How do you write a good newsletter? A step-by-step plan for the best results

Almost every company has an email newsletter. This digital communication channel can be engaging and effective when done well, but in practice, many companies don’t put much effort into it. That's a shame because if you do it right, email marketing can help you generate leads and raise revenue and brand awareness.

But how do you write a good newsletter? What is involved, and is there a step-by-step plan you can follow to achieve the best results? In this article, you will find the answers.

What makes a good newsletter?

What exactly is a newsletter? A newsletter is a regular update – usually sent by email these days – to inform your customers and other interested parties about the latest information, announcements and offers from your company.

A good newsletter collects all relevant news about the brand and keeps the audience informed of interesting developments. The best newsletters utilise short texts that encourage readers to click through to the brand website for more information.

What can you use a newsletter for?

With a newsletter you can build relationships with people who are interested in your service or product. By sharing relevant content, you’ll help them get to know your organisation and services or products.

By sharing relevant content, you’ll help them get to know your organisation and services or products.

When people regularly read your newsletter, spot you on social media and come across your organisation in Google search results, they will automatically see you as an authority in your field. This creates trust. As a consequence, they will be inclined to buy your service or product instead of those of your competitors.

Reading tip: Briefing a copywriter? Create the best brief for a copywriter.

How do you create a good newsletter? A step-by-step plan

Writing a good newsletter doesn't have to be difficult. You just need to know what to focus on. Follow this step-by-step plan and your next mailing will be your best newsletter ever!

1. Determine your target audience

As with all marketing communications, it is important that you first understand who your audience is. Who are you speaking to? Which group of people do you want to connect with? Why?

Think about characteristics such as age, gender, region, interests and education level. This is crucial so that you can approach your audience in the right way. After all, you’d probably talk differently to a sneaker-obsessed teenager than to a man in his fifties who likes to play golf.

2. Determine the purpose of your newsletter

Once who you are speaking to, it’s time to think about what you want to achieve by communicating with them. Do you only want to inform them of the latest company news, or do you want them to purchase your latest product? Do you want to convince them? Or maybe you want to inspire them? Make your goal as specific as possible.

Make your goal as specific as possible.

A pitfall to avoid is over-stuffing your newsletter with untargeted information that doesn’t achieve your goals. Product news next to PR stories, blog posts next to a random agenda overview... It can quickly become a mess! Determine your goal and find a common thread through your topics to link everything together.

3. Think about the needs of your target audience

To make the connection between your target audience and what you want to achieve, it is important that you determine the needs or even the pain points of your target audience. People will only read your newsletter if they think you have a solution they’re looking for.

Perhaps you already know where these pain points lie after carrying out target audience research. If not, then do your research. For example, ask questions to your target audience on social media, send them surveys or search out relevant Facebook groups and canvass the members.

To encourage recipients to open your newsletter, the title should focus on the problem or pain point that you are solving

4. Choose the content

Now that you have a clear framework, you can determine the content of your newsletter. Make a list of the subjects you want to highlight. Your reader is key, don't lose sight of that! Really empathise with your target audience and think about what they want to know, instead of what you want to say.

Your reader is key, don't lose sight of that!

Don't be tempted to do too much self-promotion. No one likes being hassled by companies – think about how you feel if you get a promotional email from the same brand selling the same products four times a week. Too much communication quickly gets annoying and turns readers and potential customers off.

Instead, opt for interesting, informative and timely content on topics relating to your products, such as trends or news. Combine this with a helpful, friendly, informative approach. The readers might not be tempted to buy your product immediately, but they will stay interested and engaged. Intersperse this content with promotional sections to increase the likelihood of your audience clicking through.

Ideally, you should ‘prove’ your promotional content. When you say that you are 'the best', or offer 'quality', explain why you are the best, and what you mean by quality. Readers want information, context and explanation.

5. Choose a smart layout and structure

A newsletter often consists of several pieces of text, each with its own call-to-action (CTA). But those CTAs are not usually all of equal importance.

Start with the most important topic as many readers will not read the entire mailing. Introducing this topic with an eye-catching sentence. For example: “Is our economy about to crash and burn?” or, “These are the hottest autumn shoe trends you need to know”.

Is one topic leading your newsletter? Research shows that the first two links are clicked through more often than others. Limit yourself to a maximum of three links – more will make your newsletter seem cluttered, and people are unlikely to click through anyway.

There should be no doubt about what they should click and where that click leads.

Make everything as easy as possible for your subscribers. Whether you want them to click through to a blog article or forward your newsletter to a friend, use clear CTAs. There should be no doubt about what they should click and where that click leads.

Keep the texts in your newsletter short. After all, you want your audience to click through to your website or blog and read the entire content there. By using a teaser, you give them just enough information to make them curious. This way you encourage them to click through and read on.

Adding images, illustrations and other visuals to the short texts will make them easier to read and make the whole newsletter more attractive.

Don't forget white space. White space is important in newsletters because it reduces visual clutter, directs the reader's eye to where you want it to be, and makes the page feel cohesive. 

Reading tip: What is ghostwriting? Hire a ghostwriter for your texts.

6. Choose a strong title

As mentioned before, the title is highly important. Brainstorm until you have found the perfect title for your mailing. After all, the title is the first thing the recipients see in their mailbox. That title must tempt them to open your newsletter.

Provide a strong, creative, interesting title that makes the reader curious about the content of your mailing. Don't make it too 'salesy' or you risk putting people off – they’ll assume there are only advertisements inside and delete it immediately.

Don't make it too 'salesy'.

If you offer something for free, it can be a good idea to include the word 'free' in your title. This often results in a higher response rate. At the same time, the word is a trigger for some spam filters to filter out your email and mark it as spam. Think carefully about using the word ‘free’ and if possible use an A/B test to monitor the effects.

A good example of a newsletter with a strong title is the one below from the Dutch brand HelloFresh. It says:

“Dinner is almost ready – with 2 x 50% discount” 

7. Add a clear unsubscribe option

A list of active, engaged recipients is crucial for a successful newsletter. It feels a bit contradictory, but you have to be very clear about how recipients can unsubscribe from your mailing if they are no longer interested.

Don't use vague phrases, such as "Change your communication with us", and don't hide the unsubscribe button behind an image. Instead, use a clear 'Unsubscribe' link or button. In addition to keeping your list healthy, a clear unsubscribe option also ensures that email programs do not mark the email as spam. And that is key to reaching recipients who are interested in what you have to say.

8. Choose the right tools

Next, you need a tool for sending your newsletter. Nowadays there are all kinds of online programs available for composing your mailing. They offer user-friendly templates that make drafting and sending your newsletter simple. Examples include MailChimp, Laposta and MailBlue.

9. Test comprehensively

Now you should have a strong foundation for your newsletter. You’re ready to begin testing what works best for your target audience. Try out different topics, titles, and formats, and keep a close eye on the data to understand which approaches work and which don’t.

How do you create a catchy newsletter? Have it written!

Even if you follow all the steps mentioned above, writing a catchy newsletter isn’t easy. That’s where professional copywriters come in. Do you want the very best texts for your target audience but don’t have the time or skills to write them yourself? Do you want to be sure that your newsletters are read and don’t immediately end up in the trash?

Then have your newsletter written by CopyRobin's professional copywriters.