10 Tips to Write Engaging Newsletters

Let’s be honest — there are a lot of bad newsletters out there. Your inbox is probably full of them, cluttering your email with boring subject lines that make you wonder why you even subscribed in the first place. How many do you even bother to open, much less read and learn from?

Newsletters can be a valuable tool to connect with customers and promote your business. Recent stats show email engagement is way up. Creating an engaging and thoughtful one takes a little bit of know-how. Below, we’ll explain what makes a good newsletter, if you really need one, and give you ten tips for writing a successful newsletter.

First, do your research

Do you really need a newsletter? Before you throw yourself into crafting the best newsletter ever, do a little bit of research to make sure your time will be well spent. Do your industry competitors have newsletters that people subscribe to? Check them out. Spend time analyzing their tone, structure, and design. Which ones do you like and why? Then clarify who is your target audience. Would a newsletter be relevant to your audience, and if so, what kind? Do you have the time and financial resources to sustain a high-level newsletter? As always, reflect on whether and how this communications tool will support your business goals, and only start one if it supports what your organization is trying to achieve. 

If your research leads you to find that a newsletter is beneficial, keep reading. If not, don’t be afraid to let it go and put your time and energy into a different facet of your communications. Take a look at our guides to AI for PR pros, SEO and how to create an advocacy strategy.

Clarify your goals & objectives

Once you’ve decided that a newsletter would be an asset to your brand, spend some time figuring out your goals and objectives for it. Are you trying to drive website traffic, retain customers or gain new ones? Think about how can you provide value to your audience. What information are they missing that would help them? Answering these questions will help you determine the kind of newsletter you’ll write and its content.

Start writing! Here are ten tips for writing an engaging newsletter:

1. Decide on a topic relevant to your audience & brand

The key to a successful newsletter is focusing on something your audience wants to read. What are your subscribers interested in that aligns with your brand? If you make it too broad and generic, trying to cover every aspect of your business, it will appear random and unfocused. Think back on your goals and target audience — what topics align with both? For example, if your goal is to drive traffic to your blog, your newsletter could focus on the blog’s topic. Or, if you’re a clothing company and your goal is to drive sales, your newsletter could share industry insights such as trending designs and how to style them, with a link to the latest drops.

2. Get creative with subject lines

How many emails in your inbox go unopened? According to a recent study, 47% of email recipients decide which emails to open based only on the subject line. Make it easy for your readers to click on your email with a catchy and compelling subject line. Even if they have an idea of what you might be writing about, you should entice them with that first piece of text. Keep your subject lines to 50 characters or fewer to fit in the preview, and write in sentence case to make it easier to read.

3. Be specific on your “subscribe” page

People should know exactly what they’re signing up for when subscribing to your newsletter. The more specific you can be, the better. Tell them what will be in the newsletter, how often they can expect it, and maybe even offer a preview of a newsletter you’ve sent out. This kind of transparency will prevent people from unsubscribing later.

4. Provide valuable content

Don’t fill your newsletter with advertisements. Nobody wants that. Think about how you can provide your reader with valuable content — helpful blog posts, funny stories, news, and/or educational content. Try striking a balance of 90% informative and 10% promotional content.

5. Utilize storytelling techniques

Keep it entertaining by using storytelling techniques to engage your readers and make your content memorable. Rather than throwing information at your audience in boring, technical jargon, implement your writing skills and craft a clear and concise story they’ll enjoy.

6. Maintain consistent branding

Your newsletter should have clear and consistent branding from the design to key messages. This helps reinforce your brand recognition and fosters trust with your subscribers. People should clearly recognize your brand from your newsletter’s style and word choice. We recommend using an email marketing service such as Mailchimp, which offers a free version, HubSpot or Constant Contact to create a branded newsletter and manage your contacts.

7. Make a clear & singular call to action 

Your email should have only one call to action — one thing you’d like your reader to do — so as not to overwhelm or confuse the recipient with competing requests. Is it checking out a blog post or buying a product? Your call to action should be clear, concise, and flow naturally within the context of the content.

8. Be concise & minimal in your design 

Make your newsletter easy to read by being concise and keeping your design minimal. Many of your readers will be engaging on their phones, so it’s important to optimize your design so that it’s equally enjoyable from a mobile or desktop device. Large chunks of text are hard to read on small devices, so keep it short and sweet. Enhance your design with visuals, but make sure to use alt text, as many subscribers don’t have images enabled.

9. Decide on an ideal frequency

If you email your subscribers too often, you’ll annoy them and they’ll unsubscribe. Too little and you won’t develop the connection with your audience that you’re trying to achieve. Find the right balance, factoring in your ability to generate valuable content and what your audience is looking for.

10. Make it easy to unsubscribe

Nobody likes having to search for the unsubscribe button. Make it easy for your recipient to unsubscribe with an obvious link. This may seem counterintuitive, but it will help you maintain a healthy subscription list and prevent your emails from being marked as spam. A high spam score (a metric used to evaluate the success of a newsletter) can dramatically reduce your email reach.

When you have your first newsletter ready to go, don’t forget to proofread it. Then share it on social media, add it to your website, and email the first issue to your relevant contacts. Remember it won’t help meet your business goals if no one reads it. Congrats! 

Barber Communications has helped many clients craft successful newsletters tailored to their business goals. Looking for help with yours? Email us.