How to Write a Good Newsletter

Email newsletters are an excellent way to stay top of mind for your customers and share promotions and announcements. But it can be difficult to know what to share and how much.

BREAK IT UP

Just like maintaining a blog, with newsletters, you always need new content to share. It can be difficult to consistently come up with news that will be worthwhile to your audience, but it gets easier when you start thinking of your newsletter like a mini magazine.

Brainstorm ideas for interesting recurring features and break up your info into installments.

The above example is from the first newsletter I put together for new client, 70 Proof Skin Care. Instead of telling my audience about every ingredient all at once, I decided to split the information up across multiple editions.

Rather than overwhelm subscribers with lots of text, I’m giving them a bite-sized bit of info in a featured I called “Ingredient Spotlight.”

GET PERSONAL

I cannot tell you how many emails I delete every day, all from companies I’ve signed up with at one point or another. Stand out among all these corporate emails by getting personal.

Connect with subscribers by communicating your enthusiasm or relaying a charming anecdote (only the highlights, almost like a Christmas card!).

As I say time and again, put yourself in your audience’s shoes. Would they be more likely to open an email addressed from you or from your company? If you’re a small business with a lot of subscribers you personally know, probably the former! MailChimp lets you edit the From field however you like, so you might consider making your communications look and sound less corporate.

SPREAD GOODWILL

Your newsletters don’t have to be self-congratulatory all the time. Acknowledge the people or companies that have helped you recently. Give thanks for recent features in publications. Put in a shout out to a fellow local company you really like. Maybe they’ll return the favor, maybe not!

Your audience will take notice of your friendliness and authenticity. Plus, it’s just good karma.

The newsletter from which the above examples are pulled went through many iterations and design tweaks. Now that you know how to write a good newsletter, look out for a future entry about how to design a good newsletter.

Good luck! Be useful and be nice!

​❤ Bayley