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Newsletters are a cornerstone of email marketing. They offer a direct line of communication with your audience—yet creating one that consistently engages readers can be challenging.

How do you create a newsletter that not only captures attention but also effectively supports your business goals?

Dive into newsletter best practices for launching a successful newsletter:

• What’s an email newsletter and why is it important?
• How newsletters can benefit your brand
• The newsletter landscape
• Preparing for your first newsletter: Best practices to follow

What’s an email newsletter and why is it important?

Newsletters are recurring roundups of news, tips, or product updates sent by way of email. According to the 2021 State of Email survey, more than 80% of respondents send email newsletters, making them the most popular type of emails that marketers send.

Newsletter emails are a go-to strategy for B2B and B2C marketers across various sectors, including non-profits, news organizations, independent thought leaders, and consultants. Here are some key benefits that email newsletters offer:

• Establish brand trust and credibility
• Demonstrate the value your brand offers
• Build and nurture direct connections with subscribers
• Learn more about subscriber interests
• Increase brand awareness
• Encourage retention and engagement
• Boost revenue with paid ads or subscription models

How newsletters can benefit your brand

Before setting up and sending a newsletter, it’s important to have a clear grasp of its purpose for your brand. Knowing the “why” behind your newsletter serves as your guiding star, helping you stay true to your goals and avoiding adding to the noise of your subscribers’ inboxes.

At the heart of all good marketing lies one key element: quality content. So make sure you have it!

Regardless of your industry or brand, an email newsletter shouldn’t be about a hard sell. While the content can have a promotional aspect, the primary goal of newsletters is to inform, educate, entertain, and inspire your audience. If some revenue follows, whether directly or indirectly, that’s an added bonus.

Consider Ann Handley’s philosophy on newsletters: think of them as a bridge to the rest of your marketing efforts.

• Receive discounts: 39% 
• Read current news: 21% 
• Learn about something of interest: 18% 
• Get access to exclusive content: 16% 
• Receive product announcements/updates: 5%

The newsletter landscape

Believe it or not, the very first newsletter email was sent on December 22, 1977! It ran until 2001 and is credited with pioneering what we now recognize as digital marketing across various channels, including email.

While newsletters have been around for decades, over recent years newsletters have experienced a resurgence, which can be largely attributed to the rise of the creator economy, Many writers, creators, and brands embracing paid formats as both a means of brand building and a revenue stream.

For instance, between 2021 and 2022, the newsletter platform beehiiv saw a significant increase in activity, with 402 million emails sent. By 2023, this number soared to 4.5 billion emails.

According to Inbox Reads’ The State of Newsletters In 2023, Substack is the most popular email service provider (ESP) for newsletter creators. Others on the list include beehiiv, Ghost, Mailchimp, Convertkit, and MailerLite.

A majority of newsletters are free, but about 13.5% are paid, and 36% offer a paid plan. Ads and sponsorships continue to be the most popular form of monetization, with 67% of newsletters interested in sponsorship.

Preparing for your first Newsletter: Best practices to follow

Let’s dive into the steps to take while you’re in the initial planning phase of your next newsletter. Ask yourself these four questions:

1. What do you want to accomplish?
2. Who is this newsletter going to?
3. When will subscribers receive your newsletter?
4. How will you measure if your newsletter is engaging?

Let’s walk through each step.

Step 1: Define your goals. What do you want to accomplish?

An email newsletter can serve many purposes, but nailing down your unique “why” is key to its success.

Having a clear sight of your goals is crucial because it shapes your entire newsletter strategy. This includes:

• Newsletter content. Will your newsletter function as distribution for announcements, blog posts, social media, videos, and other resources—or will you create new content specifically for it? For monetization, you might need in-depth articles and premium insights, while community-building could focus on interactive content, personal stories, and industry news.
• Measuring success. Your objectives determine what success looks like. If community-building is the goal, look toward engagement metrics like clicks and click-through rates (CTR) as your key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Frequency. How often will you send your newsletter, and how feasible is it to maintain this schedule? Monetizing might mean more frequent updates to maintain perceived value, whereas community-building could be sustained with a bi-weekly or monthly schedule. Over time, you’ll have a better idea of the results your newsletters bring, and you can adjust your frequency as needed.

Keep in mind: nothing should be set in stone! Growing your newsletter will be ongoing learning experience: analyze, reflect, iterate—and remain flexible to adapting your goals based on what resonates most with your subscribers. 

Think about what you want to achieve. Here are some questions to guide you:

• Do you want to nurture loyalty with subscribers?
• Do you want to create a channel to offer exclusive discounts, referral bonuses, or product announcements?
• Are you looking to build community within your industry?
• Do you want to monetize your newsletter?

Nurture loyalty

Do you want to nurture loyalty with subscribers? Content like personal stories and behind-the-scenes updates can make subscribers feel more connected to you and your brand, helping to foster loyalty and advocacy among subscribers.

Diaspora Co. is a food and beverage company specializing in single-origin spices rooted in equity, which significantly influences their product and marketing efforts. Their newsletter, Open Tab, provides an engaging glimpse behind the scenes at the company, while also sharing the team’s personal interests—what they’ve been reading, watching, cooking, and listening to—adding a human touch to their newsletter.

Create an exclusive, owned channel

Do you want to create a channel to offer exclusive discounts, referral bonuses, or product announcements? Having a direct line to your audience lets you share special offers and important updates. This can drive sales and keep your audience in the loop about your latest offerings.

If you have an affiliate or ambassador program for your brand, consider sending a newsletter to keep members informed on updates and upcoming promotions.

Monetize a newsletter

Do you want to monetize your newsletter? To do this effectively, you need to provide content that’s worth paying for. For example, you might:

• Offer paid subscriptions
• Tap into affiliate marketing
• Run ads
• Secure sponsorships
• Create a paid email course
• Offer a membership with exclusive access to a community, listings, etc.

This is an approach that many creator-led newsletters take: many offer exclusive content with the promise of offering discount codes, early access, and more.

Escape Brooklyn offers exclusive monthly promotions through their Substack newsletter, The Escape Club Newsletter, which is accessible only to paying subscribers.

Dense Discovery provides a primary advertising slot in its weekly newsletter, along with various format options tailored to sponsors’ specific needs.

Build community

Are you looking to build community within your industry? Newsletters can be a great platform for that. Share industry news, highlight your peers, and encourage audience interaction (e.g. with a live poll in an email) to foster a sense of community.

Take for example Litmus Weekly, our very own newsletter launched in 2016 with the goal of fostering a community among email marketers, as noted by Jaina Mistry, Director, Brand and Content Marketing. “We wanted to help email marketers do their jobs better by giving them the resources they needed to do that—whether they were Litmus content pieces or not.”

Over the years, Litmus Weekly has delivered far more than we expected.

“It’s been able to move the needle on business goals because we’ve been able to give that audience exactly what they want—great content delivered at a consistent cadence. That, in turn, has built a great amount of trust between Litmus and subscribers.”

Step 2: Get to know your audience. Who is this newsletter going to?

When done right, a newsletter can be a powerful way to nurture relationships with your audience. But first, who are they?

Defining your target audience is essential for promoting your newsletter, attracting subscribers, and choosing the right content.

Write a brief sentence or two that clearly describes your ideal subscriber. This description will serve as your North Star, guiding your content curation plus any copy used within your email copy and marketing efforts—like your newsletter landing page.

Set up your newsletter landing page

Make sure to set up a landing page where people can easily sign up for your newsletter. Whether they’re arriving from social media, a referral, or from a search engine, optimize your landing page to encourage visitors to take action and subscribe.

Here are examples of newsletter sign up pages with copy that clearly indicates 1) who the newsletter for and 2) what they can expect.

• Morning Brew. “There’s a reason 4M+ professionals read our free newsletter. We’ll send you the world’s most important business news, with a hint of wit and humor, so that you start your day informed, knowledgeable, and ready to go.”
• The Hustle. “Get Smarter on Business and Tech. Subscribe to The Hustle: Your 5-minute brief on business & tech news.”
• theSkimm. “The morning newsletter that millions wake up to. The Daily Skimm connects the dots on how the day’s biggest stories affect your life, delivered to your inbox daily.”
• Moz Top 10. “Delivered straight to your inbox, the Moz Top 10 is your exclusive digest of essential information—saving you time and keeping you informed. Subscribe now to receive hand-picked content and special offers from Moz.”
• The Morning Newsletter by The New York Times. “Make sense of the day’s news and ideas. David Leonhardt and Times journalists guide you through what’s happening — and why it matters.

Take to other channels for cross-promotion, like social media. Incorporate this into your social media schedule regularly, whether monthly or quarterly.

This method helped us boost new subscriber numbers across our diverse range of newsletters.

“After a year of promoting Litmus newsletters on our organic social channels, a sizable 40.7% of those who signed up were net new subscribers.”

—Tracie Pang, Email Marketing Manager at Litmus

Launching a newsletter to existing subscribers

Will you be launching a new newsletter to existing subscribers? Before you send an announcement email, think through segmentation (e.g. the most engaged subscribers, or subscribers in a certain industry).

Keep in mind: just because someone’s subscribed to one newsletter you send doesn’t mean they want to receive others. So while it’s worth promoting your new newsletter to your existing newsletter audiences, give them control of whether they opt-in.

That said, your existing newsletters are a great way to cross-promote your upcoming newsletter launch! Perhaps it’s featured as the hero piece or a secondary CTA. Either way, use this as an opportunity to to drive awareness for your newsletter offerings.

Additionally, lean on any first-party data you might have on your audience to get a gauge on content preferences. You can run a survey or add a live poll to an email for feedback to help you refine segmentation and position messaging to align with your ideal reader.

Launching a newsletter from scratch? You might not yet have significant insights about your audience—and that’s okay! Look toward insights like existing customers, followers on social media, or brands similar to yours in industry and size to craft a marketing persona that will help guide you.

 

Optimize your preference center

Fun fact: The New York Times produces 50 different newsletters! If you’re planning to have a variety of newsletters in your repertoire, make sure you’re clear about the unique value they’ll get out of subscribing to one.

Plus, you’ll want to ensure your email preference center is optimized and updated with your current offerings. Highlight the unique benefits of each newsletter and let your subscribers take their pick.

Step 3: Determine your newsletter cadence. When will subscribers receive your newsletter?

Deciding on the frequency of your newsletter—whether weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or quarterly—can vary depending on your goals and audience. Take into consideration two important factors:

• Consistency. Consistency is key! While there’s no magic formula for the perfect email send time, it’s important to be consistent with newsletters. Whether you choose 11am every other Wednesday or 3pm on the last Thursday of the month, sticking to a regular schedule sets the expectation for of when subscribers can expect your newsletter.

• Quality content. As mentioned earlier, content is the heart of your newsletter, and high-value content should be a priority. 

Nonetheless, creating a good newsletter requires effort. It means producing content that is engaging and useful to your subscribers, whether it comes from inside your team, outside sources, or a mix of both.

Be realistic about how much time and effort your team can consistently dedicate to crafting a strong newsletter. Once you find your rhythm and understand your subscribers’ preferences better, you can always increase your efforts.

When is the best time to send your newsletter?

To determine your ideal send time, first take a look at any existing analytics you have on your audience to help you glean insights—whether that’s in your ESP or an advanced Litmus Email Analytics.

While there is no “perfect” send time, our latest research has found 10am and 11am to be the most popular open times.

 

Step 3: Measure performance. How will you measure if your newsletter is engaging?

The more you measure, the more insights you’ll collect over time. To track how well your newsletter is performing, you’ll need to have reporting metrics set in place.

Your ESP will give you a good starting set of metrics, but as your newsletter grows, you might want more detailed insights, like tracking sentiment or read times. You might even consider using an external tool that integrates seamlessly with your ESP (we know some folks).

Before deciding which email marketing metrics are most important, think about your goal. If your aim is for people to read your newsletter right in their inbox, then measuring CTR might not be the best choice. Instead, consider using both qualitative and quantitative measures, such as how many people reply to your emails.

Here are a few other ways to measure the success of your email newsletters:

Establish benchmarks—and compare

One approach is to comparing your current performance against past newsletters. This practice can help you identify what resonates with your audience, what needs improvement, and where there are opportunities to experiment with content, design, and subscriber experience.

We recommend looking at least three of your past newsletters, using these key email performance metrics:

• CTR
• Open rate (including MPP open rate)*
• Read rate
• Unsubscribe rate
• Bounce rate

*Note: Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) has affected the reliability of open rates since September 2021. This change impacts only those subscribers who have opted into MPP, highlighting the importance of using multiple metrics beyond opens to gauge your email newsletter’s effectiveness.

Track your clicks

Measure each clickable element of your email with UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) parameters. For example, the same URL might be linkedin twice, once in the hero image and headline. By setting up UTM parameters delineating between the two, you’ll be able to track not only what links are resonating but where subscribers are clicking.

Identify content that resonates the most

Your newsletter will likely include different types of content, like new blog posts, stats, event info, polls, and other curated pieces you think will resonate with your subscribers. Keep an eye on your most popular links to see what they like most, and adjust your approach based on their preferences.

 

Ready for launch?

Now that you’re armed with newsletter best practices—what will you send next? We can’t wait to see what you’ll create. And when you do, send them over to hello@litmus.com—we’d love to see it!

Stay tuned for more insights on newsletters coming soon!