Longer isn’t always better. Letters to the newspaper should be less than 200 words, but many effective letters are just one or two sentences long. Instead of writing one 200-word long letter to one newspaper, you can have a greater impact by sending four 50-word letters to four different newspapers.

Stay local. Don’t blanket the whole state, but feel free to submit to newspapers within your area of Ohio. It’s perfectly ok to send a letter in to a paper one county over.

Be original. We can’t tell you what to say. Newspaper readers want to hear from people in their own community, so you should express yourself in your own words. (But it’s also ok to reach out for talking points.)

Be regular. Most newspapers will only print a letter from you once every six months, so send them new letters twice a year for consideration. In the meantime, target other publications.

Do not include attachments. The links below will either open a form on the newspaper website, or a blank email addressed to the newspaper’s editor. Type your letter in the email body instead of attaching a Word document.