How to Write a Newsletter in 9 Easy Steps

Why Email Newsletters Are Important

Here’s a quick summary of why you should make newsletters a core part of your marketing strategy:

• Email is permission-based marketing, so you’re reaching an audience that has opted-in to receive your content
• For every $1 spent on email marketing, the average return is $36 (according to Campaign Monitor)
• 59% of marketers say email is their biggest source of ROI (according to HubSpot)
• Newsletters help increase brand awareness and develop deeper connections with your audience
• You can repurpose other content (blogs, videos, etc.) in your newsletters to drive more traffic

The benefits of email newsletters are plentiful. Now let’s look at how to craft newsletters that actually get opened, read, and clicked!

Step 1: Define Your Goals and Audience

The first step is to get clear on your goals and who your target audience is. Different goals require different newsletter styles and content. For example, if your main goal is to drive sales, your newsletter should focus more on product features, promotions, and strong calls-to-action. If your goal is to build brand awareness, you’ll want more educational/entertaining content.

As for your audience, the more relevant and specific you can make your subscriber lists, the better. You can then tailor your newsletter content to match each segment’s particular interests and pain points.

Step 2: Choose Your Newsletter Type

There are different types of email newsletters you can send:

• Curated newsletters that summarize other sources (e.g. industry news, top blog posts)
• Original content newsletters with articles, how-to guides, etc.
• Product/service showcases and promotional offers
• A hybrid that combines a few different types of content.

Most businesses find success with a hybrid model that provides customers with a good mix of different groups of original, third-party, and promotional content.

Step 3: Create a Consistent Template

Using a consistent, branded template for your newsletters provides a professional look and creates familiarity with your audience over time.Your template should include:

• An eye-catching header with your logo
• A simple layout with clear sections and ample white space
• Branded colors, fonts, and styles that match your website
• Social media links to help grow your following
• A call-to-action (e.g. “Read the full post”) for individual content pieces

Addlly's AI Newsletter Builder simplifies this process by crafting both the content and design for your newsletters.

Step 4: Write Compelling Subject Lines

The subject line is the first impression your newsletter makes to readers. If it doesn’t catch your audience’s attention in the inbox, even the best content could go unread. Some tips for crafting click-worthy email subject lines:

• Use a conversational, friendly tone
• Spark curiosity by teasing the content (e.g. “You’ll never believe what happened…”)
• Include numbers and data (e.g. “10 Ways to Increase Productivity”)
• Personalize with the recipient’s name
• Keep it relatively short (6-10 words is the sweet spot)

And most importantly, always avoid anything misleading or clickbait-y that could erode trust with your readers attention subscribers.

Step 5: Craft Killer Preview Text

The preview text (also called pre-header or preview header) is the short summary text that follows the subject line when viewing an email. It gives your audience an additional reason to open and subscribe to your newsletter. Here are some tips for writing effective preview texts:

• Reiterate the subject line’s message or tease the content further
• Convey a sense of urgency or scarcity (e.g. “Only 3 days left!”)
• Ask a question to pique curiosity (e.g. “Are you making this mistake?”)
• Highlight the most valuable or interesting piece of content

Like subject lines, keep your preview text short and sweet – around 50-60 characters max.

Step 6: Write Your Newsletter Content

Now we can start writing the meat of your newsletter – the main content section. This is the point where you’ll want to spend the most time writing and formatting. Here are some tips for engaging newsletter content:

• Use an intro paragraph to quickly summarize what’s included
• Divide content into separate sections with heading tags (e.g. <h2>Section Title</h2>)
• Use bulleted or numbered lists to break up text
• Include high-quality images and graphics to visualize your points
• Link to deeper content on your website or blog
• Incorporate quotes, statistics, and data to add credibility
• End with a prominent call-to-action (e.g. “Download our free guide”)

Most importantly, make sure your written content provides real value by educating, entertaining, or helping your audience in some way.

Step 7: Optimize for Mobile

With over 60% of emails being opened on mobile devices, having a mobile-responsive email newsletter by design is critical. Fortunately, most modern email marketing tools automatically create a mobile-friendly version. However, there are still some best business practices to follow:

• Use a single-column layout that is easy to scroll and read on smaller screens
• Increase font sizes for better readability on mobile
• Use tap-friendly buttons and CTAs instead of small text links
• Limit image sizes to avoid excessive loading times on cellular connections

Send yourself a test email and view it on multiple devices to ensure it renders properly.

Step 8: Set Up Automated Delivery

One of the biggest advantages of email newsletters is the ability to automate the entire process. Most email marketing platforms allow you to:

• Schedule newsletters to go out at predetermined dates/times
• Set up automated RSS-to-email campaigns for blog updates
• Create autoresponder sequences to drip new content over time
• Automatically segment lists based on subscriber activity/interests

By automating your newsletter delivery, you ensure a consistent experience for your audience without having to manually hit “send” every time.

Step 9: Analyze and Optimize

Finally, be sure to review performance metrics for each newsletter campaign, such as:

• Open rates
• Click-through rates
• Unsubscribe rates
• Conversion rates (for promotional emails)

Look for trends and patterns in what content resonates best with your audience. Then, use those insights to refine your newsletter strategy over time. Most email platforms provide robust analytics dashboards to easily monitor and break down performance data.

Bonus Tip: Use Addlly AI’s Newsletter Builder Tool

Creating great email newsletters from scratch can be extremely time-consuming. But not with Addlly’s Newsletter Builder. First, you choose a template that suits your brand and content. Then, you describe the topic of your newsletter and add a call-to-action to prompt reader engagement.

You can provide source URLs to keep your content updated, select the language for your newsletter, and optionally include a product showcase. After reviewing and editing your newsletter, you can copy the HTML code generated by Addlly and integrate it into your email marketing platform for distribution. With Addlly’s Newsletter Builder, creating and distributing professional newsletters becomes a more streamlined and efficient process.

Get Started Now

Writing a newsletter requires careful planning, engaging content, and attention to detail. By defining your purpose, understanding your audience, and following the steps outlined in this guide, you can create newsletters that effectively communicate with your subscribers.

But if you’re looking to streamline your newsletter creation process and enhance its visual appeal, then GenAI tools like Addlly.ai‘s Newsletter Builder can be a valuable asset. It saves you time and effort while helping you create visually stunning newsletters that captivate your audience.

About Addlly AI

Established in 2023, Addlly AI is a Singapore-based tech company at the forefront of responsible AI development for content creation. Our suite of innovative Gen AI tools caters to businesses and marketing professionals seeking to streamline workflows and elevate the quality of their content.

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