How to Write a Letter to the Editor
Writing a Letter to the Editor is a great way to engage your community around a topic that’s important to you. We recommend preparing letters for bills and issues important to you ahead of time, and submitting it to multiple publications around key dates within the bill’s life cycle. The short window of public input that occurs when a bill first goes to committee (when the public is invited to submit testimony) is a great time to submit a letter. The benefit of publishing a letter during this time is that it may encourage additional testimony and letters to legislators. When the bill is placed on the Senate or House calendar for a full-body vote is another ideal time to submit a letter. When that date is closing in, a compelling letter published may encourage further civic engagement by inviting readers to write their legislators before the floor debate and full body vote of the bill.
Before Writing a Letter to the EditorDepending on what publication you are submitting to, and in what area of the state, you may be a different percentage of readers friendly or unfriendly to your perspectives. Consider your audience when writing. Ask yourself - who needs to hear this message?
Consider if you’re writing to sway opinions (how would you convince your neighbors, your colleagues, etc?), and/or if you’re writing to lend visibility. A good letter can do both. Try to balance research, personal connection to the topic, and a local lens.
The Union Leader is the only state-wide paper, but local papers often also publish letters about state-wide issues, especially when you write about how they will impact the local community. The Concord Monitor is widely-read by state legislators, but is a smaller paper with a paid subscription, so may have limited community reach.
Reference one of these messaging guides to help get you started. They may help you consider what the opposition will say / think, and help form a coherent argument around the facts of the issue that might most-resonate with the committee.
If you’ve delivered Testimony already, or written your legislator already, consider transforming one of those statements into a Letter to the Editor.
Structuring Your LetterBe concise. Try to stick to around 250 words. Review the structure below and try to write an engaging opening sentence to catch the reader’s attention.
Date
Name of Editor
Name of Publication
Office Address
City, State, Zip
Dear Editor,
Intro: Make your point right up front, then back it up with arguments in later paragraphs. Open with a strong opening statement.
Body:
Context: any important background information about the issue for folks who are less informed.
Get Personal. Relate to the topic on a personal level, and explain why it’s significant to you, and why your unique perspective is important to consider.
Relate to your audience. Why should your community care about this issue? How will it affect them?
Closing: A short paragraph that summarizes your central point, and includes a call to action for readers.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Submitting Your Letter and Following UpYou can submit to most publications through their website. They may not let you know if/when they publish your letter, so it may be helpful to set up a Google news alert for your name to know if it’s published.
If/when it is published, and if you’re able to share it online, do so! If a letter to the editor gets a lot of attention online, that means more attention for the issue you care about.
Now that you have written down your opinion, consider sharing it: