Terms and conditions for a paid newsletter

A paid newsletter is a subscription to a writer's work, renewed monthly or yearly by readers who may forward it, quote it and occasionally complain about it. The terms have to run the subscription and cancellation plainly, say what the content is and is not, licence it for the subscriber's own reading, deal with comments and community, and handle price changes and refunds for part periods. I draft those terms for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Writers, analysts and independent publishers in England and Wales selling paid newsletters and publications by monthly or annual subscription to consumers through newsletter and membership platforms or their own site.

What matters in paid newsletter terms

Subscriptions, renewals and cancellation

Subscribers should be able to see, at the moment they subscribe, how often they will be billed, on what date, at what price, and that billing continues until they stop it. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 lets a court set aside a renewal term the subscriber was not fairly warned about, and the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 is bringing in specific rules for subscription contracts. Cancellation should happen in the account, stop the next payment, and leave the subscription running to the end of what has been paid for. Annual plans raise one more question, which the terms should answer: whether a subscriber who cancels a week after renewing gets the unused months back. A fair answer is usually yes for a prompt cancellation.

The first payment and digital content

Because a newsletter is digital content sold at a distance, the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 give a new subscriber fourteen days to cancel unless, at checkout and as regulation 37 requires, they expressly agreed to receive issues straight away and accepted that doing so ends the cancellation right. If the checkout did not collect that agreement, the right survives, and the terms should promise a refund to any subscriber who uses it.

What the content is and is not

The newsletter is the writer's analysis and opinion, and the terms should say that it is published for general information, is not advice on any reader's situation, and that readers should take professional advice before acting on it, particularly where the subject is legal, financial, medical or investment; a newsletter that invites readers to invest or comments on particular investments can be a financial promotion restricted by section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, and anything said about identifiable people carries the risk the Defamation Act 2013 governs. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 digital content must be as described, so the description should be of the publication as it is: frequency, subject and format.

Licence, forwarding and republishing

Content is the writer's under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, and the terms should grant subscribers a personal licence to read and keep issues, prohibit forwarding, sharing of logins, republishing and use in products, allow short quotation with attribution, which section 30 of that Act permits as fair dealing in any event, and reserve the right to end a subscription for breach. Archive access should be described: whether past issues remain available and for how long after cancellation.

Comments, community, price changes and data

Where subscribers can comment or join a community, the terms should set conduct rules, allow moderation and removal, and say that illegal content is removed and reported, as the Online Safety Act 2023 may require of a service hosting user content. Price changes take effect from the next renewal after notice with the subscriber free to cancel. The privacy notice governs subscriber data, held on the newsletter platform as a processor under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and marketing follows the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003.

What it costs

Customer or supplier terms and conditions, £995. One set of terms, customer-facing or supplier-facing, drafted for your business. Five working days.

Review of your existing terms, £495. You already have terms and want them checked and brought up to date. Returned marked up with my amendments and an explanation of the changes. Three working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the terms and conditions drafting page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A full set of bespoke terms drafted for your business, reflecting the legal requirements that apply to your business and sector
• A note in plain English explaining the terms I have drafted for you
• Liability, payment, termination and IP provisions that protect your position and are drafted to withstand scrutiny from the other side
• Guidance on how to incorporate the terms properly
• Your questions and comments answered by email or phone
• One round of amendments to finalise the terms ready for use

What is not included

• Negotiating your terms with individual customers (I am happy to quote for this as an additional service if required)
• Sector-specific regulatory compliance beyond the contract terms themselves
• Website privacy notice and cookie compliance, which I quote separately
• Terms governed by the law of another country
• Tax advice

Questions I am often asked

A subscriber forwarded an issue to their whole company. Can we do anything?

If the licence is personal and prohibits forwarding, they are in breach, and the terms can let you end the subscription. In practice a polite note and a team subscription offer is the remedy that works.

A reader acted on something in the newsletter and lost money. Are we liable?

If the terms say the content is general information and opinion, not advice, and that readers should take advice before acting, the reader made their own decision. Liability for negligent content is limited by the terms but the description of the content as opinion is the main protection.

An annual subscriber cancelled a week after renewal. Do we refund?

The terms should say. A refund of the unused part for a cancellation shortly after renewal is fair and avoids the argument; a refusal is defensible only if the terms said so clearly and the subscriber consented to immediate access.

Related guidance and services

• Terms and conditions drafting, £995, the service this page describes
• Contract review, £495
• Terms and conditions for a membership site
• Terms and conditions for an online community or forum

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.