Newsletters have become an essential tool for news outlets to share their stories and engage readers. But coming up with a successful newsletter strategy can be difficult.

How often should you send a newsletter? How many newsletters are too many? Should you send your newsletters to every subscriber or split your mailing list into different groups? What constitutes a breaking news alert?

To find answers to those questions, Better News podcast host Michael O’Connell talks to Cameron Songer, the newsletter editor at the San Antonio Express News.

Recently, Songer and Randi Stevenson, the Express News’ executive producer, wrote a report for the Better News initiative about how the Express News streamlined its newsletter process and found a way to funnel more people to its digital site. Read the full report.

The Better News podcast is a partnership between It’s All Journalism and the American Press Institute to a) showcase innovative/experimental ideas that emerge from the Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund and b) share replicable strategies and tactics that benefit the news industry as a whole. Sign up for the Better News newsletter to receive news about the latest resources, case studies, and insights. For more news about the It’s All Journalism podcast and future episodes of Better News, sign up for the weekly IAJ newsletter.