We recently helped sharpen up a government newsletter so that it could be better used by a target audience with varying levels of education and
varying needs. Here's what we did.
1) Cut the fog: We reduced the length of the stories and edited them to be simpler and more direct.
2) Tightened the focus: We looked for stories that had a
practical, use-it-today quality. In particular, we added "Top 10" style features with easily digestible bullet points
3) More white space, more graphics:
Minor layout improvements like these really lighten the visual "weight" of a newsletter, making it more tempting to the reader.