

Once you are done setting up the delivery details, click on the “Send” button to send your edition to subscribers and publish it.

7. How to Create New Template:

a. Getting Started:

If the templates provided by Outlook Newsletter don’t meet your requirements, you can create your own custom template to use. Unlike edition, template cannot be published and will be stored in the “Select a template” page.

To create a new template, first access your newsletter in Outlook Newsletter.

Then, click the “Create edition” button. You can find this button either in the top-left corner of your screen or in the center-right area of the screen.

Either button will be fine to use.

b. Choose a template:

The “Create edition” will lead you to the “Select a template” page. This page is where you choose a template to be the basis of your new template. The Outlook Newsletter provides users with 5 original templates to use, which cover most of the needs. Choose the one that is closest to the template that you want to create.

In this tutorial, the “Blank” template will be chosen. This tutorial will show you how to create and edit a template from scratch.

After choosing the appropriate template, a pop-up screen will appear.

c. Enter Template Title:

You will add the title of your template, for example: “Monthly News and Updates”.

d. Select Type as Template:

Then, on the first drop-down menu, select “Template”.

e. Select Newsletter:

The second drop-down menu will let you choose which Newsletter it will be associated with. Meaning that anyone that is an owner will be able to use this template.

f. Save Template:

Now, you can click on the “Save” button to save the template.

A pop-up message will appear to let you know that your template is successfully created and saved.

g. Change thumbnail image:

Once your template is created, you will be taken to the template editing space. Here, you will start your editing process.

Usually, your thumbnail image will be the same image as the background image of your newsletter like the image below. We recommend using this image for your template as well for formal purposes.

However, for an informal or you already established brand image, you can upload the image file of your template here.

Your thumbnail image ratio should be 4:1.

To change the image, click on the pencil icon button on the top right of the screen.

Then, follow the same steps outlined in the “Edit an Edition” section for changing thumbnail image.

h. Add sections:

An edition’s content is organized into different sections, each of which may contain text, images, people, or quotes. These elements can be added using components, which are explained in the later sections.

To add a new section to your edition, click on the “Add section” button at the bottom.

A new section will be added under the previous section. For the other template, which have more than one section, your new section will be added right where you click the “Add section” button.

i. Move sections:

For easier editing of your edition, Outlook Newsletter provides arrow buttons in the top-right corner of each section. These allow you to move the section up or down.

To move the section, click on the arrow.

Choose the “Move up” arrow button for moving the section one place up.

Choose the “Move down” arrow button for moving the section one place down.

j. Delete sections:

In Outlook Newsletter, you can use the “Delete section” button to remove a section you don’t need. The button is in the top right corner of each section.

To delete a section, click on the “Delete section” button. A pop-up message will appear.

Choose “Delete” to delete your section. Your section has been deleted.

k. Restore section:

Once there is a deleted section, a message will appear on top of your screen. Saying that you can restore the section if you want to.

This feature will appear only if the section you deleted has some content. Otherwise, nothing will show up.

If you don’t want to restore that section, just ignore this message. Otherwise, click on the “Deleted section” button to open a drop-down list.

This list stores all the deleted sections.

Click on the “Restore section” button to restore your section.

Your section will be added back to the template, staying on top of the template.

There is also a pop-up message at the bottom.

l. Link section:

Outlook Newsletter also allows you to create a click-able link for each of your section by using the “Link section” button on the top right corner. I recommend using this feature when your template/edition has more than three long contents for directory since the click-able link will take you to the corresponding section.

To create a link, click on the button. A screen will appear for you to enter the display text for your section.

After you enter the text display, click on “Add” to add the link to your section.

A new section named “Jump to section” will be added to the top of your template storing the link created.

You can edit this section by clicking on the pencil icon button next to the “Jump to section” title to open the “Table of contents” screen.

This section can be moved up and down using the same arrow buttons as well. However, it will only be either the first section of your template or the second section.

m. Remove link section:

There are two ways to remove the link of your section.

Through “Table of contents”:

Open the “Table of contents”, then click on the “Delete button” on the right of the link you want to delete.

Then, click “Save”.

Your section link is now removed, the “Table of contents” disappear as well because there is no link anymore.

Through “Link section” button:

Click on the “Link section” button, a screen will appear.

Then click on “Delete link”, your link will be removed.

n. Add components:

Once you are done with adding sections to your template, let’s start adding components to these sections.

Components make up the desired layout of each individual section. Allowing you to add text, images, people, or quotes. Not adding any components will keep the section as a blank canvas, similar to how you build normal Outlook emails.

To add new component for your section, click on the “Add component” button.

A window will open on the right side of the screen, showing you the components available. Selecting one of these will automatically apply that component to that section. These by default do not comply with the AP writing guide, so you will need to edit them to the style and writing guide specifications.

The images below are each component button on the “Components” window and its appearance once added into the section.

The “Text & Image” components make it easier to format your text alongside your images.

The “Images” components allow you to display a single image or multiple images side by side.

The Styles Quote components are a stylized way to add important quotes to your newsletter, with or without images.

The “People” component allows you to add people in your content.

o. Add more than one component:

To add more than one component to a section, you can use the “Insert” tool bar on the top of your screen.

Set your mouse in the section where you want to add a second component, outside of the component. Then, click on the “Component” button.

The same “Components” window pop-up will appear, letting you choose a component you want to add.

A new component will be added to where you place your mouse.

p. Manage components:

There are two components that you can change their size.

To change the size, hoover your mouse over them until a down-down list appears.

There you can click on the list and choose which size of the component that you want to use.

q. Delete components:

After you have selected a component, you can delete it from a section by hovering your mouse over that section and clicking on the three dots "•••".

r. Adding image:

After the process of choosing and editing the sections and components. Let’s import images for the template.

Click on the "Edit image" button, then follow the same steps as outlined in the “Edit an Edition” section.

Choose images that represent your department in some way (e.g., activities, events, or people). Since this template belongs to your department, it should clearly reflect that identity. When others use this template to create an edition, they will replace the images with ones that fit their needs—so there’s no requirement to use formal images.

The first image in the first section should have a ratio of 4:1. The images in the second section should have a ratio of 1:1.

s. Adding text:

To add text, click on where you want to edit, then follow the same steps as outlined in the “Edit an Edition” section.

Since we are creating a template, your example text can look like this: "Main body text in normal font type. Keep the copy under 300 words. Use plain English to write short, clear and everyday words free of jargon, to ensure your audience understands the first time they read it."

t. Adding department footer:

Click on the last section of your template, then follow the same steps as outlined in the “Edit an Edition” section.

8. How to Subscribe to Newsletter:

a. Through the "Explore" tab:

The "Explore" tab is where you will be navigated to first after accessing the Outlook Newsletter. If you are in other tabs, you can click on the "Explore" tab button on the navigation pane on the left of your screen to open it.

Then, you can find the newsletters by scrolling down to the bottom of the "Explore" tab. The newsletters will be listed under "Newsletters" and "New newsletters" sections.

b. Through the "Subscriptions" collection:

The "Subscriptions" collection is a drop-down list where you can find the newsletters that you're subscribing to.

However, when you're not subscribing to any newsletter, the "Discover newsletters" button will appear under this collection.

When you click the "Discover newsletters" button, you’ll be directed to the "Newsletters" page, where you can see all published newsletters.

9. How to Manage Drafts:

a. Getting Started:

To be able to manage edition drafts, please make sure that you are the owner or co-owner of the newsletter containing the edition you want to work with.

b. Find edition drafts using the "Newsletter" collection:
After creating, edition drafts will be saved into your newsletter. To access to them, click on the "Newsletters" collection on the left of your screen. A list of your newsletters will appear under this button.

Then, click on the newsletter that contains the editions you want to work with. Your newsletter page will be opened. There, you can find your draft editions under the "Drafts" section.

c. Find edition drafts using "Drafts" tab:

The "Drafts" tab saves all edition drafts. While each newsletter page only shows the editions that belong to that specific newsletter, the "Drafts" tab displays all drafts. Therefore, I recommend accessing the newsletter page when editing editions to avoid accidentally saving or selecting the wrong edition.

After clicking on the "Drafts" tab, a "Drafts" page will show up.

d. Edit:

The "Edit" button allows you to continue editing your edition draft from where you left off.

You will be navigated to the editing space after click on the "Edit" button.

e. Duplicate:

The "Duplicate" button will create an exact copy of the chosen edition. Therefore, if you are sending frequency newsletter editions that using the same format, you can duplicate the edition and change the content for better efficiency.

After clicking on the "Duplicate" button, you will be navigated to the editing space. The duplicated edition will be saved into the "Drafts" section.

f. Share:

The "Share draft" allows you to share your draft to others. You can only share among owners and co-owners of the newsletter because the edition you're sharing is still draft.

To share, click on the "..." button, then choose "Share draft". A pop up with the link of your edition draft will appear. Then, click on the "Copy link" button to copy the link and send the link to the people you want to share your draft with.

g. Move:

The "Move" button allows you to move your edition and save it to another newsletter.

To move edition, click on the "..." button, then choose "Move". After that, a pop up will appear.

You then choose where you want to move your edition draft to by clicking on the drop-down menu, then choose the destination newsletter.

Finally, click on the "Move" button to move your edition draft.

A pop up will appear announcing your move is successfully completed.

If you change your mind, choose "Cancel".

The images below shows the before and after moving edition draft.

h. Delete:

The "Delete" button allows you to delete an edition.

To delete edition, click on the "..." button, then choose "Delete". After that, a pop up will appear.

Click on "Delete".

Your edition is successfully deleted.

The images below shows before and after deleting edition.

10. How to Manage Published Edition:

a. Getting Started:

To be able to manage the published editions, please make sure that you are the owner or co-owner of the newsletter containing the edition you want to work with.

b. Find published edition using the "Newsletter" collection:
After creating, published editions will be saved into your newsletter. To access to them, click on the "Newsletters" collection on the left of your screen. A list of your newsletters will appear under this button.

Then, click on the newsletter that contains the editions you want to work with. Your newsletter page will be opened. There, you can find the published editions under the "Published" section.

c. Find published edition using "Published" tab:

The "Published" tab saves all published editions. While each newsletter page only shows the editions that belong to that specific newsletter, the "Published" tab displays all published editions. Therefore, I recommend accessing the newsletter page when editing editions to avoid accidentally saving or selecting the wrong edition.

After clicking on the "Published" tab, a "Published" page will show up.

d. Share:

The "Share" allows you to share your editions to others.

To share, click on the "Share" button, a pop up with the link of your edition will appear. Then, click on the "Copy link" button to copy the link and send the link to the people you want to share your edition with.

e. Duplicate:

After clicking on the "Duplicate" button, you will be navigated to the editing space. The duplicated edition will be saved into the "Drafts" section.

e. Edit:

The "Edit" button allows you to continue editing your published editions from where you left off. To edit, click on the "..." button, then choose "Edit".