Article List at Top of an E-Zine

"Our trade association's monthly e-newsletter includes about 10 short information pieces with links back to the website for more information. We are evaluating the pros and cons of including a list of all of the articles at the beginning of the newsletter. Some people think this is good, others say it is less likely to get read. What do you think?" -- Denise Faguy, Automotive Industries Association of Canada

The key to getting read in these days of spam overload is quick scanability. If people think they'll have to wade through a long newsletter to find something that interests them, they may put off reading it until later -- which seldom comes. I recommend a list at the top to whet the appetite, then titles with a couple of teaser sentences and a hyperlink for each short article.