Last Updated: March 2025
Email newsletters are a powerful tool for connecting with your audience, yet crafting one that people actually open and read is no small feat. In fact, studies show that the average email open rate across industries is just 21.33%, according to Mailchimp.
With so much competition in inboxes, how do you ensure your newsletter doesn’t end up ignored, deleted, or worse—marked as spam? The key lies in creating content that resonates with your audience, grabs their attention immediately, and delivers real value.
In this article, we’ll explore actionable strategies about “how to write a newsletter email “ that not only get read but also leave a lasting impression on your subscribers.
What is Newsletter Marketing?
Newsletter Marketing is a kind of direct email advertising where organizations or individuals ship out regular, value-rich communication to an inventory of subscribers. Its main goal is to provide interactions, education, and building relationships with an audience while precisely marketing the products, services, or brand awareness.
Spammy promotional emails that only focus on selling may not work as well as newsletters, which provide the subscribers with relevant and valuable information like:
- Industry insights or updates
- Educational resources (how-to guides, tips)
- Exclusive offers, deals, or event announcements
- Company news, product launches, or success stories
Benefits of Newsletter Marketing:
- Audience Engagement: Sending out regular newsletters ensures your audience knows about what’s happening in your community and keeps them engaged with the brand.
- Lead Nurturing: Build trust and relationships over time, converting subscribers into loyal customers.
- Cost-Effective Promotion: Newsletters are one of the most cost-effective marketing modes and are highly measurable as compared to other marketing methods.
- Traffic Generation: Drive readers to your website, blog, or landing pages.
This unique aspect of newsletter marketing makes it so effective because, at its core, newsletter marketing is a value-first communication method that makes people excited about your emails. When done right, it helps bolster credibility, engender customer loyalty, and drive measurable business results.
How to Write a Successful and Engaging Newsletter
Building a newsletter that will interest readers is more than just clicking send. It’s about providing value, developing trust, and generating interest.
With 81% of B2B marketers using newsletters as their primary content marketing tool, it’s more important than ever to shine in crowded inboxes.
Here’s how to create a high-converting and engaging newsletter that keeps subscribers opening, reading and clicking.
1. Understand Your Audience
The basics of writing an email newsletter people actually read start with knowing who you’re writing for. Your audience will have specific preferences, pain points, and an intersection of interests that can inform your content and help you resonate with your audience.
Begin by analyzing your subscriber data and segmenting your email list based on demographics, purchase history, or engagement levels. For example, you can send existing customers product updates and new subscribers educational content.
Tools like surveys and analytics platforms can also provide valuable insights into what your audience wants.
2. Craft a Compelling Subject Line
The subject line of the email is the door and the key to open this door. If it doesn’t catch the eye, your email probably won’t be opened. A strong subject line is concise, and interesting and offers a reason for readers to click.
Here are a few tips:
- Keep it under 50 characters.
- When you can, personalize (i.e., include the subscriber’s name).
- Inspire urgency or a sense of curiosity (i.e., “Last Chance: 50% Off Today Only” or “5 Ways You Can Start Today”).
- Never say the equivalent of “FREE!!! ” or overusing emojis, as this can harm deliverability.
3. Write an Engaging Opening
The opening sentence of your email sets the entire email’s tone and feels like a determining factor as to whether or not the readers persist with the email or abandon the email under 5 seconds. Hook them from the start and make it count.
Effective techniques include:
- Inquiring a question that makes the recipient think.
- Presenting an unexpected fact or statistic.
- Narrating an interesting or relatable story.
For example:
“Did you know that 70% of customers want to interact with brands that provide personalized content? Here’s how you can make a difference.”
4. Focus on Value-Packed Content
Your subscribers are asking themselves, “What’s in it for me?”. Any newsletter should provide some value, be it tips, special offers or curated resources.
Value-packed content ideas:
- Industry insights and trends.
- Inside updates on your business.
- Blog posts, videos or resources that address a specific issue.
Including visuals such as images, infographics, or GIFs can turn your email into a more engaging and easy-to-consume medium.
5. Keep it Concise and Easy to Read
In an age of information overload, less is more. Most emails are skinned, so be clear and brief. Structure your content with:
- Short paragraphs and bullet points
- Headings that guide the reader as to what they can expect.
- Lots of white space to keep the reader from becoming distracted.
Also, make sure your email is optimized for mobile. Responsive design is essential, with more than half of all emails opened on mobile devices.
6. Include a Clear Call-to-Action (CTA)
Every email should have a purpose, be it driving traffic to your website, promoting a product, or encouraging feedback. Hence it should have a clear and concise call-to-action (CTA) that tells readers what to do next.
Best practices for CTAs:
- Use action-oriented copy (e.g., “Download Guide,” “Shop Now,” or “Join the Webinar”).
- Do Not Write Too Many CTAs Within an email, limit to one or two CTAs.
- Design buttons and hyperlinks that are visually unique.
7. Optimize for Deliverability and Timing
If your content doesn’t make it to your subscriber’s inbox, not even the best of the best will perform well. To improve deliverability:
- Reputable email service provider
- Stay away from spam keywords and spammy linking.
- Ensure you clean your email list from time to time and unsubscribe the inactive subscribers.
Timing also matters. Test on different days and at different times to see when your audience interacts with your content the most. Some research suggests midweek mornings tend to be a sweet spot for many.
8. Test, Measure, and Improve
Testing and optimization must be part of your newsletter strategy. With A/B testing, you can conduct experiments with different versions of a subject line, content, or CTAs and see which one resonates best.
Track key metrics such as:
- Open rates: The number of users who opened your email.
- Click-through rates: The number of people who click on links in your email.
- Unsubscribes: The number of people who unsubscribe after getting your email.
Use these insights to iteratively improve your approach.
Email Newsletter Best Practices
If you are ready to create your newsletter, you need to follow the steps above. To increase the chances that you succeed, here are some best practices to help guide you, regardless of your newsletter’s format:
1. Keep it Short and Sweet
Make sure you do not bombard the viewers with too many words or pictures, strive for balance. If your newsletter has photos, whether you are using it, must direct your message. Make sure your email is concise and interesting enough to keep people to the end.
2. Provide Valuable Content
Your audience isn’t going to appreciate an inbox stuffed with ads. Instead, provide helpful insights, practical advice, and links to helpful sites. You make the subscription worth it to make the viewers informed and inspired.
3. Test Before Sending
Broken links or clunky designs are among the most frustrating things of all. Send test emails to yourself and a trusted colleague, so you can catch errors and get their input. Also, test your emails across devices (desktop and mobile) to make sure they render well across platforms.
4. Use A/B Testing
Go beyond basic testing by experimenting with A/B testing. This technique allows you to identify what resonates with your audience—whether it’s subject lines, CTA placement, or content format. Use the results to refine and optimise your email strategy.
5. Prioritize Mobile-Friendliness
Considering that almost 60% of emails are opened on mobile, making your newsletter mobile-responsive is indispensable. Use responsive email templates to ensure that your content is viewable and looks good on any device.
6. Be Mindful of Email Frequency
How many emails you send, matters. Sending emails too often can risk losing recipients, but too infrequent emails can make readers simply forget about you.
Determine the right frequency, one that lets your audience hear from you on a regular without feeling bombarded.
If you stick to these best practices, you’ll create newsletters that are valuable, visually appealing, and appreciated by your audience.
Newsletter Content Ideas
It is both an art and a science to create an awesome newsletter, that will keep your audience intrigued.
Keeping your readers engaged is essential as 49% of consumers are actually excited to receive promotional emails from their favourite brands every week.
In this section, you’ll learn about top topics to write newsletters about that will be open and get people talking.
1. Curated Industry News and Trends
Share new trends, news, or important information related to your sector. A more curated roundup pulls together what matters on this topic and ultimately saves your readers time.
It will position your brand as a go-to resource for staying informed about what matters most in their space.
2. Educational Content or How-To Guides
Add value with practical resources like tips, step-by-step tutorials, and “how-to” articles. Share quick methods for solving issues with real-time solutions.
Such kind of content not only gives valuable tips that readers can follow but also establishes trust in your expertise.
3. Exclusive Discounts and Offers
Give your subscribers special offers, promo codes, or early access to new products or services. Exclusivity not only increases sales opportunities but also gives subscribers a valuable feeling of being in your email list.
4. Company Updates or Behind-the-Scenes Content
What’s new at your company; product launches, events, milestones or behind-the-scenes looks at your team. This makes your brand more relatable and therefore appealing to your audience.
5. Customer Success Stories or Case Studies
Feature customer reviews, testimonials, or case studies to highlight how your customer’s life improved from your product or service.
Use a real-life success story as proof. A success story in real life shows social proof, inspiring where and how your potential comes by inquiring about what you supply.
6. Personalized Recommendations
Provide content or product recommendations where appropriate, based on reader interests. “You might also enjoy …” recommendations or links to resource personalized content increase engagement by meeting your audience’s needs and interests.
7. Upcoming Events or Webinars
Market your virtual or in-person events, webinars, or workshops you think your audience might find useful and list the registration link. It keeps readers up to date on ways to continue learning or interacting with your band.
8. Engaging Surveys or Polls
Use short surveys or polls to make your readers more engaged. This serves to increase engagement but also to give valuable data that can be used to enhance your content.
9. Top Content Roundups
Post a monthly or weekly roundup with a link to the best-performing blog posts, videos or social media posts to bring more traffic back to you. Roundups provide your audience with a summary of content they may have missed.
10. Inspirational Stories or Quotes
Share motivational stories, inspirational quotes, or relatable content that match your brand’s voice and brighten your audience’s day. Such uplifting messages spark positivity and let your readers feel in touch with your values.
Saufter: Best Email Marketing Automation Software
Saufter is a customer engagement and email marketing platform that leverages user behaviour data and journey stages on your website or portal to provide tailored campaign recommendations.
For instance, if a user hasn’t engaged with a specific feature, Saufter might suggest a relevant “how-to” article to encourage adoption. Each week, you’ll receive fully drafted emails and in-app campaigns ready for your approval, saving you time and effort.
Additionally, Saufter analyzes your competitors’ latest blog content and recommends campaigns based on trending topics to keep you ahead.
Key Features Include:
- Automated user segmentation into cohorts based on behaviour
- AI-driven email campaign suggestions to boost conversions and reduce churn
- Automated SEO campaign recommendations
- Predictive insights for user conversion and churn prevention
Conclusion
Writing an email newsletter that people actually read requires a mix of valuable content, thoughtful design, and consistency. By focusing on your audience’s needs and preferences, you can create newsletters that not only get opened but also drive engagement.
Remember, 64% of small businesses use email marketing to reach customers, proving its effectiveness when done right.
Tools like Saufter can simplify this process by automating user segmentation, campaign suggestions, and even content recommendations, helping you deliver targeted, engaging newsletters effortlessly.
Start implementing these strategies today and watch your email marketing efforts turn into meaningful results.
