The Beginner’s Guide to Writing Your First Email Newsletter

Email newsletters keep subscribers updated on your latest news, products, and services. But they can be more than just updates; they can offer opportunities for businesses to foster trust with their audiences. 

If you haven’t yet created an email newsletter, doing so can seem daunting. Luckily, I’ve put together a beginner’s guide to help you get started. In this post, I’ll cover everything needed for crafting an effective newsletter that engages your readers and builds loyalty with them. Let’s get started!

Why Email Newsletters are a Great Way to Connect With Your Audience

Email newsletters help you stay connected with your audience, keep them informed about new developments in your industry, and even promote your products or services. They can create an engaging story or narrative around the topics that matter most to your business and provide valuable content that keeps readers coming back for more. And, given their format, email newsletters are an extremely cost-effective way to reach a large, engaged audience. 

Email newsletters are also great for building trust with your readers—you can use them to showcase recent work or successes, highlight customer reviews, or share exclusive offers. In short, email newsletters are a powerful tool for building relationships with your audience and can be an invaluable asset to any business. 

How to Create an Email Newsletter Campaign that Works

Creating an email newsletter campaign can be successful with the right tools and strategies. Here are some tips to help get your newsletter campaigns off the ground:

1. Start With a Plan

Begin by deciding on the goals and objectives of your newsletter. What do you hope to accomplish? Will it be sent monthly, quarterly, or weekly? What topics will you cover? Make sure you have clear answers to these questions before you begin.

2. Identify Your Target Audience

Take the time to define the target audience of your email newsletter. Consider demographics such as age, gender, location, industry, and interests. What kind of content would they be interested in?

3. Write Compelling Copy

Once you’ve identified your target audience, it’s time to start writing! Craft compelling and engaging headlines, subheadings, and body text that speak to the needs and interests of your readers. Make sure your email copy is engaging and not too long so your readers can read through it quickly and take it all in with ease. 

4. Create a Schedule

Set up a regular schedule for sending out newsletters. It will create a sense of reliability with your subscribers and ensure your readers look forward to hearing from you.

5. Optimize for Mobile Devices

Most people read their emails on their phones, so optimize your newsletter for mobile viewing. Always preview the content before sending it out to ensure everything looks good on a small screen.

6. Analyze Your Data

After sending out your newsletter, tracking how readers respond is important. Analyze email metrics like open rates, click-throughs, and other metrics to measure the success of your campaign.

Tips for Writing Great Email Newsletter Content 

Incorporate visuals: Visuals can be a great way to draw your reader’s attention and make your content more engaging. Try adding relevant images, GIFs, or videos to break up the text.

Keep it fresh: Keep your content new and interesting by providing unique insights and information that readers won’t find elsewhere.

Include a compelling call-to-action: Let readers take action on your message by providing a clear, concise CTA.

Use storytelling techniques: Tell a story with your content to create an emotional connection and make it more memorable for your audience.

Don’t be afraid to go deep: You may want to avoid overwhelming readers with too much information; providing more in-depth content will make your newsletter stand out from the crowd and give readers valuable insights.

Provide value: Ensure you provide real value to your readers by sharing helpful tips and advice or offering exclusive discounts or promotions.

Write with personality: At the end of the day, readers want to connect with an authentic voice behind the content. Feel free to let your personality shine through in your writing.

Tools and Resources to Help You Get Started

Writing a successful email newsletter requires more than putting words together. You need the right tools and resources to help you create an engaging, effective message that will capture your readers’ attention and make them want to keep coming back for more. Here are some tools and resources for writing an email newsletter:

Email Marketing Software

Investing in effective email marketing software like Benchmark Email can help you create and deliver effective newsletters quickly and easily. Benchmark Email is a user-friendly platform that allows users to create and manage email newsletters, analyze performance metrics, add personalization for individual subscribers, and access tons of email templates. 

Benchmark Email’s Smart Content, powered by OpenAI, allows users to craft fresh content that keeps their emails engaging and fresh. And with their Smart Sending feature, you can put a hold on sending your emails to unengaged subscribers, which will increase your deliverability.  

Content Calendar

Create a content calendar that outlines the topics you plan to cover in your monthly newsletter. A content roadmap will help ensure that each issue is organized and covers all the necessary points while also allowing you to maintain a consistent brand voice.

Writing Process

Define a clear process for writing your newsletter. It could include brainstorming ideas, researching topics, writing drafts, and editing. A clear process helps you stay on track and ensures that your monthly newsletter will be consistent.

Design Templates

Invest in a design template for your email newsletters to give them a professional look and feel. There are many templates available online or through email marketing software that you can customize to fit your brand.

Subscriber Surveys

Run surveys or polls with your subscribers to collect their feedback and find out what topics they’d like to see in future newsletters. It helps you stay on top of the latest trends and write relevant content for your readers.

Examples of Successful Email Newsletters

Email newsletters connect with your customers and keep them up to date on your company’s latest news. Some of the most successful email newsletters out there have found success by creating content tailored to their target audience.

One example is the Sephora newsletter which caters to their beauty-focused customers. Each month, they send out a new newsletter with information about the latest products in stores, helpful tips for using those products, and exclusive offers only available to subscribers.

Another example of successful newsletter content comes from the REI newsletter. Their content focuses on helping customers get outside and be more active with their friends and family. Each month, they send out a newsletter filled with stories of people getting out and exploring nature and tips for camping, hiking and other outdoor activities. They also provide exclusive offers only available to subscribers.

Finally, the Airbnb newsletter is a great example of how to create content that appeals to your target audience. From sharing inspiring stories about people who have used Airbnb for unique travel experiences to providing valuable tips on getting the most out of their stay, their newsletter is sure to keep customers engaged.

Getting started with your email newsletter doesn’t have to be daunting and overwhelming. Use the tips mentioned above and sign up for a free Benchmark Email account to get started.

Author Bio

Kevin is the CEO, Founder of Aemorph. A seasoned entrepreneur and digital marketing expert. Kevin started in digital marketing, specializing in Search Engine Optimization since 2010, and is helping Finance, Insurance, eCommerce, Medical, B2B, and SaaS companies.