Newsletters are an essential part of any effective email marketing strategy. Nearly any type of business can benefit from knowing how to create a newsletter. Whether you’re a small business, ecommerce giant, or anything in between, email newsletters can help build lasting relationships with your clients.

The best part? Creating your email newsletter can be completely free!

To help you get started, this article will spell out exactly what you need to know create your own newsletter:

1. Prepare the newsletter strategy
2. Choose a newsletter software
3. Set up your newsletter email list
4. Create a newsletter subscription form
5. Attract newsletter subscribers
6. Create your newsletter campaign in Sendinblue
7. Preview and send a test newsletter
8. Send your newsletter
9. Track newsletter performance

1. Prepare Your Email Newsletter Strategy

Define your email newsletter objectives

Before setting out to create a newsletter, you should define your objectives. Successful newsletters are goal-oriented, audience-specific, and support a larger marketing strategy.

For this reason, the first step to creating a newsletter is planning. Ask yourself these questions:

• Who is my target audience and what are their needs?
• What are the goals of my newsletter? E.g. generate web traffic, increase sales, build better customer relationships, create a loyal following for your content, etc.
• What type of content am I sending my subscribers? E.g. exclusive offers, blogger content, promotional deals, updates, etc.
• How frequently will I send my newsletters? 
• What do my subscribers get from my newsletters?

Decide how your newsletter will add value

One of your top priorities in creating a newsletter should be to provide real value to your subscribers. If your campaigns offer nothing but overly promotional content, your open rates and click through rates will suffer.

For ideas on how to add value to your newsletters, consider:

• Providing personalized offers and discounts via email automation;
• Signalling to helpful content on your website (new blog posts, how-to guides, etc.);
• Linking to gated content (ebooks, training materials, tools or templates, etc.).

At the same time, sending at regular intervals and honing your brand’s image, voice, and tone helps your newsletters come across as reliable and trustworthy. In turn, this gets your subscribers in the habit of receiving genuinely valuable content from your business.

2. Choose A Newsletter Software

You may be asking, “Do I really need a newsletter software?”

In short, the answer is yes. 

Creating a newsletter is definitely simple, but making sure it gets delivered is another story. If you tried sending a campaign to even just a few hundred contacts in Gmail or Outlook, it’s unlikely to ever reach your subscribers’ inboxes. For this reason, having a dedicated email marketing software is essential.

Why? 

Email deliverability depends on a few factors. Your reputation as a sender, the newsletter content, and technical aspects like domain and IP signatures all impact whether your email arrives in inboxes. Without taking these things into account, your campaigns are likely to be flagged as spam.

This is where email marketing software comes in. Having a dedicated newsletter service helps increase deliverability and manages the more technical aspects of email marketing for you. An email marketing software should:

• Serve as your email service provider (ESP). While other ESPs like Gmail and Outlook do the job for individuals, they don’t have the capacity or level of authentication to ensure newsletter deliverability;
• Provide analytics on your campaign, including open rates, click through rates, and bounce rates;
• Help you comply with GDPR standards;
• Allow you to easily create attractive and engaging campaigns.

If you’re looking for an email marketing solution, consider Sendinblue. A free account includes access to our drag-and-drop editor, dozens of free newsletter templates, as well as features like contact management, marketing automation, and transactional emails/SMS.

To make the most of this guide, create your free Sendinblue account now and follow along step-by-step to create your own newsletter:

3. Set up Your Newsletter Email Lists

The next step to sending newsletters is creating an email list. Broadly speaking, your email list refers to your audience. But there are a few things to keep in mind to make sure your campaigns have the greatest possible reach.

First, your email list should be 100% opt-in. This means the people receiving your email need to have given their consent to do so (usually through a sign-up form). This practice not only helps with email deliverability, but is also required under GDPR. 

Second, you should never buy email lists. Doing so lessens your authority as a sender and will only result in low deliverability rates. While growing your email list is always a priority, double opt-in sign-ups are a much more effective and responsible way to do so.

Third, email lists require pretty constant management. Luckily, email marketing softwares do this for you. Instead of manually keeping track of unengaged contacts, entering this data in your sales CRM, and segmenting your list, solutions like Sendinblue handle all of this for you.

Next, we’ll walk you through the steps to set up your email list. First, you’ll learn how to import existing contacts. Then, we’ll show you how to create lists and add contacts to them. 

Import existing contacts

Importing existing contacts to your Sendinblue account is easy. Start by clicking “contacts” on the dark blue header at the top of the page.

To manually enter contact information, just click on “add a contact” in the top right-hand corner.

To add a number of contacts at once, you’ll find a light blue button in the top right-hand corner that reads “import contacts”. Click on it.

Now, there are a few options for importing existing contacts to your Sendinblue account:

• Upload a file (.csv, .txt, and .xlsx)
• Copy/paste contacts from an Excel spreadsheet (.xls)

Once you decide which method to use, it’s just a matter of making sure your data is read correctly. For more detailed information on adding existing contacts to your Sendinblue account, take a look at our tutorial. 

What sets Sendinblue apart from other email marketing services is that you can store as many contacts as you like for as long as you like. (Even on our free plan).

Create an email list

To create and manage your own email lists, start by clicking on “contacts” in the dark blue header once you’re logged into your Sendinblue account.

Next, click on “lists” in the vertical menu on the left-hand side.

From there, you’re able to add a new list by clicking on the light blue button in the top right-hand corner of the page.

Choose a name, and you’re ready to go!

Create as many lists as you like and manage them for free using Sendinblue’s advanced segmentation features included on all plans. 

To add contacts to your new list, return to the contacts page.

Select the contacts you want to add to your list by ticking the boxes on the left of their email addresses.

Next, select “+Action.” Here, you will see a few options. To add contacts to the list you just created, select “copy to list,” then “existing list.”

From here, you’ll be prompted to select which email list to add the contacts to.

And just like that, you’ve set up your first email list. Like with contacts, Sendinblue allows you to create as many email lists as you like, even on the free plan.

4. Create an Email Subscription Form for Your Website

One of the easiest ways to grow your contact list is to capture subscribers from your existing website traffic. As an example, take a look at the sign-up form we use for our Sendinblue newsletter:

To create a sign-up form for your website, head to the “contacts” tab on the dark blue header at the top of the page.

Next, select “forms” from the menu bar on the left-hand side of the page.

Follow the prompts to select the type of form you’d like to create for your audience. (Subscription, unsubscription, or update of account information).

From there, adjust the form to include whatever fields you need. Then, personalize it with your own content and branding. 

Clarity: Get straight to the point. Explain what value your subscribers can expect from your newsletters and how often they’ll receive them.

Friction: Make the sign-up process as easy as possible. Reduce friction by only asking for the information you need (i.e. an email address and maybe a first name).

Confirmation: Consider implementing a double opt-in process to ensure that your list consists only of people who genuinely want to receive your email newsletter. This will help your deliverability rate.

Welcome email: Send your new subscribers a welcome email to make a good first impression. For more details, check out this article on what makes effective welcome emails.

Add the subscription form to your website

Adding your new subscription form to your website is simple thanks to the editor’s built-in share function. As the last step of creating your subscription form, you’ll be presented with options on how to share and/or embed your form. 

First, you’ll find a quick share link you can use in emails or on your social media. 

Second, you’ve got a few options when it comes to embedding the form on your website. The simplest way is to copy and paste the auto-generated iFrame version of the form into your website editor.

If you want to further customize your form, you can find the HTML versions in the tabs to the right.

5. Attract Newsletter Subscribers

Now that you’ve designed your newsletter sign-up form, it’s time to make good use of it! 

When deciding where to place your sign-up forms, it’s important to strike a balance between prioritizing visibility and being mindful of the user experience. Of course, you want as many people to see and use the form as possible. But interrupting potential customers’ website browsing won’t do any favors for your sales.

Features like pop-ups, live chat windows, and lead magnets can do wonders for lead generation and growing your subscriber base. That said, it’s important to be mindful of their placement.

If these features disrupt the browsing experience, they can even hurt your search engine ranking. To avoid this, you should always give your audience a chance to naturally interact with your website before showing them a pop-up, chat box, or lead magnet.

Take a look at this lead magnet we use at Sendinblue:  

We recommend placing features like this in the blog section of your website. Or whatever part of your website provides your audience with real value. Think: guarded content, reference pages, brand updates, etc. 

If people spend time interacting with your high-quality content, there’s a good chance they’re the same people who would be interested in subscribing to your newsletter.

Speaking of bloggers, incorporating relevant CTA buttons in your articles is a great way to guide users through your valuable content. Linking to related pages and encouraging users to sign up for an account goes a long way in terms of building trust between you and your audience. Never underestimate the power of organic growth!

Along the same lines, your social media followers are likely to be interested in your newsletter. Don’t forget to share the form across your Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts too.

Another practical way to attract newsletter subscribers is just after checkout. If you’re an ecommerce business, try including a sign-up form after payment. For brick and mortar shops, having a clipboard with sign-ups is also effective. After a while, your list may attract more and more new subscribers thanks to the bandwagon effect. 

6. Create Your First Newsletter Campaign in Sendinblue

Here are a few tips on how to create a newsletter using the Sendinblue drag and drop editor. Start by clicking on the “email” button on the left-hand side menu.

Next, click “create a new campaign” button in the top right-hand corner.

Add the email subject line

From there, you’ll be prompted to fill out details about your campaign. This is where you’ll name your campaign for internal use, then write your subject line and preview text.

Add the sender information

Next, you’ll want to add your sender information. Choose a registered sender on your Sendinblue account, then write your “from name.” The “from name” is what will be displayed in your email subscribers’ inboxes and should be something recognizable to your audience.

In the advanced settings, you can also customize your greetings, unsubscribe links, and update profile forms. Personalizing your email newsletters in this way helps improve open and click through rates. 

Design your newsletter

Next comes the fun part— designing your newsletter! With Sendinblue’s drag and drop editor, making eye-catching, professional email campaigns is easy and doesn’t take a lot of time. Select the perfect email template. (Or, design your own). Upload your brand kit. Choose from our selection of stock photos. Then add your newsletter copy. Easy peasy!

If you’re looking for further customization options, Sendinblue also allows you to code your own newsletters from scratch. For this tutorial, though, we’ll stick to the drag and drop editor.

Good to know: All of Sendinblue’s newsletter templates are fully responsive, meaning they adjust their display across desktop, tablet, and mobile devices. Email design has never been easier!

What to include in your newsletter

Adapt and create your newsletter design to match your brand identity

Your newsletter design should align with the brand identity you’ve created through your other communication channels. This helps your business come across as reliable and credible.

To communicate your brand identity from the get-go, include your logo at the top of the newsletter. (Our default template comes ready with a block just for this purpose).

From there, feel free to import your brand kit (fonts, color palettes, etc.) into the editor to make for easy, consistent content creation. To save time in the future, consider saving a template so your branding is ready to go next time.

Start with the most important information

To help your readers get the most out of your newsletter, try using the “inverted pyramid” structure.

Borrowed from journalism, the inverted pyramid is a writing tactic that means starting with your most newsworthy information and following with supporting details. Given users’ short attention spans, the concept works well in digital spaces too.

When readers open your newsletter, they often don’t have time to read every last detail. That’s why prioritizing the most relevant information is so important. Special offers, brand updates, new product launches, and new featured content should always be the first thing you give to your readers.

What’s more, structuring your newsletter this way doesn’t necessarily mean your subscribers will ignore the rest of your content. If anything, you win their extended attention by giving them what they want first. From there, intrigued readers will likely continue on through your email.

Pay special attention to your calls to action

A call to action (or CTA) is a button or prompt aimed at getting the reader to perform a specific action (e.g. clicking through to an article, visiting your site to make a purchase, etc.).

Calls to action are responsible for driving traffic to your site, generating sales, and bolstering your social media following. They’re one of the most important aspects of any marketing campaign, so be sure to optimize them when creating a newsletter.

How to make a newsletter CTA button that converts:

• Choose a color that stands out from the rest of the newsletter.
• Use action words that encourage readers to do something.
• Place it strategically. The CTA should be visible to readers but not overly disruptive to reader flow.

CTA links are most effective when targeting a specific landing page, blog post, or discount offer. Making a CTA that sends readers to your homepage won’t do much for conversions. Your logo is a great place to link to your homepage, but save your CTAs for targeted click-throughs.

And make sure you let readers know where they’re headed by labelling the CTA with actionable phrases like, “shop our spring/summer collection” or “sign up for our newsletter.”

Include links to your social media profiles

Your newsletter isn’t just an email. Think of it as part of your overall digital marketing strategy.  It’s the perfect place to link your other digital marketing channels, particularly social media.

Building a loyal and engaged audience across channels means linking between those channels.

Social media in particular plays an important role here. Gaining followers on Instagram or Facebook is a bit like gaining subscribers to a newsletter. It gives you direct access to your audience’s feed and inbox. This straight-shot to your audience is what makes social media such a powerful marketing tool. 

To maximize your social media presence, include CTAs linking to your various platforms. In Sendinblue’s editor, it’s easy to do. Select the “social” tab from the left-hand side menu.

Then, choose whichever social media you want to include. (There are ready-made CTA buttons for dozens of social media platforms available). Simply add the links to the fields on the left-hand side menu and you’re all set!

Once you’re happy with your newsletter design, click the blue “continue” button in the top right-hand corner of the page. 

Choose your contacts lists

The next step is deciding which lists you want to target with your campaign. Simply select those you’re targeting in this campaign, and you’re ready to go.

You can also narrow down your recipients by selecting “don’t send to unengaged contacts” or by applying customized filters like you see below. Both these features help improve email deliverability and connect with your subscribers in a more targeted way.

7. Preview and Send a Test Email

The final step will show you a preview of your campaign and confirm the settings you selected. But first, you should always test your campaign before you email clients. Doing so will let you see if there are any issues once the email lands in inboxes (both on desktop and mobile devices). 

To test your campaign, click on “send a test” in the top right-hand corner.

Next enter your or your marketing team’s email address and click “send a test.”

Once your campaign arrives in your inbox, check to see that all your features display properly and that there aren’t any typos. (Be sure to check on your mobile device too). 

If you want to test different versions of the same newsletter to see which works best with your audience, try setting up an A/B test. This is a great technique for deciding between different subject lines, CTA buttons, and sections of copy.

Check out this Help Center article for more information: Creating A/B Tests for Your Email Campaigns

8. Send Your Newsletter

The final step before your newsletter reaches your audience is to schedule your campaign. Start by clicking on the blue “schedule” button in the top right-hand side of the page.

Next, you’ll be prompted to select a sending time. Here, you have a few options. First, you can send your email campaign immediately. Second, you can select a specific date and time to send.

The third option is using Sendinblue’s send time optimization functionality. This uses data from your previous campaigns to determine the best send time for each of your contacts. This means that not all your subscribers will receive the email at the same, but typically leads to higher open rates.

9. Track Newsletter Performance

Congrats! You’ve successfully created a newsletter with Sendinblue. Your work’s not over yet, though…

Reviewing your newsletter performance is an essential part of an effective email marketing strategy. Metrics like open rate, click through rate, unsubscribe rate, and bounce rate are absolutely necessary to track. 

• Open rate: Your email open rate tells you the percentage of total recipients who opened your campaign. For example, if 100 contacts receive your email but only 50 open it then your open rate is 50%.
• Click through rate: The click-through rate represents the percentage of recipients who clicked a link in your email but only for those who opened it. For example, if you send an email to 100 contacts, 50 of them open it, and 25 of these openers click a link, your click-through rate is 50%.
• Unsubscribe rate: The unsubscribe rate tells you the percentage of recipients who clicked to unsubscribe from your emails in a campaign. For example, if 100 contacts receive your email and 5 of them choose to opt out from future emails, your unsubscribe rate is 5%.
• Bounce rate: The bounce rate refers to the percentage of emails that fail to deliver because they were returned by the recipient’s server. For example, if out of 1,000 emails 5 bounce then the bounce rate is 0.5%.
  • Soft bounces: a temporary delivery failure, for example the recipient’s server is down or their mailbox is full.
  • Hard bounces: the email will never be delivered, for example if an email address is incorrect or no longer exists.

Keeping track of your email campaign metrics helps for a few reasons. First, it can flag any technical issues in your campaign. Further, it shows you what type of content, frequency, and timing work for your audience. Altogether, your campaign metrics help you work toward continuous improvement within your overall email marketing strategy. 

Conclusion

And there you have it folks— how to create your very own email newsletter!

Newsletters are an excellent way to engage with your clients, expand your brand’s reach, and increase sales. Without a doubt, they are an essential part of any effective marketing strategy. 

If you haven’t already, consider signing up for Sendinblue’s monthly newsletter. It’s full of helpful tips and expert advice to help you bolster your marketing strategy.

The post How to Create a Newsletter in 9 Easy Steps (Completely Free) appeared first on Sendinblue.

Without it, you have no email addresses to send newsletters to, i.e. no mailing list. That’s why you should create your email signup form before you need to send your first marketing email. 

The newsletter signup examples here show best practices in placement, incentives, design, and copy for growing your mailing list.

Great Newsletter Signup Examples and Why They Work

What’s the purpose of a newsletter subscription form? To attract people to subscribe to our mailing list, right? 

The best signup forms attract subscribers by looking good, playing by the rules, and answering the question, “What’s in it for me?” that potential customers have. Let’s look at how different companies do that.

Offer an incentive

First and foremost, an email newsletter signup should incentivize people to sign up. It’s only logical — why would they give you their email address otherwise? 

Potential newsletter subscribers should see a promise for value added in your emails. You need to offer them something interesting or exclusive. This is called a lead magnet and does exactly what it says — attracts people to sign up for your newsletter. 

Tips and tricks, insider news, a free ebook, special deals and early access to promotions are all great incentives. Whatever you decide to include in your newsletters, make sure you advertise it to site visitors to get them to join your email list.

Travel Supermarket does this very well. Its email newsletter signup form offers inspiration, tips, and deals, all exciting for their target customer. 

The next newsletter signup example from Arthur features subtle branding and a special offer that’s hard to pass on. Who doesn’t want customers to be invited to private sales? 

Check out more ideas for email list building strategies.

A popular incentive for joining a company’s mailing list is a first-order discount. Most brands give 5% or 10% to new customers who subscribe to their newsletter. It’s a win-win. For a small discount you convert the visitor easier and gain a direct communication channel to them for more pitches down the line. 

That’s why such a newsletter signup example from Kimondo deserves its own place on our list.

NotShy also offers a coupon to new subscribers. Their newsletter signup form, however, is on a popup to grab the attention. 

Monbouquette’s newsletter subscription message is a great copywriting example. It not only offers 15% off, but lists the newsletter’s contents and states the frequency as well. This way, people can give fully informed consent.

Be clear about what subscribers will get after signing up

It’s newsletter best practice to spell out what your newsletter is about. You need subscribers’ explicit consent to send them any marketing emails. This means your email newsletter signup form should list all that you plan on communicating — news, product updates, offers, etc. — so people know what they’re agreeing to receive. 

Failing to make it clear that they’re agreeing to marketing can result in lower engagement, higher unsubscribe rates, and even spam reports, all of which damage your sender reputation and impact future email campaigns. 

Laughing Hens is another perfect newsletter signup example. The signup form lists clearly all perks and content to be expected. This will likely lead to more engaged subscribers and higher open rates.

The Stamp Market also does a great job of their newsletter signup message, listing all that the subscriber is in for.

Keep your newsletter subscription form visible

You’ll probably place your newsletter signup on your blog and in a popup form. It also makes sense to have it in the website footer. This way, someone specifically looking for it will find it easily. What’s more, someone browsing your site might stumble upon it and subscribe. 

Liligo’s newsletter subscription form stands out quite well in the footer with this bold green CTA button. 

By Chef Nuit takes another approach. Their newsletter signup is in the brand colors, with the “Subscribe” button equal with the “Shop now” one.

nood co keeps things simple with a subtle newsletter sign up and social media link lined up as an alternative. 

Give subscribers control

Subscribing to a mailing list shouldn’t be absolute and final. People need to be able to edit their preferences easily. That’s why Great British Chefs offer a great newsletter signup example with a dedicated newsletter management center where you can update what newsletters you want to receive and how often.

Dedicate a newsletter signup page

Placing your newsletter signup form on a landing page of its own is also a good approach. It gives it its own space and possible SEO juice. 

That’s exactly why Helen Levi Ceramics deserves a spot in our list of newsletter signup examples. Their subscription form has its own page and main site menu link. But what’s even better about it is the sign up message. Humor is awesome if it fits your brand voice!

Start contact segmentation on form

Adding simple buttons like the ones in this great signup form example by Videdressing makes your life easier and your email marketing more personalized. It lets you learn more about subscribers right from the signup form and automatically puts them in the correct email list. Then, you can send two different newsletters with more relevant content and offers. That’s easy to with a newsletter software like Sendinblue.

Craft a unique newsletter subscribe message

Email newsletter sign ups don’t have to be boring! They can enhance your brand image and thus get more people to subscribe to your mailing list. There are so many ways to shake up the  sign up for our newsletter wording so it reflects your brand and draws more attention.

URBAN PIKE, for example, uses word play to its hard-core fans’ delight. “Galley of type” is a typography term so if you know, you’d want to sign up for this newsletter.

Flowers After Hours also uses a relevant, tongue-in-cheek pun in its sign up message. It’s a little something to make the site visitor like the brand a tiny bit more and subscribe for its newsletter.

Macro Mixes is yet another great newsletter sign up example using copy well. It’s fitting and fun in line with the brand.

Newsletter signup form example from a non-profit

Not only ecommerce businesses can have example signup forms. Non-profit Solidarités International’s newsletter subscription message is to learn from. Concisely and clearly, they manage to explain what their newsletter is about, how often it’s sent, and how you can unsubscribe. All there is to know!

Creating Your Newsletter Signup Form 

Now that you’ve gotten some inspiration from those great newsletter signup examples, here’s how to create your own. Make sure your email marketing software offers mailing list signup forms or at least integrates with an app that does.

1. Design the mailing list signup form

The most important element of a subscription form is the information you’ll be asking and the email opt-in options you provide. As for personal information, usually an email address and a (first) name are enough. 

2. Stick to GDPR

If your audience includes people in Europe, your signup forms need to be GDPR compliant. Yes, you’re trying to get people to subscribe for your mailing list. But at the same time, the GDPR gives people in Europe the right to know exactly how their contact information will be used and who has access to it. Here are a few key elements of GDPR to keep in mind:

• Your subscription message should state exactly what you’ll be sending new subscribers so they can give informed consent. 
• Checkboxes can’t be pre-checked. Consent is opt-in by default, not opt-out.
• A purchase doesn’t mean automatically subscribing to your newsletter. Though you can ask with a separate opt-in at checkout like in the example below. If a customer doesn’t opt in, you can only send them transactional emails because they’re essential to the purchase. 

source

Misleading people is against GDPR and will lead to your emails being reported as spam. This is also why you should never buy an email list to speed up your customer acquisition. Here’s our infographic on GDPR and email marketing with Dos and Don’ts.

Why should you care about not spamming people? Because negative reactions to your emails impact your overall campaign performance and deliverability. So it’s better to email only the people who want to hear from you. The safest way to do so is by using double opt-in where new subscribers have to confirm twice that they want to join your mailing list. This will give you only real emails and engaged contacts, which guarantees better results. 

3. Add multi-list subscription forms

To make your newsletter even better, you can ask subscribers’ preferences on the content they receive. It’s easy to do with multi-list subscription forms. 

They help you segment your mailing list contacts by interest and provide them with content tailored to their preferences and needs. Here are a few examples of this type of form created by Sendinblue customers: 

Oregon E-Bikes easily sends tailored offers and content to its subscribers thanks to this one additional field on their signup form example.

Freshly Moms have two subscription forms. The first one is placed on their home page. It’s quite minimalist and states the purpose and the content of the newsletter clearly. 

The second signup form is an exit-intent popup that tries to get people to join their mailing list before they leave the site. That’s why it’s more aggressive in a way, offering a discount, and adding even more value. The added question about the stage of the pregnancy the subscriber is in promises relevant content. It makes sending a personalized newsletter easier than ever. 

To learn more, here’s how to add multi-list subscriptions to your forms with Sendinblue. 

4. Don’t forget branding

As you see, all these newsletter signup examples match the branding of the site. Yes, brand consistency applies to sign-up forms too! Most signup form builders let you choose your colors, fonts, and images, so be sure to let your brand identity shine through. 

5. Set up your email list

A final step before going live with your newsletter subscription form is to connect it to the email list where you want new subscribers to be added. Just choose the list(s) from the dropdown menu in the “contacts” tab of your dashboard. From there, you’re ready to send segmented emails! 

6. Place your newsletter signup form on site

Once your signup form is ready to collect new subscribers, be sure to place it in high-traffic areas of your website. The footer, homepage, sidebars, popup windows, or embedded in a live chat are all good options. Giving your newsletter its own signup page is also smart. Try sharing the form on social media to reach even more people. 

Read more: How to Add Email Subscription to Your WordPress Site in 5 Easy Steps

When you have your newsletter subscription form ready, you can go ahead and create a newsletter. Here are 12 of the Best Email Newsletter Examples and 40+ Free Email Newsletter Templates for you.

Start Growing Your Mailing List with Sendinblue

Try recreating the best email signup examples yourself with Sendinblue! The form builder is integrated with the CRM and the rest of the marketing platform, so adding contacts to lists and emailing specific lists is a breeze.

Other features worth mentioning include:

• An easy drag and drop editor with a variety of design elements 
• Multi-step forms that put contacts in multiple lists
• Automatic contact sync when preferences are updated so you never email unsubscribers
• Unsubscribe links are automatically inserted in emails to save you time.
• Full set of GDPR compliance tools
• Pre-made email automation templates for opt-in confirmation and welcome emails
• Forms are embeddable anywhere you want 
• Easily shareable on social media 

The post 20 Newsletter Signup Examples to Take Inspiration From appeared first on Sendinblue.

Email newsletters are a staple of any effective digital marketing strategy. They give you direct access to your contacts’ inboxes. They let you create personalized content. Best of all, they are highly cost effective.

But once you’ve covered the basics of how to create a newsletter, it’s time to pay attention to newsletter design.

Beyond driving conversions, a newsletter is supposed to convey your brand’s image, build credibility in the eyes of your audience, and cultivate a community around your product or service. 

Knowing how to design a newsletter will help you do just that! 

Now, you may be thinking, “I’m no artist… How am I supposed to know how to design a newsletter?”

That’s where we step in.  

Newsletter design may seem like a tall task, but using the eight tips in this article will make your next email marketing campaign feel like a walk in the park. Don’t get us wrong — newsletter design is seriously important, but it just doesn’t have to be difficult.

1. Include Original Copy

Newsletters shouldn’t just be a catalog of links. Create unique content so your newsletter adds value in its own right!

In this example created with Sendinblue, UniKitOut offers their subscribers value in the form of packing lists, food packs and other kits to help students as they start university.

The benefits of newsletters may be lost on marketers and business owners who think they’re just collections of newsworthy articles from internal and external sources. But a newsletter is so much more than that! 

Newsletters are also a stand-alone resource for your customers to get valuable information related to your product or business without having to leave the inbox. 

The primary goal of a newsletter is to build credibility and a following and for your brand. This means you should use it as a separate editorial channel that provides unique value beyond just directing traffic to your site. Readers want to see more than just another list of links in their inbox every month.

Newsletter content is a place for a brand’s voice to shine while educating and informing subscribers. Telling a story is the key to creating an engaging newsletter. Taking your email list on a journey via a mix of text, images, and other rich media is the best way to convey information that resonates.

Where design comes into play with content is your brand’s voice and tone. Even the smallest of businesses can and should have a defined writing style. 

Even if it’s just a list of adjectives that describes the voice behind your writing, having a consistent tone in your communications is essential to effective email marketing. It’s truly the core of your newsletter. Without a consistent voice, your subscribers are unlikely to buy into even the most eye-catching graphic design.

Hang tight, we’ll touch on this more in Tip #4!

2. Have a Hierarchy of Calls-to-Action

Layer your CTAs to direct users to the content that is most valuable or important.

While promotional emails should contain only one primary call-to-action (CTA) to maximize engagement and conversions, newsletters are a different story. 

Email newsletters are about content and information rather than encouraging a purchase decision. To maximize engagement with your content, organize your newsletter CTAs in a hierarchy to clearly communicate to readers where the most important information is.

The best email newsletter examples read kind of like digital newspapers. You’ve got the main story on the front page with smaller news stories interspersed throughout the rest. 

In the same way, a newsletter should have a primary focus in the form of one article or piece of content featured above the fold. This main piece represents the overall theme of the newsletter, which can be continued or supplemented below the fold with additional information, downloadable resources, external links, etc. 

The result is a well-focused newsletter with a main CTA followed by a hierarchical “tree” of smaller CTAs allowing subscribers to dig deeper. 

3. Use a Newsletter Template

Email newsletter templates are a great way to nail your content’s structure. 

Take a look at Sendinblue 40+ ready-made newsletter templates.

Email templates serve as a launch pad for effective newsletter design. For those of us without coding and graphic design skills, templates are true lifesavers.

Email templates allow you to start with a solid newsletter layout and basic design elements. From there it’s up to you to customize the content and bring your brand to life. 

When building up from a template, there two considerations to keep in mind: 

First, make sure the format of the template you’re using lines up with the goal of the newsletter. Do you want people to read about your awards and charity projects? Or do you want to showcase your new product? The design should cater to your idea either way. For example, your content-heavy monthly newsletter probably won’t fit the promotional email template. 

Second, don’t be bound by the original template. As we just said, the structure of the template is typically not worth changing, but everything else is free game! 

Changing the color palette, adding/removing white space, and throwing in any other design ideas you have is how you make the most of email templates. Otherwise, your email newsletter will come across as generic.

Pro tip: With Sendinblue, users on all plans have access to over 40 newsletters templates.

4. Maintain Brand Consistency

Building on the previous section, creating consistent and on-brand content is key to developing trust and credibility in the eyes of subscribers.

Maintaining a familiar newsletter design is extremely important if you want to build a dedicated following. The easiest way to do this is by sticking to a template. (Starting to see how this all ties together? )

Ground your efforts by using the same header and footer across newsletters. Then, all you have to do is update the content without having to worry too much about design every time.

Another newsletter best practice is to maintain consistency in your headings across newsletters. This isn’t to say every newsletter needs the same exact headings, but keeping the same sections and similar headings from newsletter to newsletter will help your subscribers make the most of your content.

Subscribers should know who sent an email solely from the design. This consistency builds trust and makes it easier for readers to quickly find the information they want in your newsletters. Using different color schemes and layouts with every new campaign can annoy recipients, which in turn can decrease open rates and increase unsubscribe rates.

What we like about this example by Workona is how their brand’s personality comes through so well. The small graphics and drawings really help readers know immediately who this email is from.

5. Use High-Quality Images

Images can easily make newsletters more engaging, but a word of caution…

Logically, images enhance newsletter design by making it more pleasing to the eye and breaking up the text to make it easier to read. This gives readers a chance to rest their eyes, especially those using mobile devices with small screens.

Newsletter Images are not only captivating, they also make the email more approachable, increasing reader engagement. Using your own images is always better for brand awareness, as stock images are easy to overlook.

Including informational images like charts and infographics is a great way to convey information visually as well.

Some email marketers swear by minimalist, plain text newsletters because of their simple clean design, organic feel, and enhanced deliverability. The argument is that while images are aesthetically appealing, they can quickly result in visual clutter. Too many images and links can also lead to your email newsletter automatically landing in the spam folder.

While plain text newsletters do indeed work better for certain topics, brands, or audiences, it’s up to you to decide what’s best for your readers by thoroughly A/B testing different designs.

We recommend using images where they add value to your newsletter. Featuring a product, spotlighting an employee, and explaining something via an infographic can all contribute to effective, beautiful emails. Just don’t take it too far — if your newsletter looks like an inventory of all your new products, it’s time to go back to the drawing board. 

See how the photos in this newsletter from Unruh add value? They feature the company’s own products, customization features, and streamlined online ordering process. Well done, Unruh!

Want to learn more? Check out our article on using GIFs in Email

6. Choose Fonts and Colors That Are Easy to Read

This may seem obvious, but your subscribers won’t be too happy if they aren’t able to read your newsletter content.

Using colors that blend together or wash out your text is usually the culprit for these issues. If you have brand colors that are difficult to read, you may need to get creative by trying complementary colors in the surrounding areas. Use a tool like coolors.co to get help finding color schemes that work together. This can increase the readability of your emails and improve reader experience. 

Similarly, brand fonts do not always provide the best reading experience. While some fonts render well on the web or look great in small quantities (like in a logo or tagline), they may not be conducive to writing an entire email.

Instead, opt for a clear, legible font to ensure emails will be easy to read across different devices and various lighting conditions. If you really want to use your brand font in your newsletter, the headings can be a good place for this.

7. Make Your Content Accessible

Ensuring your content is accessible across all devices and for people with disabilities is another essential consideration of newsletter design.

When an email or website can be properly viewed on various devices (desktop, mobile, tablet), it’s called responsive design. Considering that over 50% of email campaigns are viewed on mobile devices, creating responsive newsletters is absolutely necessary!

Thankfully, creating responsive content is super easy with most email marketing solutions. For instance, all of Sendinblue’s email templates are fully responsive and require no additional steps to be viewed on different devices. You can even preview how they look on various email clients!

To make your newsletter accessible to people with a visual impairment, be sure to add descriptive alt-text to your images. This way, a page reader will translate your text to speech. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

8. Promote Engagement

Optimize your email design to encourage more brand engagement and strengthen your customer relationships.

Subscribers can only engage with your newsletters if you provide a way for them to do so. 

Promoting engagement through your newsletter design is a great way to motivate subscribers to get involved. Even small design tweaks can make for high-quality engagement like following your brand across channels, sharing your content with a friend, and of course conversions.

Making sure you’ve optimized the CTAs in your newsletter is a great place to start. Be strategic and transparent about where you’re sending your readers. 

For instance, if your company newsletter is announcing a recent environmental project, it makes sense to include a “learn more” CTA linking to your landing page on sustainability. It does not make sense to send them to your new product line.

CTAs are there to help readers navigate through your content across channels. For this reason, any funny business around your calls to action is bound to hurt your click through rates.

Another great way to boost engagement is by incorporating social media buttons in your newsletter. Try adding them to your header or footer if you don’t want them to take up too much space. 

In the short run, it encourages subscribers to connect with your business across multiple channels. In the long run, this leads to a well-connected web of communication between you and your audience.

Finally, making sure it’s easy for your audience to share your content with friends and family is another highly effective promotion strategy. Try adding a “share” button to the most important or interesting piece of content in your newsletter. 

Here, Pixlee does a good job of giving their audience plenty of opportunities to share their content. There are social media buttons in the footer and even a clear “share this with your friends” CTA button too!

8 Email Newsletter Design Tips Later…

We hope you’ve gotten a better idea of what it takes to create newsletters that are both beautiful and perform well. As you’ve seen, newsletter design doesn’t have to be overly complicated, but there are a few considerations to take into account.

Whether you’re designing an ecommerce marketing campaign, a school newsletter, or anything in between, incorporating these tips into your email marketing strategy can help boost engagement, raise open and click through rates, and bring new subscribers to your email list.

For more content like this, take a look at our other articles on email marketing:

• 24 of the Best Email Subject Lines & Why They Rock
• 9 Best Welcome Email Examples to Win Over Subscribers
• How to Use Emojis in Email to Boost Open and Click Rates

The post 8 Newsletter Design Tips to Drive Engagement appeared first on Sendinblue.

Creating a professional email newsletter may seem like a daunting task. After all, there’s quite a bit of competition in subscribers’ inboxes. So what’s it take to get your newsletter opened and clicked-through?

In this article, we’ll showcase 13 of the best email newsletters examples to give you an idea of what makes them top-notch. Even better, most of the newsletters in this article were created by Sendinblue customers!

With a tool like Sendinblue’s drag & drop email editor, email design is quick and easy — even for total beginners! Still, if you’re short on inspiration for your email newsletter design, it can be hard to get started.

That’s where we step in! We hand-picked these 13 newsletter examples to showcase a variety of different industries, business sizes, design concepts, and target audiences.

Of course, every newsletter is different. What works for some won’t necessarily work for you. But taking a look at some examples is a great way to get your creative juices flowing and even discover new features of email marketing. If your industry isn’t included here — not to worry. The design elements in these newsletters can apply to nearly any type of business.

Let’s take a look!

Best Email Newsletter Examples:

• Ecommerce newsletter examples
  • Stitches n Giggles
  • 69b Boutique
  • Mulligan’s Pharmacy
• Brick and mortar retailer newsletter examples
  • Calif Chicken Cafe
  • Peter Thomas Photography
• SaaS Newsletter Examples
  • Splice
  • Hack the Box
  • Kinsta
  • Cheddar Up
• Blog newsletter examples 
  • We Can Still Have Nice Things
  • Sendinblue blog
• Nonprofit newsletter examples
  • Alma Mater Society of the University of British Columbia Vancouver
  • Keep Australia Beautiful

13 Newsletter Examples to Inspire Your Email Marketing Strategy

Ecommerce newsletter examples

Ecommerce newsletters usually serve a few main purposes:

• Promote new products in the store
• Announce seasonal promotions or sales
• Reinforce a strong relationship with customers
• Compliment your store’s overall digital marketing strategy

There are a number of ways to accomplish these goals, so let’s take a look at what our customers do:

Stitches n Giggles

Stitches n Giggles is an online shop selling quilting fabric and supplies. This newsletter example comes from one of their recent email marketing campaigns.

There are a lot of things we like about this newsletter from Stitches n Giggles. For starters, it’s a great example of high-quality holiday marketing. Instead of just using the holidays as an excuse to run a promotion, Stitches n Giggles also provide value to their customers by featuring small items that make perfect stocking stuffers. (And they’re also on sale. )

This newsletter’s subject line is worth mentioning too. It read, “Stocking Stuffers – Notion sale.” Though it may not seem like much, it hits three birds with one stone! 

First, it accurately describes the newsletter content. Second, mentioning “stocking stuffers” helps grab subscribers’ attention. Third, it offers value in the form of a sale!

Next, take a look at the CTA buttons in this newsletter example. Placed between sections, they help the newsletter design by dividing up what would otherwise be a long series of images. Another CTA button best practice is indicating where you’re sending your subscribers, which is exactly what Stitches n Giggles does here.

Wondering how many images to include in a newsletter? Find the answer and other best practices in our guide to newsletter images.

Mulligans Pharmacy

Our next newsletter example comes from Mulligans Pharmacy. Though, this example is more than just an ecommerce newsletter. As a pharmacy with an online shop, Mulligans used their newsletter as a way to provide support to their patients from afar.

What we like about this newsletter content is that it is so timely. This example dates back to January 2021, when Ireland went into another Covid-19 lockdown. To help their customers stay well, Mulligans’ newsletter provides important wellness tips in without being overly lengthy or text-heavy. 

To grab readers’ attention, they start the newsletter with a custom graphic displaying their immune system products. To learn more about designing custom graphics like this, take a look at this help centre article.

From there, this newsletter example is simply but effectively designed and features products that people are looking for mid-winter. With a small CTA button under each product, subscribers have an easy time finding what they need.

Taking things to the next level, this type of email newsletter lends itself well to personalization. Email personalization helps you better connect with your subscribers and allows you to offer individual product recommendations based on customers’ purchase history! 

69b Boutique

Our third and final ecommerce newsletter example comes from 69b Boutique, a sustainable fashion retailer with both an ecommerce and brick and mortar shop. Check it out:

This newsletter is a great showcase of effective email structure and design elements. Let’s pick apart what they’ve done…

The newsletter is divided into sections. The header starts by grabbing readers’ attention with a free shipping offer. Then, attentive readers reach 69b’s new product spotlight. From there, women’s and men’s are subtly divided into separate sections. 

After that comes the sale section. Putting this at the end of your marketing newsletters can be an effective strategy to encourage subscribers to read through your emails.

In terms of design, this email is pretty simplistic but does a good job supporting the objective of the newsletter: conversions. The color palette is on-brand and engaging. The bubbles/boxes help divide the email into sections. And best of all, the color of the CTA buttons makes them stand out and adds a nice flare to the overall palette.

This newsletter format works well for ecommerce retailers as well as brick and mortar shops. All in all, this newsletter gets an A+ from us!

Brick and mortar newsletter examples

Email newsletters for brick and mortar shops have slightly different goals than those for ecommerce retailers. In this case, your newsletters should help:

• Build a sense of community around your shop.
• Keep customers up to date on new products, opening times, and current sales and deals.
• Bring customers into your store! 

Pro tip: a case study by Sendinblue found that consumers’ preferred method of communication with small businesses is email. For this reason, email marketing should be a top-priority for small brick and mortar shops! Asking customers to join your email list after checkout is a great way to get more new subscribers.

Calif Chicken Café

Calif Chicken Café is home to Los Angeles’s “best rotisserie chicken.” Their newsletter is a great example of how to get customers into your restaurant or shop. Let’s take a look:

Now, this email is essentially just a photo of lemonade.  But Calif Chicken Café has elevated it to make an enticing, tantalizing call to their customers. 

A large part of what makes this email so effective is the eye-catching photo (attractive staging, yellow props, etc.). As well, featuring a product like lemonade is a great way to get customers into your store. It’s hot in LA, so seeing an email like this may be all you need to decide to patron Calif Chicken Café. 

For restaurants, cafés, and any other business that sells food and drink, take notes on this newsletter example. It’s short, sweet, and to the point — kind of like lemonade.

Peter Thomas Photography

Our next brick and mortar newsletter example comes from Peter Thomas Photography. This email announced the shop’s re-opening and features their most popular services:

This example has a more classic newsletter style. It’s mostly focused on highlighting products and services and encouraging subscribers to book a session.

That said, Peter Thomas Photography still finds ways to make their newsletter content unique. Namely, we love the photo and caption at the top of the email. A cute dog is a great way to grab subscribers’ attention. Even better, the owner’s joke about his hair during lockdown helps the audience connect with the business. 

The newsletter copy also helps re-establish connection after lockdown with an eager, friendly tone of voice.

From there, the business does a nice job of displaying their services and using CTA buttons to clearly link to more information. 

SaaS Newsletter Examples

For SaaS companies, newsletters typically communicate product updates and promotional content like sales and discounts. As well, automated emails often play an important role in new customers’ onboarding. 

Cheddar Up

Take a look at this holiday campaign by Cheddar Up, a digital payment solution.

Giving Tuesday is celebrated the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and is an opportunity to donate to charities. Cheddar Up sent this email a week ahead of the global day of giving to remind its customers to prep their collection campaigns.

This type of timely and helpful newsletter content is great for boosting your open rates in the long-run. If your subscribers see the value in your newsletters, they’re more likely to continue opening them.

But the value doesn’t stop there. Cheddar Up includes a CTA button to a page with fundraising tips and links to some of their relevant blog content. 

To finish, they feature a customer testimonial. This is an excellent way to incorporate social proof into your newsletter content. It shows your brand has earned the trust of others and helps you come across as reliable and worthy of their business.

Hack the Box

Next up, we have a SaaS newsletter example from Hack the Box, an online cybersecurity training platform.

This email is one of Hack the Box’s monthly newsletters and features plenty of helpful content for subscribers. The newsletter starts off by featuring new modules on the platform with convenient CTA buttons underneath. 

What follows is a minor product update regarding the account verification process. Next, Hack the Box introduces an upcoming event. Finally, the newsletter spotlights one of their blog articles. And what’s at the end of each of these sections? You guessed it — a clearly marked CTA button.

We chose to feature this newsletter example because it runs the gamut of SaaS email marketing components. It does a good job of it, too. The newsletter doesn’t come across as overly lengthy or heavy. Nicely done, Hack the Box!

Kinsta

This top-notch newsletter example comes from Kinsta, a WordPress hosting company. 

What we like about this Kinsta newsletter is that it’s jam-packed with valuable content for subscribers but structured in a way that makes it easy to digest. Putting the most important content front and center followed by smaller features below is a great way to get your main message across to readers.

From a design point of view, this newsletter example does a good job of embodying Kinsta’s brand image. The color palette gives a reliable and friendly feeling, and their use of images and graphics is consistent yet attention-grabbing.

Now take a look at the bottom of this newsletter example. They’ve featured all the awards Kinsta has won. This is an excellent strategy to increase customer loyalty, boost your brand’s reputation, and ultimately drive conversions. All around, well done Kinsta!

Splice

Our next example comes from a cloud-based music creation and collaboration platform called Splice. Since we’ve already focused on typical components of SaaS newsletters, pay special attention to the design features of this one:

This newsletter is a good demonstration of how to make your email stand out without overly complicated design. At its core, it’s just white text on a black background. But the campaign does a good job of grabbing your attention.

The “night mode” design of this campaign helps make the email content more memorable and also helps it stand out from other campaigns in your subscribers’ inboxes. 

Another noteworthy aspect of this campaign is that it doesn’t come across as a promotional email. It’s really giving the audience valuable content in the form of learning opportunities and curated music collections.

Notice how the CTA buttons are labelled “learn more.” This approach makes readers feel like they’re gaining something from your marketing communications. It’s not so much a clear call to action as an invitation to dig into your brand’s content and resources. Good thinking, Splice!

For more inspiration like this, check out our article with 125 newsletter ideas!

Blog newsletter examples

Email newsletters are also essential to blogs and media organizations too. They help inform your readers of the latest content you’ve published and build a dedicated audience. 

We Can Still Have Nice Things 

At the end of 2020, We Can Still Have Nice Things kicked off its weekly newsletter to shine a much-needed spotlight on up-lifting topics and news. Their newsletters contain three sections: a highlight, joyful links of the week, and the animal corner.

Blog newsletters should feature new posts and encourage your readers to click through to your website. In this example, the newsletter design is minimal and allows subscribers to focus on the featured articles.

Further, having a recurring structure in each newsletter can help your subscribers get acquainted with the sections of your blog. That way, they’re able to more quickly find the content they enjoy the most. Great for click through rates!

Finally, including CTA buttons to your social media like the ones here is a great way to expand your blog’s reach and make for a well-connected community!

Sendinblue blog

The next blog newsletter example comes from our very own Sendinblue blog!

Breaking down our newsletter approach, we typically start with a short note to our subscribers, touching on any relevant marketing topics and/or outlining what’s to come in the rest of the email.

From there, we’ll spotlight a few recent articles and include CTA buttons for easy access.

Providing value to our subscribers is always a priority. That’s why our next section — “Tip of the Month” — gives advice on marketing and ecommerce topics. Adding a section like this to your newsletter is a practical way to get in the habit of providing value to your subscribers.

Pro tip: adding a newsletter subscription form to your blog homepage is great for growing your email list. Take a look at the form we use on the Sendinblue blog:

Nonprofit newsletter examples

Finally, we’ll take a look at nonprofit newsletters. Third sector organizations typically have much different operation and marketing strategies than the other examples we’ve featured in this post. That said, newsletters still play a highly important role in email marketing for nonprofits.

Email newsletters allow nonprofits to stay in contact with supporters and donors both at an individual level and in mass. This type of marketing lends itself particularly well to communicating important information, including:

• Updates on the organization
• Relevant stories and developments related to their core mission
• Upcoming fundraising events and promotions
• Where and how to donate

Because email is much cheaper (and more engaging) than direct mail, newsletters have become a staple in the nonprofit marketing toolbox. 

Let’s take a look at a few great newsletter examples from nonprofits:

University of British Columbia’s Alma Mater Society

The Alma Mater Society at University of British Columbia – Vancouver sends a monthly newsletter to members, i.e., students at UBC. What makes it such a great newsletter example is the way it connects with its audience by giving them exactly what they want. 

University students want to be heard and affirmed. It’s the job of student societies to make sure the university listens to students and then acts. In this newsletter example, we see UBC’s student society doing just that.

This newsletter communicates important updates on topics students care about, like how to make their university better, financial support for public transportation costs, and workshops to make for a more inclusive campus.

Though this newsletter example may seem text-heavy, it’s important to remember there are slightly different goals here. Whereas an ecommerce retailer would aim for conversions and high click through rates, a university student society works a bit differently.

For them, revenue isn’t as much of an existential concern. They’re focused on providing value to their members. Even for those of us who don’t work in such profit-blind organizations, this newsletter example can teach us a lot about giving your audience what they want to know.

Keep Australia Beautiful

Last but certainly not least, our final newsletter example comes from Keep Australia Beautiful. As the name suggests, this nonprofit organization works to protect the environment and natural beauty of Australia.

We think this is a great example of an effective nonprofit newsletter for a few reasons. First, the note provides a roundup of what’s to come in the email. It touches on the nonprofit’s latest news, announces an event, spotlights some current projects, details ways subscribers can help make a difference.

Another nice touch in this newsletter is the “volunteer spotlight.” This is a great way for organizations to express gratitude for volunteers and inspire others to donate some of their time, too. 

One last thing about this newsletter example — did you notice there’s no fundraising CTA? While you may be tempted to encourage your subscribers to donate in every email, this tactic quickly becomes tiresome. For better results, fundraising should take place in designated email campaigns rather than in every email you send. 

Conclusions from Sendinblue’s Newsletter Examples

As we’ve seen, email newsletters can take many shapes and sizes. Small business, ecommerce giants, startups, and nonprofits have different audiences, objectives, and resources. Still, they all have a use for newsletters and email marketing!

If you’re feeling inspired after taking a look at the examples in this post, why not give Sendinblue a try? Even if you’re feeling unsure of how to create a newsletter, creating stunning and professional emails is within your reach!

With Sendinblue’s drag-and-drop editor, newsletter design is easy to do. What’s more, our Free plan allows you to send up to 300 emails a day and store unlimited contacts. Give it a try! 

Looking for newsletter templates? We’ve got those too. Sendinblue’s free plan comes equipped with over 40 email templates to help you get started. For a sneak preview, check out this article on our free newsletter templates. Looking for more newsletter strategy ideas? Here are 20 newsletter signup examples.

The post 13 of the Best Email Newsletter Examples to Show You How It’s Done appeared first on Sendinblue.

for professional, attractive, and responsive campaigns your subscribers will love.

Email newsletters are one of the best ways to develop your brand image, feature your products and services, and create a loyal following. By sending consistent email marketing campaigns that provide value to your subscribers, you’ll develop a strong customer base and boost sales in the long-run.

Now, you might be thinking, “If it’s that simple, why doesn’t everyone start sending out email newsletters and immediately see success?”

The answer is… because it’s not that simple.

Building an engaged audience takes time and effort. One of the best ways to get started is by using templates. Sendinblue offers over 40 professionally-designed HTML newsletter templates to help take your email marketing strategy to the next level. The best part? They’re all available for free!

In this article, we’ll feature some of the best newsletter templates available on Sendinblue and spotlight some industry examples too.

• Ecommerce newsletter templates
• Blog and media newsletter templates
• SaaS newsletter templates
• Nonprofit newsletter templates
• Holiday newsletter templates

Free Newsletter Templates for Stand-Out Email Marketing Campaigns

Of course, there’s never going to be a one-size-fits-all template that works for every brand’s newsletter.

Different organizations have different goals for their campaigns. So the content, calls to action (CTAs), and even the newsletter design should reflect these differences.

Sendinblue offers over 40 eye-catching email newsletter templates for different purposes and industries. You can access all the templates on our Free plan. Plus, you’ll get other handy email marketing tools to maximize your success. 

These fully responsive HTML templates help you create email newsletters that look great on mobile devices and desktop — no need for graphic design or coding skills. They’re ideal for small businesses who want to send professional email campaigns while saving time and money.

You can easily customize templates to your brand image with our intuitive drag and drop editor. Then, once your newsletter design is ready, see how it looks for email clients on different platforms like Gmail and Outlook. 

How to use the templates

To use our free email newsletter templates in your Sendinblue account, follow these simple steps:

1. Go to the “Campaigns” tab and click “Create an email campaign”. 
2. Complete the “Setup” information, including your campaign name and subject line. 
3. Click “Next step” to move to the design stage, then select “Template gallery”.
4. Select your desired template to move on to the drag and drop editor.
5. Customize your template! Pick the color scheme, choose your font, customize the header and footer, add high-quality images, and add whatever else you need to perfect your email design.

Further reading: How to Write a Newsletter in 9 Easy Steps

Ecommerce newsletter templates

Newsletters are a vital element of ecommerce email marketing. You can use them to update your audience about new offerings and discounts, share valuable content, and even send personalized product recommendations.

The goal is to keep customers informed and coming back to buy again. The free email newsletter templates below showcase different ways to achieve this and drive online sales.

Simple Suit

This example of a haberdashery does a good job of showing how ecommerce businesses can benefit from a well-designed email newsletter. The template includes several classic elements of an ecommerce email campaign:

• Highlighting a seasonal sale: One of the most common CTAs for ecommerce businesses is the seasonal sale. In this example, Simple Suit is sending their Cyber Monday email announcing this year’s deals.
• Featured products: In the context of a sale, featured products give your subscribers an idea of how much they could save on a purchase. Outside the content of a sale, featuring products like this also works well for stores with fewer products in their inventory or products that are more seasonal.
• Personalized offerings: In the “Find your style” section of this newsletter, Simple Suit spotlights the opportunity to get advice from a personal stylist. This type of content provides real value for their subscribers and is especially likely to lead to conversions!

Elianne Boutique

Our next ecommerce newsletter template example takes a slightly different approach by featuring only one product in the email:

• Speak directly to your subscribers: This email newsletter starts with a personalized greeting and a short note to subscribers. Beginning an email campaign this way helps connect with your subscribers in a more personal way.
• Sneak peak: By only spotlighting one product from the new collection, this email campaign sparks interest. Their opening text mentions the collection, with a single featured product following. This strategy can seriously help boost your newsletter’s click through rate. 
• Social media CTA: Besides selling a product, many ecommerce sites are also selling a lifestyle linked to their brand. Social media can play a big role in promoting this aspect of your business. Including buttons linking to your various social media channels is a great way to grow your brand’s reach.

Blog and media newsletter templates

When it comes to blog and media companies, the strategy is different.

People don’t sign up for a blog newsletter to receive discount coupons or sale notifications. Instead of generating sales, these campaigns build an engaged community of readers through valuable content.

Your email newsletter should promote your best content and give readers an easy way to find it. And this template will help you do just that.

Your News

Our next template features a local newspaper example. Pay special attention to how the newsletter provides value to readers in a few distinct sections:

• Original intro: Media websites often create content around certain themes throughout the year. Your email newsletters can follow similar themes. It’s a good idea to add some original editorial content in the intro as context for the theme or topics you’re promoting. This example uses a “daily run-down” format to give their readers the most important headlines first.
• Featured content: Somewhere in your newsletter, you may want to spotlight a specific new blog post, headline, or quotation. This grabs readers attention and in turn helps boost click through rates. 
• Helpful articles or videos: This is a no-brainer — email newsletters are the perfect place to promote your best articles of the month that readers may have missed. If your focus is video content, include links to your top videos instead. Our example includes a “relevant topics” section at the end of the newsletter with articles they’re readers care about.

SaaS newsletter templates

For SaaS companies, newsletters are for nurturing leads and building customer relationships. For this reason, they should be educational, professional, and most of all, full of value for the reader.

This means including helpful articles, product updates, and other content that establishes your company as an industry leader. And this SaaS email newsletter template includes all that and more.

WorkFlow

Our template is based on a fictional SaaS marketing platform called WorkFlow. It includes several elements that every SaaS marketer should consider for their email newsletter:

• Featured articles: SaaS companies must be an authority in their product’s domain. This means sharing content that showcases your expertise as a company while suggesting the benefits of your tool.
• Product tutorials: Another nice way to add value in SaaS newsletters is by featuring product tutorials or demonstrations. Since SaaS tools are always evolving and the industry is so competitive, it’s essential to communicate any updates or new features. Newsletters are built for this type of announcement. Give readers an overview of the product updates, then add a CTA to encourage users to test them out.
• Referral program with a signing bonus: This template also includes a referral program but adds an incentive to make it more appealing. This is another good option for businesses looking to grow their average basket value or orders per month.
• Customer support contact details: The last thing you want is customers becoming frustrated because they can’t figure out a problem with your tool. Make it easy for them to contact your support team or find helpful resources, even in emails that aren’t customer support focused.

Nonprofit newsletter templates

Nonprofit newsletters differ from business newsletters as they are mission- rather than sales-driven. This means they must communicate your organization’s story and activities to drum up support among subscribers.

To do this, your newsletter should be educational, but also actionable. People don’t automatically stand up and support a cause — they usually need some encouragement.  And that’s where the newsletter comes in. Our nonprofit email newsletter template shows you exactly how it’s done.

School newsletters

This template uses the example of a school district. Note these key elements:

• Event CTA: Most nonprofits rely on events to continue raising funds. Highlighting upcoming events in your email newsletter is a great way to increase signups and spread the word to new supporters. Here, we see the bake sale CTA is front and center.
• Featured story: To secure donations, nonprofits need to prove their impact. Including a featured story that showcases this impact will tell readers they’ve made the right choice in supporting you. In this example, you’ll see featured articles from the school newsletter as a way of keeping parents informed and showcasing students’ work.
• Webinar signup: Webinars are popular ways to share content and build up a well-informed and dedicated following for non-profits. Newsletters are one of the best ways to promote this type of content to your users and wider audience. This example includes a webinar for parents on how to best support their children while learning at home. 
  • Many organizations use webinars— not just non-profits! For instance, SaaS companies use webinars to give in-depth tutorials on advanced features or share insights in their field. Alternatively, you can also use this section of the newsletter template for an ebook or infographic download.

Charity newsletters

Next, here’s an example of a charity’s thank you newsletter:

• Keep it simple: In a thank you email, your primary goal is to express gratitude to a contact. For this reason, don’t let your newsletter design or copy get out of hand. Sending a short, well-meaning thank you note is much preferred to a long-winded email bogged down by news and upcoming events.
• Personalize your content: Another great strategy for thank you emails from charities is email personalization. Sending personalized emails allows you to do things like tell your customers exactly how their donations helped your charity. In this example for a pet charity, the donor can see they helped save 14 cats and dogs. This is a great way to express gratitude as an organization and create a sustainable fundraising strategy. The best part? Marketing automation features can handle this for you!

Holiday newsletter templates

Of course, this article on newsletter templates would be amiss without our holiday email content! Sendinblue has templates for Valentine’s Day, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Easter, Mother’s Day, and Christmas newsletters, just to name a few.

• Sale or promotion: A holiday is a great time to offer a sale or promotion. Starting your holiday newsletter by announcing a new discount code or special offer is a great way to grab your customers’ attention. 
• Holiday theme: Your holiday newsletter shouldn’t look just like all our other email marketing campaigns. This is your chance to get creative with email design and embody the spirit of whatever holiday you’re celebrating. Sendinblue’s holiday newsletter templates come prepared with on-theme color palettes and designs to get you started.
• Customized CTAs: Instead of using the same text for your CTA button, why not lean into the holiday spirit and spice up your calls to action. Our Halloween example features a CTA button that reads, “Spooky treats this way.” Again, this is a nice way to change things up from your regular marketing campaigns and shows your contact list another side of your business.

For a more in-depth look, check out our article on holiday email templates!

Find the Perfect Newsletter Template for Your Business

Newsletters are one of the best ways to start building relationships with your customers — so don’t wait to start sending!

And if you need more inspiration to make these templates your own, check out this list of our best email marketing examples (all created on Sendinblue) and our newsletter examples too!

The post 40+ Free Email Newsletter Templates to Wow Subscribers appeared first on Sendinblue.

Newsletters are affordable, easy to create, and have an impressive return on investment. What’s not to love?

To best answer our question – “what is a newsletter?” –  we’ve broken things down into a few bite-sized pieces:

• What is a newsletter?
• What is the purpose of a newsletter?
• How do newsletters work?
• What are the benefits of newsletters?
• Who should use newsletters?
• Where to find the best newsletter resources

What Is a Newsletter?

Source

Broadly speaking, newsletters are a form of email communication used for marketing purposes. From stand-alone promotional emails to large-scale marketing campaigns, newsletters can do it all.

Part of what businesses love about email newsletters is how multi-purpose they are. They help you promote new products, announce sales, and keep your clients up to date. As well, email automation can help you stay on top of customer relationships, send purchase/shipping updates, and personalize your communications without lifting a finger.

Starting to see why email newsletters are truly an irreplaceable part of your overall digital marketing strategy?

You may be thinking, “email marketing seems like a thing of the past.” Of course, it’s true that social media like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn have become important tools for digital marketing. But research shows that email is here to stay. 

A study commissioned by Sendinblue found that consumers’ preferred communication channel with small businesses is email. Other case studies also back up email’s dominance in the marketing world. 

What is the Purpose of a Newsletter?

Typically, the purpose of a newsletter is to promote a product or service and create an individual touch point with your email subscribers. 

That said, the exact purpose of your email newsletter will depend on your objectives. One of the first steps to building a newsletter is outlining specific aims for that campaign.

Objectives could be things like improving your open rate and click through rate, gaining new subscribers, or creating your best email yet in terms of conversions. Whatever your aim is, try to make sure it’s specific and measurable. 

With this in mind, you could say the purpose of email newsletters is to support your overall digital/email marketing strategy. Your individual newsletter objectives point toward those of the overarching marketing plan. 

This newsletter from REI is a good example of how email marketing should support your brand’s overarching messaging and content.

Source

How Do Newsletters Work?

Creating a newsletter is by no means difficult, but there are a few things to be aware of. Most importantly, you won’t be able to send mass email campaigns from your Gmail or Outlook accounts. Platforms like these are great for personal use, but they lack the authentication standards, personalization features, and subscriber list capabilities necessary to make an effective email marketing campaign.

This is why a dedicated email service provider (ESP) is a must-have for any marketing team. Your ESP should allow you to:

• Send mass email campaigns with reliable deliverability;
• Create professional newsletters, (email templates are always nice to have);
• Manage contacts and email lists in compliance with GDPR;
• Keep track of important metrics like open rate, click through rate, and unsubscribe rate;
• Fine tune your marketing strategy with features like A/B testing for your newsletter content, subject line, and CTA buttons.

These are just a few of the things you can expect from an email marketing platform. Sendinblue’s all-in-one marketing software offers all these features and more. To get started, open your free account today:

What Are the Benefits of Newsletters?

There are many benefits to newsletters. To name just a few, they’re a customizable, affordable, and accessible type of marketing communication. What really sets them apart from other media, however, is that they give you direct access to your audience’s inboxes.

Sending newsletters can take your content marketing strategy to the next level thanks to advanced automation and segmentation features. If you’re already contacting subscribers on a regular basis, why not personalize your communication and offer more valuable content? 

Email segmentation features allow you to connect with your subscribers in a more personal way. You can keep track of their order history, send reminders, personalized discounts, and more. 

That’s something social media can’t do for you.

Another advantage of a newsletter over social media: If social media platforms were to disappear tomorrow, you’d lose your followers. But an email list is yours to keep. Like a website, newsletters make up an important part of your company’s owned media. 

Who Should Use Newsletters?

Another benefit of newsletters is that they can be used by nearly any type of business, no matter your scale or industry. 

Ecommerce businesses find email automation features especially useful for communicating order updates, shipping information, and website tracking to seal the deal on purchases. Brick and mortar shops also benefit from newsletters as a way to grow their community presence.

For bloggers and content creators, newsletters help keep their audience up to date on latest releases. 

For SaaS companies too, newsletters help deliver valuable content to your existing and potential customers.  

Basically, email newsletters are a helpful marketing channel for almost everyone. To get inspired for your own business, check out these newsletter examples.

Source

Newsletter Resources

Though it may not seem like it, “what is a newsletter?” is a pretty involved question. And this article just scratches the surface.

Luckily, we at Sendinblue are experts in all things digital marketing. That’s why this section acts as a roadmap for our top newsletter resources.

Building a newsletter

Our post on how to create a newsletter is a great place to start if you want a guide on how to craft your email marketing campaign. (Tip: Follow along with your Sendinblue account for a step-by-step tutorial.)

If you’re looking to learn more about email design, we’ll teach you tips and tricks on how to keep your audience engaged. Sendinblue’s drag and drop editor makes it easy to make professional, on-brand email newsletters. 

If design isn’t your strong suit, we’ve got you covered. Sendinblue offers free newsletter templates on all plans. Even better, they’re all fully responsive, perfect for mobile device and desktop users alike.

And if by chance design is your strong suit, Sendinblue may also be great for you! In addition to our drag and drop editor, users have access to HTML editors and more advanced coding options. 

Resources:

• How to Create a Newsletter in 9 Easy Steps (Completely Free)
• 6 Newsletter Design Tips to Keep Your Audience Engaged
• The 9 Best Sites for Free Email Templates
• 7 Newsletter Layout Design Tips To Instantly Woo Your Subscribers

Newsletter subject lines and content

For help with newsletter subject lines, take a look at our article on how to write the best email subject lines. And don’t forget, A/B testing is a handy way to find the piece of content that lands best with your audience.

Resources:

• 125 Newsletter Ideas
• How to Give Your Newsletter Its Own Distinct Personality
• 24 of the Best Email Subject Lines and Why They Rock
• How A/B Testing Your Email Subject Line Can Boost Your Open Rates

Newsletter performance

To help boost your email newsletters’ performance, it’s important to know about the top email marketing metrics. On the Sendinblue blog, we cover topics like open rate, click through rate, and bounce rate to give you an idea of how to best monitor your email marketing operation.

Resources:

• How to Improve Your Top 6 Email Marketing Metrics
• Email Marketing KPIs and Benchmarks By Industry
• 11 Easy Ways to Decrease Your Email Bounce Rate
• How to Use Emojis in Email to Boost Open and Click Rates

Conclusion

As we said, this article is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all there is to know about newsletters. 

For help with anything related to digital marketing, Sendinblue is here to help. Sign-up for our free plan today and take your business’s newsletters to the next level.

For more content like this, sign up for our monthly marketing tips newsletter and follow us on Twitter.

The post What Is A Newsletter? Definition, Purpose, & Benefits appeared first on Sendinblue.

1. Choose the right newsletter software
2. Write attention-grabbing newsletter subject lines
3. Make sure your newsletter is mobile friendly
4. Segment your newsletter contact lists
5. Add images to your newsletter
6. Offer your customers something unique
7. Use newsletters as a stepping stone to your website

But first, let’s explain what a newsletter is and who should use one.

What is a Newsletter?

Newsletters are a multipurpose marketing tool. They help businesses promote products and sales. They also help create natural touch points with clients. Email newsletters are so effective because they give businesses direct access to their customer’s inboxes. 

Within a newsletter, there are a few moving parts to be aware of. Content is obviously important—be it announcing a new campaign, promoting your social media presence, or even just touching base with your email subscribers. That said, an effective newsletter needs more than just text! Catchy subject lines, slick CTAs, and an engaging format are must-haves too.  

In short, writing and distributing a newsletter is an inexpensive, effective way to reach your market.  

Further reading: What Is A Newsletter? Definition, Purpose, & Benefits

Who should use newsletters?

Nearly any type of business, small or large, can launch a successful marketing campaign with newsletters. 

Moreover, the return on investment for newsletters is very high—another good sign for small businesses. The Direct Marketing Association UK found that for every £1 spent on email marketing like newsletters, £42 comes back in revenue.  

This is an impressive figure and is currently on the rise. Newsletters are here to stay as staples of an effective marketing strategy. That being so, your business should strive to create newsletters tailor-made to your and your customers’ needs. 

The 7 Newsletter Best Practices You Need to Follow

1. Choose the right newsletter software

To start any kind of newsletter marketing, you need to make sure you have the right tools for the job. That’s where Sendinblue comes in. With a variety of marketing tools available to help cultivate your client relationships, Sendinblue’s email newsletter software makes it an industry leader in digital marketing. 

What sets Sendinblue apart from the rest is its ease of use thanks to beginner-friendly tools such as the drag and drop email editor. Newsletters should be enticing, refreshing and informative for readers, which is exactly what Sendinblue allows businesses to create. 

Businesses can create professional newsletters by drawing on a library of email templates or by designing their own from scratch. From there, newsletter content can be easily segmented and personalized to reach different sections of your audience. 

Concerned about sending your newsletter? Not much of a techy? With Sendinblue’s send-time optimization function, you can focus on strategy and message without worrying about when your campaign lands in customers’ inboxes.

Get started today on the free plan with 300 emails a day and unlimited subscribers.

A look at Sendinblue’s drag and drop editor

2. Write attention-grabbing newsletter subject lines

The email subject line is the first thing your audience will see from your campaign. For this reason, making it catchy, slick, and enticing is essential to an effective newsletter. 

To start, make sure your subject line is not too long. Remember that depending on where your customer sees the email (mobile or desktop), they may only see a snippet. Impactful subject lines place the most important information at the beginning. 

To increase your open rate, try writing subject lines that are timely, personalized, and show what value your newsletter has to offer. People’s inboxes are filled to the brim with emails they don’t open. In order for yours to make the cut, convincing subject lines are a must-have. 

This example from Uber gives the reader an immediate reason to open the email.

Aside from helping open rates, subject lines should give your audience a heads-up of what’s to come in the newsletter. Don’t be tempted to trick your readers into opening your email with a bait—this won’t help you build a trusting relationship. (It may even land your newsletter in a spam folder).

An easy way to test your subject line is through A/B testing. Sendinblue supports A/B testing for subject lines as well as email content, allowing you to maximize your newsletter’s impact and make tweaks before it reaches your whole contact list. To learn more, check out this page on creating A/B test email campaigns.

As we’ll touch on later, giving your target audience a convincing reason to open (and then read) your newsletter is probably the best tip there is.

3. Make sure your newsletter is mobile friendly

Another one of our newsletter best practices is making your content viewable on mobile devices. When sending test emails, check how the newsletter appears on different screen sizes. 

Choosing a font that’s not too small and that’s easy to read is another great way to help subscribers on their mobile devices. Any photos, videos or GIFs you add should be mid-resolution. For help creating a mobile-friendly design, check out Sendinblue’s 40+ free newsletter templates, which are fully responsive across devices.

As for email content, long drawn-out text will only bog down your mobile subscribers. Instead, try writing short concise sentences, with paragraphs of no more than two or three sentences. 

Of course, any effective newsletter’s got to have a call to action, preferably in the form of a CTA button. The same goes for newsletters viewed on mobile devices, but pay extra attention to the button’s placement. Make it easy for smartphone and tablet users to get to your desired landing page by leaving some white space around the link. (And make sure you leave space around the unsubscribe link to avoid any accidentally lost contacts!)

In the end, it’s likely that upwards of half your email list will open your newsletter on their mobile device. This is why creating mobile-friendly content is so important. Take a look at this example of a responsive newsletter layout. On the left is the mobile version and right is desktop:

Source

4. Segment your newsletter contact lists

Email segmentation is a way to group contacts and personalize email campaigns. Logically, not everyone in your email list has the same interests or buying habits. So why not target your customers based on things like:

• Age
• Gender
• Location
• Profession
• Consumer profile (student, young professional, stay-at-home mom, etc.)

If you feel your marketing efforts aren’t leading to the results you want, segmenting can help re-engage your newsletter subscribers with targeted email content. As well, segmentation is a sure-fire way to increase your newsletters’ open rates and click-through rates.

Another benefit of segmentation is being able to respond to certain customer behaviors. A customer abandoned their cart? Segmentation allows you to send them a follow-up email. A long-time client hasn’t purchased anything in a while? Segmentation can help re-engage them with a personalized offer.

5. Add images to your newsletters

This may be an obvious one, but photos and GIFs also add value to your newsletters. Visuals help lighten up a newsletter and give your audience a more enjoyable user experience. That’s why optimizing your media is another one of our newsletter best practices.

Translating this into statistics, a study of 5,000 campaigns showed that email newsletters with images had a 42% higher click through rate than those without.  

At this point, you may be tempted to add photos left and right to your email newsletters. Before you do so, a word of caution– images don’t add value just because they’re images. Adding one or two relevant and specific images to your email campaign will lead to far better click through rates than a bunch of generic stock photos.

Think of photos, videos, and GIFs as an opportunity to visually explain something to your customers. Try asking yourself, “What will my customers gain from these visuals?”

How many visuals should you add to a newsletter?

Getting down to the details, you should include 1-3 photos, videos, or GIFs in any email marketing campaign. Of course image content is paramount. But don’t forget about image size and compatibility with mobile devices. Oversized media will take longer to load and may lead to problems when viewed on a smartphone or tablet. 

Take a look at the example below. As far as email newsletter design goes, this one is pretty simple. But what makes the campaign pop is the use of images. In this case, the newsletter is for a stock photo company. By choosing just a few high-quality images, they both give value to the subscriber and promote their product.

A newsletter by Death to Stock showcasing a good use of visuals (source)

For more details on how to maximize your email campaign’s visual impact, check out this article on how to best use newsletter images.

6. Offer your customers something unique

Offering something unique to your target audience is another important email newsletter best practice. 

In the end, a newsletter is part of a marketing campaign. Its goal is to convince customers of a product, service or brand. Something that sets newsletters apart from other types of marketing campaigns is the direct access to your audience’s inbox. 

But this requires consent. Email subscribers sign up to receive newsletters because they expect to gain something from them. (Think: personalized offers, early releases, informative content). 

Does your newsletter offer solutions to customers’ common problems? Does it tell them something they won’t see anywhere else? Apart from announcing a sale, what benefit does it give your audience?

Creating consistent, valuable, and insightful content is one of the best ways to build a trusting relationship with your audience. Otherwise, you risk your campaign ending up in spam folders or your contacts unsubscribing.

7. Use newsletters as a stepping stone to your website

The last tip on this list of newsletter best practices is arguably the most important. More than anything, the point of an email marketing campaign is to attract customers. The best practices we’ve already explained all feed into this goal. 

What do I mean by “newsletters as stepping stones”? A newsletter is a chance to connect with your customers. But your goal in email marketing isn’t only to reach your contacts. You want them to turn into (returning) customers. To get there, you need to optimize your newsletters to include CTA buttons and helpful links to your websites.

To boost your click through rate, any links or buttons should be clear as to where they’ll take your customer. Don’t send your subscribers to a landing page you’re trying to build up if they think they’re heading to their account. The type of content and CTAs in your newsletter should match your website to make for the best user experience and build a trusting relationship. 

With Sendinblue, keeping track of metrics like click through rate is easy. Find all your campaign statistics in your account to help maximize your newsletters’ impact:

Wrapping up Newsletter Best Practices

Hopefully this article will help your marketing team’s email campaigns go from good to great. 

Of course, every business has their own needs and goals. But following these seven email newsletter best practices is an excellent way to ensure you’re reaching your fullest potential. 

Putting these tips into practice will help you boost open rates and click-through rates and build lasting client relationships.

To sum things up, the more important take-aways of our newsletter best practices are:

• Give high-quality and valuable content to your subscribers.
• Make your newsletter easy to read, nice to look at, and accessible across devices.
• Do your homework on what your subscribers want, and set expectations clearly.

Looking for more newsletter tips? Check out this article on 125 Newsletter Content Ideas or this one on 6 Newsletter Design Tips to Keep Your Audience Engaged.

The post 7 Newsletter Best Practices to Boost Audience Engagement appeared first on Sendinblue.

Whether you’re a blogger, ecommerce store, or simply have a corporate website, email marketing allows you to connect with online visitors who’ve shown an interest in your offering. But when you’re already juggling so many marketing tasks, you might be worried about adding a regular newsletter to the mix.

That’s where a WordPress newsletter plugin comes in. It’ll make the process of collecting email subscribers and managing campaigns much easier. See for yourself in this step-by-step tutorial on how to set up an email newsletter for your WordPress site using Sendinblue’s plugin.

Why You Need a WordPress Newsletter Plugin

So, you’ve got a steady flow of traffic coming to your website. But how can you get value from these visitors in the long term? 

Encouraging users to sign up to get emails from you means you can keep the relationship going. For example, sending a newsletter enables you to:

• Connect with contacts directly via their inbox
• Sustain their interest with relevant content
• Bring people back to your website by sharing updates 
• Get more conversions by pushing promotions

The right plugin will make it easy to set up your newsletter so you can achieve all of the above, with tools to build your subscriber list, create campaigns, and track results. Best of all, you’ll get the convenience of being able to perform actions directly in your WordPress dashboard.

Finding the best WordPress newsletter plugin for your site 

When it comes to choosing a plugin for sending your WordPress newsletter, there are various options available to you. Some are linked to standalone email marketing services, while others are designed specifically for WordPress. 

Criteria to consider when deciding between different options include:

• Pricing: In some cases you’ll have to pay for the plugin itself. On top of this, you might need to opt for a paid plan depending on your desired features and level of usage, such as your list size and sending volume. 
• Extra functionality: Aside from enabling you to set up a basic newsletter, look into whether the solution includes other tools for creating more effective campaigns.
• Deliverability: to help keep your newsletters out of the spam folder, you’ll want a plugin that has a reliable email delivery service.

Taking into account these factors, Sendinblue offers the best WordPress newsletter plugin solution. 

The plugin is free to install and once you’re set up you can use the free plan to send up to 300 emails per day to unlimited subscribers. The free version also includes handy features like ready-to-use newsletter templates and a drag and drop editor so you can easily design your emails. 

Plus, you can send your newsletters with confidence thanks to Sendinblue’s strong sender reputation that will help get your emails to the inbox.

How to Set up Your WordPress Newsletter With Sendinblue

The steps below cover everything you’ll need to start sending newsletters using the Sendinblue WordPress plugin, including:

• Installing the plugin and connecting your site to Sendinblue
• Setting up a newsletter subscription form in WordPress
• Creating a campaign
• Monitoring performance

Once you’ve got your head around the basics, you’ll also find bonus tips on using Sendinblue’s email marketing tools to get the best results from your newsletter.

1. Install the Sendinblue WordPress plugin

Getting Sendinblue’s plugin set up on your WordPress site is quick and easy. 

First, install the plugin by following these steps:

1. Log into your WordPress dashboard as an administrator
2. Go to “Plugins” in the sidebar menu, then “Add New” 
3. Search “Sendinblue” to find the plugin “Newsletter, SMTP, Email marketing and Subscribe forms by Sendinblue”
4. Click “Install Now”, then “Activate”

Once installed, the Sendinblue tab will appear in your WordPress sidebar menu. Click on it to continue with the plugin setup. 

Next you’ll need to create a Sendinblue account if you haven’t already. To do so, click “Create an account” and you’ll be taken through the necessary steps. 

When you have an account, you can connect it to the plugin using your API key. Follow these instructions to find your API key in your Sendinblue account. Then return to the plugin setup page to enter your API key and click “Login”.

2. Create your WordPress newsletter signup form

You can’t start sending out a newsletter without a list of people to contact. So, your first task is to create a WordPress email subscription form for collecting signups.

With the Sendinblue plugin you can do all this from your WordPress dashboard thanks to the easy-to-use subscription form builder.

Design your subscription form

To start creating your form, go to “Forms” in the Sendinblue plugin. From there, click the “Add New Form” button.

Within the tool, there are two ways to customize your form:

• A HTML editor
• A simplified interface for adding fields to your form, among other options

You can view any changes you make by refreshing the preview window.

Adding new fields to your form allows you to collect more information from subscribers. To do so, select the field you want to add from the dropdown list. The options shown depend on the contact attributes you have set up in your Sendinblue account. So you may first need to go to the Sendinblue platform to add a new contact attribute before using it as a field. 

Once you’ve filled out the information for your new field, click “Add to form” and it will appear in the preview. 

Further down you’ll find more customization options:

• Multi-list subscription for subscribers to give their preferences and be added to a corresponding list
• Captcha to protect your form from spambots
• A compliance note and checkbox to agree to terms and conditions
• Custom form style to change the default theme

Complete the form setup

Once you’re happy with how your form looks, move to the “Sign up process” section. Here you can select which list subscribers are added to when they fill out your form.

You also have a few options to tailor subscribers’ post-signup journey:

• Sending a confirmation email to let them know they’ll start receiving your newsletter
• Setting up double opt-in so they have to click a link in your confirmation email to validate their subscription
• Redirecting them to a webpage of your choice after a successful form submission

The first two cases use Sendinblue’s automation platform to trigger emails to new subscribers. All you need to do is select the email template you want subscribers to receive. You can use the ready-made default templates or create your own in the “Templates” section of your Sendinblue account.

Finally, you have the “Confirmation message” settings. These let you edit the text for success and error messages that appear on your form after submissions.

Add the newsletter signup form to your WordPress site

Once your form is ready to go, it’s time to publish it on your website so the subscriptions for your WordPress newsletter can start rolling in. 

With Sendinblue’s plugin, you can easily add your subscription form in different places on your website to maximize signups. 

To add your form on individual pages of your site, you’ll need its shortcode. Find this in the “Forms” tab of the Sendinblue plugin. There you’ll see a list of all your created forms along with their shortcodes. Copy the relevant code then paste it into the WordPress editor for your chosen post or page.

You can also add your form to your site’s sidebars or footers. To do this, go to “Appearance” then “Widgets” in the WordPress menu. There you’ll see the “Sendinblue Widget” in the list of available widgets. To activate it, either drag it to your desired sidebar/footer on the right-hand side or click on the widget to select the destination then click “Add widget”.

Once added, choose a title and select the form you want to appear.

3. Create your newsletter campaign

Once you’ve begun gathering subscribers for your newsletter, you’ll need to send them regular campaigns that keep them engaged. 

The content of your emails will vary depending on your business. For example, an ecommerce store might send information about their latest products and promotions, while bloggers can share their new posts. Other newsletters might focus on more general company updates such as improvements to their services or upcoming events. 

To get an idea of what your own newsletter might look like, check out our list of top email newsletter examples covering different sectors. 

You’ll find all the tools you need to design and send your WordPress newsletter in the Sendinblue app. Read on for an outline of the process or watch this tutorial video:

Complete the email setup

To start creating your newsletter go to the “Campaigns” tab in your Sendinblue account, choose “Email” from the sidebar on the left, then click the “Create an email campaign” button.

This will take you to the setup page where you can define campaign settings including:

• Campaign name
• Subject line and preview text
• From email and name

For more detailed instructions, check out our tutorial on creating an email campaign with Sendinblue.

Design your newsletter

The next stage is to design the email itself. With Sendinblue, you have a few different options for this:

• Build your email from scratch using the drag and drop editor
• Adapt one of our free newsletter templates available in the template gallery
• Create a basic text email using the rich text editor

With Sendinblue’s drag and drop tool you can create responsive HTML emails without any need for coding skills. Simply use the pre-formatted blocks to build your newsletter then add in your content and customize the design. To learn more, read our detailed guide on using the Sendinblue drag and drop editor.

Send your campaign

To finish setting up your campaign, move to the “Recipients” step. This is where you select the list you want to send your newsletter to. 

Finally, the “Confirmation” step shows a summary of your campaign. Once you’ve checked you’re happy with everything, you can go ahead and click the “Schedule” button in the top right corner.

Further reading: How to Create a Newsletter

4. Monitor your campaign results in WordPress

After you’ve sent your newsletter your work isn’t quite done. You should keep an eye on performance metrics to learn what works best for your audience and identify any deliverability issues.

To make things easier, you can track real-time results from your sent campaigns directly in the Sendinblue WordPress plugin via the “Statistics” tab. 

Data includes the number of:

• Opens
• Clicks
• Unsubscribes
• Bounces

Our article on email marketing KPIs has information on how to interpret these metrics, along with benchmarks to aim for based on your industry.

Up Your Newsletter Game With Sendinblue

If you’re already feeling confident about creating your WordPress newsletter, Sendinblue also has more advanced features to help take your campaigns up a notch. 

Here are some ways you can use Sendinblue to maximize your results:

• Segment your audience

Rather than sending everyone the same message, with Sendinblue you can divide your email list into more targeted groups then tailor your newsletter content to their needs. To learn more check out our guide to email segmentation, which includes ideas for how you might adapt your campaigns based on subscriber characteristics. 

• Add personalizations

As well as tailoring your newsletters based on traits shared by subscribers, you can also include elements that are unique to the individual. The most basic example of this is adding the subscriber’s name to your newsletter content. However, with Sendinblue you can go even further by using dynamic blocks that show different content depending on contact information. 

• Run A/B tests

Sendinblue’s A/B testing feature lets you try two versions of your newsletter with your audience and then automatically sends the one that performs best to the rest of your list. This not only helps improve results for individual campaigns but also provides useful learning for your future strategy. 

• Optimize the send time

When someone receives your newsletter can be just as important for engagement as its content. Sendinblue can help you get this right by automatically sending your newsletter at the best time for each contact based on machine learning.

Try Our WordPress Newsletter Plugin Today

Your website visitors have the potential to become loyal followers of your brand — if you can keep up their interest. 

By setting up a newsletter for your WordPress site with Sendinblue, you can build an audience of those who want to hear more from you, then send campaigns to cultivate the relationship.

See how you can get more from your online visitors by trying Sendinblue’s WordPress newsletter plugin today. It’s free to install and you’ll be able to send up to 300 emails a day at no extra cost.

The post How to Set up a WordPress Newsletter With the Sendinblue Plugin appeared first on Sendinblue.

Consider your wish granted. And, nope, it’s no genie doing that for you, but this blog post. We’ve packed it with fresh email newsletter ideas that you can take for a spin anytime you like. 

So whether you’re only starting a newsletter or someone who’s looking to spice up their email marketing with engaging newsletter content, you’ll find this idea bank pretty helpful. 

Let’s get on with it: 

125 audience-engaging newsletter ideas to try today 

1. Interview industry experts

Planning to create original newsletter content to turn your subscribers into loyal readers? Well, this is it. Pick brains and pass on what you learn. 

Headstart Copywriting does the same in their email newsletter. They refer to interviews with marketing leaders as “fireside chats” for readers’ inboxes. 

2. Interview inspiring people

You don’t need to limit interviews to talking to experts only. 

Leah Ryder who runs the Write | Werk newsletter takes a different approach (or, rather an empowering approach) by interviewing females who are crushing it in the content marketing space. 

Source

3. Host a poll

Yep. It’s one of the most fun things to put in a newsletter — says the one who always opens The Daily Carnage Newsletter just to cast my vote in the interesting polls they send daily. 

4. Share what you’ve published 

You don’t always need to create new content, you know. You can share your blog posts instead. 

To keep the workload light, share your blog post’s intro in the email or write a few lines and hit send as Brian Dean does: 

Source

Alternatively, use the Trello approach to newsletter-ing by sharing a roundup of all that you’ve published with a click-worthy CTA: 

Source 

5. Start conversations

Your newsletter doesn’t have to be formal. Stir conversations with readers just as Joe Pulizzi does in The Random Newsletter: 

Source

6. Share a case study

But, hang on. Don’t knock out a salesy, self-praising case study and call it a day. Instead, make it about your reader. Here’s some inspiration:

Source

7. Share a post from a guest blogger

Have a popular blog that welcomes posts from guest bloggers? Why not share the guest post with your email list. Perhaps, you can add your commentary to the guest content too. 

8. Share quick tips

You can always share some quick tips with your subscribers too. Remember, you can discuss one tip or give some quick tips in bullet points. Just like in this edition of the Sendinblue Marketing newsletter:

9. Share stepwise tactics

This one is one of my favorite newsletter themes as it gives quick advice to the reader by sharing actionable steps about something. 

Want to see it in action? Read Do More, With Less from Demio: 

Source

10. Share an actionable idea

Not big on sharing steps? Do it the Indie Hackers way by sharing one action idea that’s laid out in a paragraph or two. 

Source

11. Share facts 

Yep. Facts are amazing and easy to read and digest. And, if you can cherry-pick the most interesting ones, you’d end up giving your subscribers a lovely treat! 

12. Talk about what you’re reading or eating or even dreaming about 

That adds a human touch while giving a bit of behind the scenes peek into your mind. 

Kevan Lee’s newsletter has a dedicated newsletter section on what their team’s reading. 

Source

13. Hiring? Spread the word 

The Animalz team does that. You can also ask subscribers for referrals.

Source

14. Curate job openings 

Another approach here is to gather job openings relevant to your email list and send them out in your newsletter. 

Christina Pashialis does that for her ContentUK newsletter: 

Source

15. Share how-to guides 

You can also take an educative approach to your newsletter theme. Give a breakdown of how to do X or Y. Or, if you’re big on publishing mighty guides as we do, share them with your readers. 

16. Curate great content from around the web 

If you’re into curation or gathering the best reads that you think will interest your readers, serve them to your subscribers in your email newsletter. 

Here’s Marketing Spark curating links: 

Source

17. Don’t just curate, share your opinion too 

Honestly, this shows you actually read what you share in your emails, making it an awesome newsletter idea. 

James Whatley’s Five things on Friday was all about this: 

Source

18. Share an interesting tweet or Facebook post

In his weekly newsletter, Jimmy Daly shares a “Tweet of the Week.” 

Source

If you or someone on your team tend to be active on any social media, you can always make this idea a regular section in your emails. 

19. Share social proof 

Did someone just say something nice about you? Spread the word! 

20. Talk about what’s up… in bullet points 

One of the best newsletter ideas I’ve seen comes from Nick Parker. In The Journal of Messy Thinking, Nick goes on to talk in bullet points, making the email ultra-easy to read. 

See for yourself: 

Source

21. Send a letter from a key team member

This can help you bond well with your target audience. For instance, your CEO could write to your readers. 

Lauren McGoodwin, the Founder and CEO of Career Contessa, sends out a monthly email where she talks life, what’s happening, and stuff like that. She’s pretty much rocking it, making her letter one of the best monthly newsletter ideas.

Source

22. Give an insider’s peek 

Have a cute pet picture that’s been circulating your company’s Slack channel? Did your team have virtual drinks? Share that with your readers — these are all excellent newsletter content ideas. 

Want to see this in a real newsletter before you go about executing this newsletter idea? Check out Column Five Media’s #inspiration Slack channel that they shared in their email: 

Source

23. Spotlight someone to follow in the industry

Love finding new people to follow on social media? Share the love like Dennis Shiao does: 

Source

24. Hand out an insider’s dos and don’ts list 

Where checklists are common, dos and dont’s give people a quick idea of what to avoid and what to stick with. So you can always tap into this newsletter idea. Or, make lists part of your newsletter theme. 

25. Share a tip of the month 

If you’re looking for monthly newsletter ideas, this one’s for you. But there’s a lot more to share on a monthly note than a tip. You can play with sharing a monthly interview, how-to video guide, gated content asset, even free consultation sessions. 

James Tennant, Founder of Converge does this well by sharing monthly trending keywords in their TrendingUp newsletter: 

Source

26. Share news of your community

Have a Facebook group? Share what people are talking about. Do you host a Twitter chat? Discuss what you’ll be chattin’ about. 

It’s a great way to create FOMO (Shh! Don’t tell anyone, but I’ve joined several communities this way — cause FOMO, you know! )

 27. Recommend podcasts to listen to

If you’re an avid podcast listener, this is a useful idea. You can share a podcast to listen to, a podcast episode that’s Thor-level worthy to tune into, or even discuss an episode. There are several newsletter ideas here, really! 

28. Share what’s up on your podcast

Have a podcast yourself? High-five because that can be one of your newsletter themes. And if you’ve some email copywriting chops, you can drive significant traffic to your podcast. 

29. Share your Spotify list

The real purpose of a newsletter is to build relationships. And if music can bring you closer to your readers, why not share your playlist with them!

30. Share new features and how to use them 

New and old features that your software offers can both make great newsletter content. Wondering how? By teaching subscribers how to use them. 

The Miro team does the same in this newsletter: 

You can also take a different approach by creating an explainer GIF like this email does.

31. Create a fav-feature series and loop in employees

This is another of the fun things to put in a newsletter. 

But… here’s the interesting bit: instead of tooting your own horn, get your employees/teammates on board to talk about their favorite feature of your software.

Even better, create a customer favorite feature series.

32. Share lessons you’ve learned

Another one of the best work newsletter ideas is sharing small nuggets of what you learned. It could be something you picked up on a new project you just wrapped up or something you observed as you looked at the trends. 

Here’s David Perell sharing wisdom in Monday Musings: 

Source

33. Package lessons from folks in the industry

You can always pass on key takeaways from industry experts too. Eddie Shelyner does that a lot in his newsletter: 

Source

 34. Share a roundup of what you’ve published 

This could be an yearly roundup or quarterly one. Call it ‘the best of 2020’ or ‘the best of this quarter.’

35. Discuss X things you wish you knew when

Yep. People love these. Not only because they give them a quick learning opportunity, but because they get to see what you struggled with as a starter. 

 36. Talk mistakes 

Like common mistakes content marketers make or common mistakes people make when making sushi. Any observations that help your readers will do. 

 37. Point out mistakes you made

Want to connect more with your subscribers? Open up and tell them what mistakes you learned doing something. 

 38. Celebrate with your subscribers

Been doin’ well in your business? Launched a new feature? Go on. Tell your achievement to the world.  

 39. Dive into a story from history 

Fenwicks’ Chris Gillespie does this best: 

Source

But remember: you can’t just pull any story from the archives. You need one that resonates with your target audience and teaches them something. 

40. Tell a childhood story 

Stories know no bounds. You can pick one from anywhere such as your childhood. 

41. Shoutout to people you appreciate

Make this one one of your newsletter themes. Just as Ann Handley has:

Source

42. Write case studies 

Yes, you can always link back to case studies you publish on your site, but this is a different approach. Your newsletter content can be all about a case study that you write for it. 

Zero to Marketing does this. Here’s a peep: 

43. Go all in with tear downs 

Remember how fascinating taking apart a toy used to be? Newsletter content that breaks down things is also equally interesting so why not give it a go? 

Here’s how Val Geisler introduces tear downs in her Open Rates newsletter:

Source

 44. Give practical examples 

Examples are the jewel in any content’s crown, be it newsletters, blog posts, even books. So be like Harry Dry who teaches a lot, but with each point he makes, he gives an example — one of the best things to put in a newsletter. 

Source

 45. Analyze a sub-niche 

Want to get really, really specific with subscribers? 

Go deep into your field and pick out a topic that would interest your audience. Then fangirl over it with your readers. 

Here’s a newsletter example: the Font Review Journal obsesses over typeface designs and analyzes them in its emails. 

Source

46. Think up a series 

This could be any series — a bookathon takeaway series or a “3 shorts” series that looks at three news events in bullet points as Divinations does:

Source

47. Share a video series 

You can also do a video series. Creating Loom tutorials is easy so you can hit record and talk about your favorite marketing campaigns, the best virtual events you’ve attended, or even the Twitter chats you join. 

48. Share a tips-based video in your company newsletter

Not sure if you can pull together a video series? Take it slowly. Talk about one feature or just about any one thing in your video and test the waters. 

 49. Encourage subscribers to ask questions 

This is another great newsletter idea to put into practice. You’d be surprised to see how adding a small question can get people to hit reply and chat with you. 

 50. Talk news

Hang on! We reached 50 newsletter ideas. 50 Boy, oh boy! You’ve got work to do on that newsletter of your’s. 

Circling back… News can be one of the things you put in a newsletter or your email content can be centered around it. Your call. Morning Brew focuses on the latter.

 51. Share industry-specific news 

You can also take a magnifying glass to news distribution by talking about industry-specific news. 

So, instead of going all in CNN style, adopt the specific Animal Planet mode. The Hustle, for instance, focuses on tech and business only. 

 52. Let graphics do the talking 

Visuals always make good newsletter ideas! Since we’ve already talked about adding videos, it’s only natural we add graphics to this newsletter ideas list. 

Besides, there’s a lot of scope to be creative here. Minimum Viable Planet, for example, tackles a serious topic with good graphics and humor.

Source

 53. Share easy to digest hacks 

For example, you can share productivity hacks, but keep them short so they’re easy to read. 

 54. Discover, discover, and share 

If you’re an explorer, this one’s for you. You can add what you discover as one of your newsletter themes. Or, make your newsletter content about it — whatever works for your readers. 

55. Break down tough concepts into simple to understand ones

Your newsletter content can make life easy for its readers too. Just as Technically does. The brains behind it break down technical concepts and use emoji-laden sections to break out concepts. 

 56. Help people make sense of things

This is another useful newsletter content idea. Master something and then teach it to others. I know how to use Trello so I can write emails explaining how to hack into the project management app. 

Plus, here’s a real-life newsletter example: Kyle Akerman who explains Google analytics (in tips) to busy marketers.

 57. Share a promo video

Oh and before I forget, there’s another way to tap into video in your emails. Create a promo!

Source

 58. Tell what’s up 

A lot of people in your audience don’t have the time to look up from their desk to check out what’s new. The solution? Give it to them. Just as Goodreads tells me which new books come out each month.

 59. Share reports in a few lines 

People rarely read word for word. They just skim read stuff. 

So it makes sense to assume that only a handful read full reports, which gives you the opportunity to do the reading and summarizing work. 

Trends.vo does just that for their readers:

Source

60. Share insights

We’ve talked about adding tips, hacks, and how-tos to your newsletter content. Doesn’t make sense if we miss insights, right? 

Think with Google’s emails share that kind of gold. You can too.

Source

 61. Highlight the best product deals for your readers 

Alert readers about discounts, limited time deals, and the like as AppSumo’s emails do and they’ll thank you a ton for it.. 

 62. Answer reader questions 

Another one of the best monthly newsletter ideas is to host a Q&A session in your emails. Or, ask questions in every email and answer them as your newsletter content in the next letter. 

Lenny does this in this newsletter:

Source

63. Teach how to make things 

This could be anything from starting a blog to running a newsletter. 

Jay Acunzo’s newsletter themes revolve around building brands, content marketing, creativity, podcasting, and stuff like that. 

64. Look at the trends with your readers 

You can talk trends as well. What’s Hot in Enterprise IT/VC does a comprehensive analysis of the trending articles and tweets that leaves readers up to date with what’s hot. 

Source

 65. Reveal industry secrets 

There’s nothing that brings people closer than secrets. Honey Copy does that in Sticky Notes (swear I wanted that name for my newsletter! )

 66. Open up with your thoughts 

This needs some guts. But, executed well, you can gather up an army of subscribers that think like you do. 

I love how Jason Bradwell shares his musings in The B2B Bite: 

Source

 67. Write an essay 

Sounds counter-intuitive, but folks read long essays too. The catch? Your essays have to be ridiculously good. 

Here’s Andrew Chen’s Newsletter for some inspiration soak-up:  

Source

 68. Send out inspiring stuff 

Everyone’s learning all the time. But the motivating shtuff is a confetti rain — one that everyone needs now and then. 

Translation: curate and share inspiring stories, quotes, and tidbits that amaze people.

 69. Make predictions 

Have experience making on-point guesses? Or, you’re plain good at seeing the future? Then, pull out the crystal ball. 

Case in point: Insiders explains the future of DTC and retail businesses. 

 70. Add a funny edge to things

The Garbage Day newsletter gives us another newsletter idea. It brings out the fun side of the internet. 

Source

71. Help people see meaning in their work 

Deep conversations over the meaning of life, work, and all that jazz also make great newsletter content ideas. 

Jocelyn K. Glei’s newsletter is all this and more: 

Source

 72. Encourage people to reflect 

Here’s the thing: we all need to reflect. And, more often than an annual reflection. This creates great demand for newsletter content that makes people pause and think. 

This MINNA email edition does it well.

 73. Share memes

Memes make excellent newsletter content. Create some yourself or source some from social media. 

74. Send out infographics 

This is one of the best email newsletter ideas to try. Because, one, infographics are 50% easier to read. And two, they hold your audience’s attention real good. 

 75. Review things 

Or you could review articles and books, if not new products. 

76. Go in-depth with a story 

Where you can share news in bullet points or a few paragraphs, you can dive deep into it too. Perhaps gather some relevant research on it as well. 

Here’s how The Information does this.

77. Share some UGC

This is user generated content or content that your readers share with you. It could be a question, compliment, or a picture that you encouraged them to share as part of a challenge such as an image of their workspace.

78. Tell people how well they are doing

If you’re a SaaS business, you can send out emails on how well your customers are performing. 

Not only does this make for one of the finest monthly newsletter ideas, but you can execute such how-you-are-doing-reviews weekly or quarterly too. 

 79. Offer free subscription 

Again, this works for SaaS newsletters and other service businesses. 

Source

 80. Pick apart internal data 

Wear your researcher’s hat and look for trends just as Grammarly did in this email: 

 81. Share an explainer video 

This is another bonzer newsletter idea for SaaS and service-based business owners. 

Explain how your service works or how working with you looks like. You can also have an onboarding video. 

82. Review your customer’s year 

Share your service’s user highlights and surprise them with what they might not have guessed! 

For instance, Todoist told me I tend to be productive on Mondays.

 83. Share templates, checklists, or workbooks 

Remember: whatever makes your reader’s life easy, it’s worth adding to your pool of newsletter ideas. 

 84. Disclose your research findings

Sharing research findings is pretty OG, if you ask me. It positions you as an expert and gives your reader a ton of value that they can’t get anywhere else. 

Awesome newsletter content: check  

85. Introduce subscribers to speakers on board 

Hosting a webinar? Speaking at a conference? That’s your next newsletter issue sorted. 

Because, hype is one of the important things to put in a newsletter when hosting or participating in a conference/webinar. How? By telling subscribers what’s going to happen and who’s going to be present. 

Source

86. Give a recap of an event, conference, or webinar series 

There’s valuable newsletter content to share post an event or session. Even if you aren’t the host, you can always highlight your takeaways. 

Case in point: Buffer decided to share their take home messages on the blog and then shared it in their newsletter. 

 87. Share what happened at an event 

It doesn’t have to be lessons learned all. the. time. You can write about something funny that happened or give a summary.

 88. Share upcoming events 

We aren’t done with the events just yet. 

One last idea: have a dedicated section or randomly share important events around the corner.

Source

89. Assign readers an action step 

That’s also one of the best performing newsletter themes and a hat tip to Tiny Spells’ emails that does this daily: 

Source 

 90. Share quotes 

Ah, we can’t forget this newsletter idea, can we? Share quotes — specific to something or otherwise. 

Scott Monty’s emails have quotes: 

Source

 91. Give people some food for thought

I bet there’s no one who does this better than James Clear. 

Source

92. Annonce a collaboration 

Pairing up with somebody? Tell it. It’s pipin’ hot news that the world needs to know! 

 93. Share mind blowing stats 

If you’ve been working hard and hitting goals, share away. Even better if you have proof in numbers. 

 94. Celebrate a milestone 

People like celebrating and cheering up for others. So if you’ve been double-minded about sharing your achievement, don’t be. Add the achievement to your newsletter content. 

 95. Announce a party 

This could be a launch party, achievement party, business-is-4-today party, or anything, really.

 96. Share a BTS video

Looking for more fun things to put in a newsletter? A behind-the-scenes (BTS) video will do the trick. If you bake, for example, you can shoot the process and add it to your email newsletter. 

Here’s a newsletter featuring a BTS video from Patagonia.

 97. Add any BTS, really 

BTS comes in all shapes and sizes. So, if you aren’t into video marketing, you can add a GIF in your email or a picture. Or just write about it. 

 98. Narrate your back story 

If you create new collections or work on creative projects regularly, sharing your thoughts on the process can make awesome newsletter content for you. 

Speaking of stories, you can also always share your success story with your email list. 

 99. Tell how you can help, but with proof 

Here’s Headspace being all pro with proof of how they help: 

Source

100. Share exclusive deals 

Wait… we just made it to a 100 ideas! Time to pop some confetti.

Back to business now: sharing exclusive deals in your emails works for both service-based owners as well as ecommerce stores. 

 101. Create FOMO 

If you’re working on something new, let’s say an eBook, you can share sections from it. You can tell how much work you’re doing as well — any of the FOMO-inducing copy tactics will make for a great email newsletter idea. 

102. Email a giveaway 

This one’s self-explanatory. 

 103. Announce a sale 

Again, pretty explanatory. 

Example coming through: 

Source

104. Create a challenge

This one’s a dope newsletter idea to engage subscribers. 

 105. Share your secrets 

Give your email list an insider peek into how you work or create something. 

 106. Share what you’ve got in store 

For ecommerce businesses, this is another one of creative email newsletter ideas. But, as you do this, make sure you focus doesn’t waver from making it all about the reader. 

Nutrafruit does this well in their newsletter.

107. Hype a limited edition

Ecommerce owners, this is another idea for you. Take it from this letter that does it well: 

 108. Talk about a new product

You can also do that or discuss the marketing strategy you’ve planned out for your product launch (if it interests your email list, that is).

109. Or, inform about a restock 

Buyers can quickly forget what they wanted to get once it’s out of stock, but a little push can go a long way. 

110. Explain how to use your product 

In other words, be smart and create content around your product. 

Here’s inspiration from The Glenlivet:

Source

 111. Share news 

Launching a new store? Starting a podcast? That’s news. And news that’s worth sharing with your email family. 

112. Give people solutions 

Whether it’s by asking them a series of questions or giving them a quiz, help people make the right choices. 

Here’s what I mean — live in GoDaddy’s email: 

113. Share quizzes 

These could be informative ones, but a little fun doesn’t hurt, does it? 

 114. Announce free shipping 

Free shipping is always such a heart-winner (ask someone who loves shopping). In fact, 86% of shoppers abandon their carts due to shipping costs with 90% saying that free shipping is the top incentive to get them to shop often. 

So you know what to do, right? 

115. Push people to pre-order

Not only does this work for ecommerce, but also for SaaS and a small business selling digital products. 

116. Create a product-based GIF 

This one’s a smart way to feature your product as well as hold your subscribers’ attention. 

 117. Share product reviews

If word on the street about you is positive, you need to celebrate and shout it loud. Both for yourself and for getting people to buy from you in case you forgot 90% of users read less than ten reviews to form an opinion about your business. 

118. Host a Q&A session with your teammates

These make for pretty engaging newsletter content, the type that can boost your open rates.  

119. Share related products 

If you’ve caught yourself surfing the related products section on your favorite store only to end up adding another product to your cart, you need to do this. 

120. Educate about your product 

There are just so many ways to talk about your product without sounding self-absorbed or sales-y. Educating readers about it is one such way. 

121. Talk about what makes you different

That is, highlight your unique selling proposition (USP) to tell what makes you, well, you!

 122. Add an FAQ section 

FAQ sections aren’t limited to websites. Adding one to your email is one of the best newsletter ideas — one that Kai Davis leverages. 

See for yourself:  

Source

123. Start a referral program 

You can always give an incentive, a discount if you sell something, for example. The Managing Editor newsletter take a unique approach: 

Source

124. Share YouTube videos 

Or, your favorite TED talks that you’ll suit your email list’s taste too. 

125. Ask for feedback 

Whether it’s for your newsletter, a webinar series, or a recent blog post, you need feedback to thrive. So let’s complete this email newsletter ideas list with one last idea: send out an occasional feedback survey.

Alternatively, let people vote their preference like this:

And that’s a wrap

Kudos to you for having come this far with me. I salute your enthusiasm for improving your emails. Have more newsletter ideas that you’ve seen others doing well? Tweet them to us. 

P.S. For alighting your newsletter-improving-spirit, here are our newsletter layout design tips + over 60 free newsletter templates for you. 

To keep up with all our marketing tips and expert advice, subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

Written by Masooma Memon, freelance writer for B2B SaaS.

The post 125 Newsletter Ideas That’ll Impress Your Readers For Sure appeared first on Sendinblue.

Whether your answer is a nod of affirmation or a sad frown, know this: you can get a lot more from your email newsletter.

Wondering how? By giving it a distinct personality.

So, in this guide, let’s walk you through the basics of giving your newsletter a personality so that you can build stronger relationships with your subscribers while growing your email list.

On we go:

How to give your email newsletter a personality

Picture your favorite person. They could be someone you met at a networking event, someone among your colleagues or friends, or your sibling. Now tell me: isn’t their personality what makes them stand out?

You probably like them because they strike interesting conversations, have a presentable appearance, and they might even be good at throwing an occasional joke or two.

In simple: they’ve a likeable personality. Circling back to your newsletter now: giving it a personality mainly involves borrowing traits from likeable personalities.

How? Here’s a checklist of traits to follow:

1. Make your emails visually appealing

They say don’t judge a book by its cover, but we often end up doing so, don’t we? That’s because the first look leaves a lasting impression – one that either encourages us to read the book or leave it sitting on the shelf. Untouched.

With email newsletters, this becomes all the more important. Even if you’ve packed your letter with tiptop content, if the design isn’t inviting, chances are, only a handful of people will give it a read.

So, first things first, work on your email design. Keep the following in mind:

• Get rid of everything ‘extra’ in your email design to ensure it’s breathable and clutter-free. This makes reading easy on the eye.
• Look at each design element and ask yourself: can my design do without it? If so, remove it.
• Stick with your brand colors. You want to leave a memorable impression, not a scattershot one with your website featuring a mix of blues and your emails all in pink.

2. Keep things easy to read

Spoiler alert: this is going to hurt but: folks read only about 25% of an article. This means the odds of subscribers reading your entire text-heavy email are poor.

In fact, long paragraphs with little breathing room rarely do justice to good content.

So, if you’re serious about getting people to read your emails, get serious about making your content easy to read – or, rather, skim read.

Clutter-free design that uses visuals to break text does part of this job. For more:

• Write short paragraphs. 2-3 lines max. 1-line paragraphs work as well.
• Keep your sentences short. Shorter sentences are easy to read and digest.
• Break down content with direct, to the point subheadings.
• Wherever you can, introduce bullet points to express your ideas. Just as I’m doing right now.

Ann Handley writes long emails – over 1000 words long. But those emails never get ignored. Know why? Because they’re readable.

See for yourself:

Source

3. Include personality-driven images

If you’re using stock photos in your emails, I recommend scrapping them immediately.

There’s nothing worse for your newsletter’s health than adding cheesy, widely-circulated-over-the-internet stock images.

To earn your subscribers’ trust, consider showing personality by sharing behind-the-scenes (BTS) pictures. These show your business’s human side so it’s a quick way to gain your audience’s trust.

Liz Moorehead sharing this image in her company, Impact’s newsletter, The Latest, is another good example of BTS content:

Source

For an ecommerce business, this would mean sharing user-generated content (UGC), images of your product with context and with humans in them. Like this:

Source: ReallyGoodEmails

4. Have something to talk about

This, right here, forms the foundation of your newsletter’s personality.

Nothing beats good content that offers value and shares opinion. It gets people talking. And, it helps you stand out from the rest.

Let’s break this personality trait down to actionable bits:

Share your opinion

A pandemic taking over human lives? The BLM movement on the rise? Say something. Take your stand and talk about it. But be careful: don’t land yourself in hot water every time a trend picks up. Share measured opinions occasionally.

Offer value, value, and then some more

This is why you talk about stuff that your audience wants to talk about. Word of caution: don’t overload your reader with too much value at one time. Even the Triple Stacker King fails to hold your taste buds’ attention after you’re full. 

So, pick out 1-2 points to talk about and elaborate. Serving a mix up of multiple info nuggets can be tough for the brain to digest, choking readers with an information-overload.

Spice up your content with interesting stories and facts

Stories do a top notch job in holding your audience’s attention – they’ve been doing so since our ancestral times.

To tell a story in your newsletter, consider sharing a personal anecdote. Or, find a historical story to begin your email as this newsletter does:

Source

Alternatively, talk facts – ones that both educate and entertain your audience. Throw them randomly in your conversation as Grammarly does in the email below or add them to a dedicated fact section.

5. Talk like you’re talking to a friend

This will send the I’ve-a-warm-personality signal to your readers. Guaranteed.

To get started writing to a friend, start with tweaking your imagination. Instead of thinking of writing to a room full of audience, picture talking to your buyer’s persona. Or, to make it a little less overwhelming, picture a friend that shares characteristics of your buyer’s persona.

Ready to put pen to paper? Keep the following front and center:

• Remove technical terms or jargon. Do you think your friend would know all those terms? Keep the jargon only if your answer is a ‘yes.’ If you’re finding it hard to write simply, complete your email then underline biz speak in the content. Rewrite underlined sections.
• Use text formatting and punctuation to your advantage. For example, make a word italic if you want to stress it. Use em dashes to connect sentences.
• Don’t forget: you’re free to use emojis. Our brains react to emoticons the same way they react to human faces (yep, scientists have actually proven this ).
• Use active voice. This is where your subject does something, like ‘Masooma is writing a post for Sendinblue.’ Active voice is energetic, direct, and doesn’t feel like you’re hiding behind something. Now, read this: “This post is being written by Masooma.’ This is passive voice – one that makes your sentence unnecessarily long, boring, and, well, robotic.
• Lastly, be brief and clear.

6. Encourage conversation

One-sided conversations are rarely refreshing. Even if you enjoy them at first, you get tired after some time.

Besides, it’s great to be around someone that gets you excited and talking, isn’t it? With your newsletter, it’s the same.

There’s another plus too: prioritizing conversations leaves people feeling like they’re part of a strong community. It’s something that they truly value.

However, don’t expect conversations to occur naturally. Rather, push people to talk to you. Ask them for their feedback. Leave questions in the call to action (CTA).

See how Dennis Shiao is doing so in his email:

Source

So here’s what you’ve got to do:

• First, talk about things that interest your audience or they can relate to. If you talk math with someone who loves science, they’ll avoid talking to you right away (yep, I’m proof. I do that ALL the time ). The mattress company, Casper, is pro at this. They talk about sleeping – something of great interest to their audience.

Source: ReallyGoodEmails

P.S. Not sure what your audience finds interesting? If you’ve an established audience, go on and ask them. You could email them or ask them on social about what they’d like to hear from you. New to newsletter-ing? Head on to Quora and Reddit to see what people that fall in your target audience are talking about.

• Ask just one question as your CTA. Remember: asking too many questions leaves them confused about what to do (a.k.a. choice paralysis). One question, on the other hand, is simple and quick to answer.
• Be enthusiastic. I thought it’s just my observation, but science confirms that upbeat feelings like joy and enthusiasm are easily spreadable from person to person. 

7. Talk positive and add a touch of humor where you can

Positive news elicits good feelings – something that people are always on the lookout for.

Author of the book Contagious, Jonah Berger also learned that stories with good news are more likely to be shared than bad news.

Put simply, focus on spreading positivity and happiness. If the situation demands (as most of 2020 has demanded), it’s okay to share some sad news. Or, be vulnerable with your audience like Jocelyn K. Glei does in their newsletter here:

Source

One last personality-ripening tip for your newsletter: crack jokes (non-offensive ones, please).

Humor makes your brand more human, hence, easily relatable, which, in turn, increases your engagement. Not to mention, humor makes you memorable, which increases chances of people buying from you and sharing about you.

Bonus points for giving your emails a personality

Before you go about working your way through the checklist shared above, start with these pointers. They are what every newsletter owner needs to do:

Include a legitimate address

Your emails are supposed to be coming from a human. Prove that in your email address by going for a personal email address rather than generic ‘no reply’ or ‘admin’ email address.

Use a name in the mailing address

It helps you connect with your readers better. Besides, studies on email open rates confirm that the email sender’s name plays an important role in getting people to open emails. So, be sure to have a consistent sender name pre-decided.

Take a page from the team at Databox:

Quit the sales approach

Make friends first, sell second. Here’s your shortcut to doing that: be three parts educational or informational and one part salesy.

That’s how Daily Carnage does it in their emails:

Source

Don’t write generic subject lines

Be specific. Tell what the reader will find inside. Eddie Shleyner is a pro at this and he shares his formula of writing subject lines with me in this piece on email copy characteristics.

Be consistent

A strong personality has a defined voice and style. That’s what your email personality needs to be as well. Settle on your personality (the voice, layout, even email sending frequency). Then, be consistent with it. This way, your subscribers know what to expect from you and your personality will shine through.

Tying it all together

So you now know how to give your newsletter a personality. To get started, take to the drawing board and note down personality aspects you’d like to show. Once you’ve a solid plan in place, start writing emails with personality.

Written by Masooma Memon, freelance writer for B2B SaaS.

The post 7 Steps to Giving Your Newsletter a Personality That Wins Loyal Subscribers appeared first on Sendinblue.

This post will help you get started. We’ll introduce the fundamentals of email design, HTML newsletter coding, and email delivery, so you’ll fully understand your range of software options.

What is an HTML newsletter or campaign?

In the world of email marketing, there are two types of email. Plain-text emails and HTML emails.

Most industries, especially those that use email for sales, use HTML emails.

A combination of standout images, a striking call-to-action (CTA) and well-written text all adds up to grab your subscribers’ attention in the inbox. Like in this example from Rooted NYC:

The biggest advantage of creating HTML emails over plain text is newsletter design.

You get to control exactly how the email will appear in inboxes. It’s equivalent to sending a website or a glossy advertising brochure directly to an inbox. You can mix and match colors, fonts and images in a way that captures your brand image.

Note, however, that in other industries, such as the legal realm and tech, plain text emails can perform better because they convey a degree of seriousness. They look less like advertising.

How to design, code and send an HTML newsletter

When you’re learning to create an HTML email or newsletter, you need to recognize that there are 3 isolated steps that go into creation.

1. Design your email. Decide how it should look in your subscribers’ inboxes.
2. Code your design in HTML. Put the design into a programming language that email clients can render.
3. Send your email. Make sure it will arrive in your audience’s inboxes.

There’s a multitude of programs you can use for all aspects of newsletter creation. You can choose a separate program for design, coding and sending.

Or you can use one single tool for all three steps – an email marketing software. We recommend you choose one single tool over three separate ones for this process (Sendinblue, preferably).

You’ll save time and energy.

But we’ll walk you through all possible options so you know exactly what you’re dealing with.

Getting started designing HTML newsletter

The biggest advantage of using design software for the initial step of creating a newsletter is that you may be comfortable with particular design software. Creating your newsletter or email in a graphic design program will make things more difficult for you down the line, however.

You can’t simply export your design as an HTML email or automatically code your .ai file.

You’ll have to code it or get someone with professional HTML expertise to do so.

But if you do your creative work best in one particular tool, then go ahead and use that. In fact, when it comes to the design part, any photo editor or layout tool will do the job.

Here are the 3 key design restrictions to consider when designing HTML emails:

1. Responsive email design:
   Your email or newsletter has to be readable on whatever device your subscribers use. It’s reported that 66% of all email is opened on smartphones in the US. This means you’ll need to have a design plan for desktop view and mobile view.
2. Fixed width:
   All newsletters should have a fixed width, which prevents subscribers from having to scroll horizontally. You want to avoid their having a challenging reading experience at all costs! 600 pixels is the industry standard for HTML email width because it’s suitable for most devices. You can go up to 650 and still have your email render correctly.
3. Above the fold:
   Your email’s subject line is the first chance to grab your subscriber’s attention. If you pass that test and they open your email, you have one more chance to hold their attention with a really good header. This is the area your contacts see before having to scroll. It’s called the above-the-fold space. Include the most crucial information right at the beginning.

How to create HTML newsletters using Photoshop

Open a new doc in Photoshop

Start by creating a new document.

The width should be slightly bigger than a usual newsletter because this will allow you to include a background to your newsletter. The recommended total width is 800 pixels.

As far as the length is concerned, you’re not limited here. If you’re not sure where to start, choose a length of 1000 pixels.

In terms of resolution, 72 DPI will suffice for a newsletter. Like all images for the web, you should choose RGB color, not CMYK, which is better suited to print.

Create a 600-pixel-wide box in the document and center it. This is where your newsletter’s content will go. Next, choose a background color for the rest of the document. White or light gray as a background color creates a pleasant reading experience that is not distracting. Some brands have done well with soft pastel colors for the background, too.

If your brand is known for its boldness, then go ahead and choose a brash contrasting color for the background. As long as it’s on brand, you’re good (for some newsletter branding ideas click here).

Set up your newsletter with a 600px-wide box

Now you’ve got your file set up and you’re ready to get started. Let’s work through the design from top to bottom.

It’s traditional to place a link to a web version of the newsletter or campaign at the top of your HTML email. If images don’t display (which happens by default in Microsoft Outlook) or for some other reason the email client doesn’t render your email correctly, the link to a web version lets the user view it in their browser instead of through their email client.

More and more brands, however, are leaving out the web version link or placing it discreetly at the bottom of the email.

This way it doesn’t distract your readers or impair the coordinated design of everything above the fold. Note that if you work in B2B, many of your subscribers will be using Microsoft Outlook, which means you should still include the link to the web version.

Directly under the unobtrusive link to a web version (or if you skip the link, then as the first element in your newsletter), add a teaser picture. You can adjust the picture size in Photoshop, as well as the text.

Often, the teaser picture includes your logo and a recognizable branded image. You can also include a call-to-action (CTA) button in the teaser image. This area represents that precious above-the-fold space. Generally, the length should be 200–250 pixels, but the best way to assure that you’ve got the area above the fold covered is to test it in email marketing software.

A finalized newsletter designed in Photoshop

Directly following the header comes the body of your newsletter or email campaign. Insert a 600-pixel rectangle here, and add text and insert images to your liking.

Simply duplicate this block for additional newsletter content. Use guides to adjust the blocks and check distances. Make sure you use sufficient spacing to ensure an excellent reading experience.

If you feel like adding social media buttons to your newsletter or email campaign, insert them at the end underneath the body of the email.

Finally, close with a footer. Here you should include company information and links for users to update their subscription preferences and easily unsubscribe from the newsletter. You may use a smaller, ordinary font, as long as it’s still perfectly readable and clickable.

How to create HTML newsletters using InDesign

Create a 600px-wide document in InDesign

For InDesign, create a new document with a 600-pixel page width. As far as the length is concerned, choose whatever works. Save the page as a custom format and open it.

Your email layout will follow the same structure as when using Photoshop:

1. Optional link to view in browser
2. Header image above the fold
3. Body (main content)
4. Footer

A finalized newsletter design in InDesign

In InDesign, use the rectangular tool to create three rectangles on top of each other that will be page-wide. This is where you will insert the header, newsletter content and footer.

Add an image to the header. Place the image and insert it proportionally. Make sure all the images you use in an InDesign newsletter are hosted online so your subscribers will be able to see them.

Add a white background in the newsletter body to ensure a smooth reading experience. Use the text tool for inserting text, and finally, add margins so it doesn’t run up against the edge of the page.

The footer is the best place to place an unsubscribe link and the other company details.

How to create HTML newsletters using Illustrators

Illustrator a great tool for designing images.

However, it’s not the best choice for designing an entire newsletter. Use Illustrator to design your newsletter background, your logos or other graphics.

Create backgrounds with Illustrator

The newsletter itself should be created in another program.

How to create a HTML newsletter using Adobe XD

One of the newest design programs that works well for email template design is Adobe XD.

In fact, it’s the only tool our graphic design team recommends for template creation. And they should know. They design a lot of them.

Adobe XD is a pared-down graphic design tool that’s easy to learn, free and intuitive. To create a newsletter in Adobe XD, simply create a file and follow the same instructions as listed under Photoshop.

What stands out about Adobe XD’s functionality is its repeat grid tool. Instead of duplicating one box over and over, you can choose the repeat grid option.

The repeat grid function

For example, let’s say you have a newsletter with 4 content blocks that function as teasers for blog items. Create one content block and then mouse over the selection and select repeat grid. Then drag the group until you have 4 content blocks.

Let’s say you send the design to your boss or colleague for approval.

And they approve it with only one change. They want all the headlines to be in the new brand pink, instead of the older branded gray. Instead of having to go in and select each individual headline and change it manually, you only have to change one, and the pattern will automatically be adopted in the others.

A finished email campaign designed in Adobe XD

This becomes especially helpful when you’re dealing with repeat grid groups of upwards of dozens or even hundreds of images. This is the kind of issue you regularly encounter in the e-commerce sector.

Not enough design tips for you? Make sure you check out our newsletter design tips if you need more guidance!

Tips for coding HTML newsletters

Got your design? Have all the sign-offs you need? Great! Now we get to the hard part: how to code your newsletter.

Some design programs have the option to export your document to HTML. But don’t be fooled. Unfortunately, this just won’t work for an HTML email.

Programming HTML for email is significantly different than programming for the web. Moreover, every email client works differently, so you have to test what it will look like in various different email clients.

If you’re already familiar with programming, then keep reading. We’ve got some tips for you.

But if you’re not a programmer experienced with email coding, you have several options to get your design into a format that will render correctly:

1. Hire a programmer experienced in coding for HTML email
2. Choose an email service provider, such as Sendinblue (oh, hey, that’s us!), and re-create the design 1:1 in the newsletter software’s drag-and-drop campaign editor.
3. The luxury option: Choose an email service provider that offers the add-on service of programming a template for your newsletter or email campaign. You send them the design files showing exactly how you want the template to look, and they do the coding in the backend of the software. Then, all you have to do is log into the software, insert the text and images you’d like into your new template and press send.

If you’re experienced with programming for website design but simply haven’t coded for HTML email before, here are some tips to consider.

Why HTML email programming is crazy different

One of the reasons coding for email is so different than coding for web design is that there are many more factors at play here in how an email will be rendered. When programming for the web, you have to deal with factors such as OS, browser and screen size.

When programming for email, in contrast, you have to consider these factors as well as many more. These include email clients, image blocking options and sending services.

What’s more – while there are just a few browsers you need to consider when coding for the web – there are at least 1,000 email clients worldwide your HTML email needs to be prepared to meet.

Even if you look only at the email clients with the largest market share, you’re still dealing with about 50 email clients that may be rendering your HTML email.

Plus, web-based email apps will render differently in different browsers. And you’ve got tons of devices and screen sizes your email will be viewed on.

Then, to top it all off, you’ve got to deal with the fact that email clients mostly use old-school HTML. Many of the more recent developments in HTML simply haven’t been adopted by email client software. And there are no universal standards for email clients.

All in all, it’s a tricky task to program for email. Not for the faint of heart.

HTML Code for Newsletters and Other Email: What to Watch for!

To create your code, you can use a plain text editor or a visual tool like Dreamweaver. This dinosaur of the programming world works well for coding HTML email templates because it’s been around forever.

As we’ve established, programming a newsletter differs from web development significantly. Here are some of the most important differences to consider:

• Start with the structure. Your HTML template will begin with a doctype telling the email client what to expect. Follow this with your header. This is where your media queries, styling and any animations will go. Everything following your header counts as the body of the email. Enclose this content with body tags.
• Forget separate CSS files. Most email clients do not support them. Which means you’re going to have to get your HTML and CSS to play together nicely in a different way: inline CSS styles. They’re recognizable by most email clients and they can be used for key newsletter design elements, such as background colors and fonts.
• Embrace the table. For newsletter layout, use nested HTML tables. I know. I know. This feels very 1999, but that’s what we’ve got to work with. Table tags are how you get around the fact that email clients support neither the rowspan attribute nor the colspan attribute. You’ll want to use tables throughout. Use cell padding for improved readability.
• Remember the alt text. Save your images separately and include alt-text tags. This improves accessibility and makes things easier for those reading your newsletter in those email clients that block images.
• Be specific about your font! The usual HTML tags, such as H1 and H2, won’t render correctly in email clients. You need to specify font size and style directly in the HTML. Note, however, that not all fonts will render correctly. Read more about the best font to use for email.

Here’s an example below of some code to use when starting your email campaign. This will render as white text on a black background.

Sending your newsletter

Now we get to the third and final step: your email sending tool.

You may think you can send your email simply by entering all your contacts into a BCC field with your free email service, like Gmail. Unfortunately, using a regular free email provider just won’t cut it for bulk email campaigns.

The biggest problem is that you’ll have extremely low email deliverability, which means most of your emails won’t even make it onto the server of your contacts’ inboxes. Your emails literally will never see the light of day, or, you know, the backlit screen of an inbox.

Instead of attempting to send your emails from a private email account, you’re going to need to use newsletter software, such as Sendinblue. Your email marketing service will have many tools and procedures in place to ensure your emails arrive in the inbox.

Most email marketing tools allow you to upload the HTML of your email newsletter templates directly. Once you’ve designed and coded it, you can upload it and send it directly.

The quickest alternative to newsletter coding

But there’s a better way. You don’t need to be a designer or programmer to send a professional email campaign because newsletter creation has been democratized.

Instead of using three different tools, you can do everything described here in one simple tool. The all-in-one option is to create a newsletter template in an email marketing software, like Sendinblue. Here are the three steps of newsletter creation:

1. After getting some newsletter inspiration, you design your emails with a drag-and-drop editor.
2. The coding happens automatically in the background, so you don’t have to worry about the technical aspect of it.
3. To send, just click a button to ensure your email avoids the spam filter and makes it into inboxes.

Interested in trying it out for real on our platform? All you have to do is open a free Sendinblue account:

I want to create free newsletters with Sendinblue >>

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The post How to Design an HTML Newsletter Using Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator and Adobe XD appeared first on Sendinblue.

With almost 300 billion emails sent and received every day, it takes a lot to stand out in the inbox. While that number can seem overwhelming, you can tip the odds in your favor by making one simple change to your email newsletter: bringing your brand identity front and center.

Build your branded newsletter with Sendinblue >>

People prefer the things they’re already familiar with—it’s why 60% of consumers would rather buy something new from a brand they already know. The same concept applies to email engagement. The more your subscribers recognize your brand, the more likely they are to open your emails.

This kind of brand recognition is built by brand consistency. When you keep your talking points, images, fonts, colors, and logo design consistent, customers learn to recognize them. But even though 87% of marketers know brand consistency is key to customer experience, less than 60% say their messaging, visuals, and voice are consistent. 

That gap is your brand’s chance to stand out. 

Making your brand a familiar face in the inbox means incorporating your brand into every email. To help you start boosting opens and engagement, we’ve put together 14 branding ideas for your newsletter. 

1. Send Name 

This might seem obvious, but the obvious things can sometimes slip through the cracks when you’re busy worrying about spam scores and unsubscribes. 

Make sure your newsletters are coming from your brand, by setting your send name to your brand name. If you want to add a personal touch by using an actual (or fictional) person’s name as your send name, include your brand’s name in the subject line instead. 

2. Subject Line 

For your newsletter’s subject line, it’s tempting to aim for the open at all costs, cramming as many ALL-CAPS and ?emojis?as you can into one click-baity title. But don’t abandon your brand for the sake of clicks. 

Keep your brand voice and messages in mind as you write your subject line, so subscribers have an idea of what to expect when they open your emails. A consistent experience from click to open creates a unified impression of your brand—one your subscribers can connect with. 

3. Preview Text 

Also known as the ‘second subject line’, preview text is a second chance to make a first impression with your newsletter. Just like your subject line, you’ll want to balance click-worthy intrigue with brand-driven messaging here, to give subscribers a reason to open your emails (and no surprises once they do). 

4. Header Logo 

Once your subscribers open your newsletter, your brand should be the first thing they see. Adding your wordmark, symbol, or combination logo to the header ensures subscribers know exactly who this newsletter is from, while also helping them recognize your brand’s logo design down the line.  

5. Header Color 

Color can have a huge impact on your email branding efforts, boosting brand recognition by 80%. While not all newsletter templates let you change the color of your header, you should take this opportunity to customize if you can.

Incorporating one or more of your brand colors into the header—whether in a design or just a solid color block—creates an immediate impression on newsletter subscribers. 

6. Color 

That impression can be compounded by border and background colors in the body of your newsletters. If you use your primary brand color for your header, you might want to incorporate your secondary or tertiary brand colors into the body of your newsletter, to add a bit of visual variety.

Make sure that any background colors you choose work well with your font color, so your subscribers can actually read the news in your newsletter.

7. Fonts

The brand fonts you’re using on your website should be the same ones you’re using in your email newsletter—which means you’ll need to follow the same rules for H1, H2, H3, and normal text in both. That way, whether subscribers are reading your content in an email or on your site, the experience is the same.

Keep in mind, however, that not all website fonts are recognized by all email service providers. In this case you’ll have to set a default ‘Web safe’ font. Learn more about this in the Sendinblue typography guide.  

8. Content

Just like your subject line and preview text, your email copy needs to speak the same language as the rest of your brand. Incorporating those same key messages and voice throughout makes your newsletters an extension of your other marketing efforts—adding to the brand recognition you’ve already built.

Even if you have different writers working on your emails and website content, subscribers should be able to transition seamlessly from a newsletter linking to a page, to the page itself. 

9. Rich Media 

Rich media like images, videos, and gifs, offer an immediate way for subscribers to recognize your brand, making consistency even more important here.

The images and shapes you use in your newsletters should be the same (or similar) to the ones you use on your website, on social media, in print and anywhere else. If you do this right, newsletter subscribers will be able to recognize your brand at-a-glance across channels. 

For both written and visual content, having your brand guidelines available to everyone working on your emails will make it easier to get your newsletters on-brand before you send.  

Check out examples of how top brands use rich media in these awesome newsletter samples.

10. Layout

The layout you chose for your website was specifically designed to best present your unique messages and images—both of which should be present in your email newsletters.

Frame your email content consistently with your web content by incorporating a similar framework and style within your newsletter emails. 

Even if you have to adjust the layout to work within your email template or constraints, you shouldn’t be sending people from a cluttered newsletter to a minimalist website, or a text-heavy email to an image-focused website. 

For all of these newsletter design ideas, the goal is to create an extension of your other marketing efforts. The more consistent your brand is both in your newsletter and across other channels, the easier it is for subscribers to recognize you. 

11. Footer Signature 

Just like you wanted your logo to be the first thing subscribers saw when opening your email, you also want it to be the last thing they see before clicking away. Consider your header and footer the branded packaging around your newsletter. 

To add a little variety, you might consider using the symbol version in the footer if you used your wordmark combination mark in the header (or vice versa). That way, subscribers see more versions of your branding—and have more ways to remember you.

12. Footer Color 

While plenty of brands keep the color of their footers neutral, that doesn’t mean you have to.

You can match your footer to your header, use one of your secondary or tertiary brand colors, or add color to items within your footer for a subtle hint of brand presence. 

13. Footer Links 

One area you can use to showcase your color palette is in your footer links.

Adding social icons in your brand colors does double duty of adding a bit of brand flair, while also offering newsletter subscribers with the option to interact with your brand on other channels. 

14. Responsive Design and Unsubscribes 

Good user experience might not be part of your brand identity, but it leaves subscribers with a better impression of your brand.

Emails that open well on every device, and let you unsubscribe if you want to, give a better impression of your brand in the long run—to support the rest of your branding efforts, in your newsletter and beyond.

Bringing These Ideas Into Your Newsletter

The goal of email newsletters is to keep subscribers up to date on everything to do with your business—whether that’s new content you’ve written, events you might be hosting, or changes you might be making to your product.

If a subscriber signs up to receive these updates, chances are they already care about your brand. 

But you can’t take that brand familiarity for granted. 

Your free Sendinblue account gives you access to a range of templates and an easy-to-use drag and drop email builder so that you can leverage these branding ideas for your newsletter.

By building brand recognition in your emails, you can make your newsletter one your subscribers look forward to arriving in their inbox. 

The post 14 Newsletter Branding Ideas to Boost Engagement appeared first on Sendinblue.