StretchLearn Course

Design a newsletter that looks like the same publication every single issue

An editorial grid, a masthead readers recognise, reusable section templates, and real builds for Substack, Mailchimp, and Beehiiv

Preview Curriculum Back to Catalog

Beginner8 hr 45 minSelf PacedRegistered

Course Overview

What this course is designed to develop

A newsletter is not a one-off email; it is a publication that arrives on a schedule and has to feel like the same thing every time. This course teaches the editorial design behind that consistency: a single-column grid with a clear measure and a modular spacing scale, a masthead and nameplate that earn instant recognition, a kit of reusable section templates (lead story, link roundup, the personal note, the sponsor slot) that turns a blank issue into a fill-in-the-blanks job, and a type and colour system that carries your voice in the layout itself. You then apply all of it inside the three platforms beginners actually use, Substack, Mailchimp, and Beehiiv, working with what each editor allows. You finish with a documented template system and a real issue built in your platform of choice.

Learning Outcomes

What the learner should be able to understand, build, or execute.

Build a single-column editorial grid for email with a readable measure, a baseline-style spacing scale, and a fixed content width

Design a masthead and nameplate that make the newsletter recognisable in the inbox and at the top of every issue

Create a kit of reusable section templates so each issue is assembled from modular blocks rather than designed from scratch

Express a consistent brand voice through a typographic hierarchy, a restrained colour palette, and deliberate whitespace

Set up and recreate your template system inside Substack, Mailchimp, and Beehiiv within each editor's real constraints

Run a pre-send layout and rendering check so each issue ships looking the way you designed it

Curriculum Preview

Inside the curriculum: a structured path from fundamentals to execution.

Preview the course structure, see how the modules build on one another, and understand the path this program is designed to take you through.

Module 1

Module 1: The Editorial Grid for Newsletters

Treat the newsletter as a publication with a fixed structure: a single-column email grid, a readable line length, and a modular spacing scale that gives every issue the same skeleton before you add a word.

3 lessons

A newsletter is a publication, not an emailContent · 40 min

Preview Enabled

The single-column grid and a readable measureContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Spacing, rhythm, and a modular scaleContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 2

Module 2: Masthead, Nameplate, and Recognition

Design the parts of the newsletter that build recognition: the inbox identity of sender name and subject, the nameplate that crowns each issue, and a header that does its job without burying the first line.

3 lessons

The masthead and the nameplateContent · 40 min

LMS Access

Inbox identity: sender name, subject, preheaderContent · 40 min

LMS Access

Header layout, logo, and the navigation stripContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 3

Module 3: Section Templating and Modular Layout

Build the kit of reusable blocks that an issue is assembled from: standing sections in a fixed order, repeatable patterns for stories and link roundups, and a sponsor or ad slot that reads as part of the publication.

3 lessons

Standing sections and a fixed running orderContent · 40 min

LMS Access

Reusable content blocks: stories, links, the personal noteContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Sponsor slots, ads, and calls to actionContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 4

Module 4: Brand Voice in Layout and Platform Builds

Turn a consistent voice into a type, colour, and spacing system, then recreate the whole template inside the editors readers actually use, Substack, Mailchimp, and Beehiiv, and check it before every send.

3 lessons

Type, colour, and voice expressed through layoutContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Building it in Substack, Mailchimp, and BeehiivContent · 50 min

LMS Access

The pre-send layout and rendering checkContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Built for Application

A complete learning path, not a one-off inspiration hit.

This program is designed around progression: focused lessons, structured modules, applied resources, assessments, and a course rhythm that turns information into usable capability.

newsletter designeditorial layoutmasthead designemail typographySubstackMailchimpBeehiivbrand voice