How to Write and Format a Newsletter: The Ultimate Guide

Email marketing still works like a charm. Statistics have shown that: For every $1 spent on email marketing, expect a return on investment (ROI) of $36.

That’s why you need to embrace a robust email marketing strategy that can grow your audience 3x faster.

But for these figures to materialize in your own company, you should master the email marketing psychology and writing styles that get results.

Here are our tried and proven tips and hacks that will help you write an effective newsletter, format it like a pro, and achieve the above ROI:

1. Stick to Your Goal

Whilst there are ay different types of newsletters, the core question should be: what do I intend the newsletter achieve? Be sure to answer this question right before getting down to work. That way, your subscribers will know what to do.

Struggling to identify a goal? These will get you started in the right direction:

• Download an e-book
• Boost social media presence
• Increase sales
• Promote an offering
• drive traffic to a landing page etc

Consider the following newsletter from Litmus.

As you can see, its goal is to increase clicks and engagement rates. The subscribers can read their desired content based on the CTA they click. You can borrow a leaf from Litmus and build your newsletter up from there.

First, start with a headline or opening statement to introduce your goal. Secondly, mention the goal once or twice throughout the newsletter as you discuss it in detail. Finally, end with a powerful CTA.

Emphasize the goal and stay clear from ambiguity. Give the subscriber a clear direction of the action to take after going through your message.

2. Use Enticing Sender

The sender name and subject line can make or break your success. For proof, visit your spam folder and see those spammy “from” addresses and depressing subject lines. Do they capture your attention and interest? According to Convince & Convert, 43% of recipients click the spam button based on the email “from” or email address.

Use a human name and avoid generic addresses like [email protected]. You’re communicating to humans, so a real name helps build familiarity and cement business connections.

3. Craft an Enticing Subject Line

Attractive subject lines are crucial if you want more email subscribers to open your newsletter. Convince & Convert reveals that:

• 35% of subscribers open email newsletters based on subject lines alone
• 69% report emails spam based on subject lines

So, how can you hack the subject line to deliver positive results? Here are our tried and tested tips (use most or all of them).

• For starters, stay clear from boring subject lines. Something like “December Message” doesn’t captivate subscribers to click it.
• Your subject line should reveal the information contained in the newsletter. And be careful with click-baits- No one wants to dive into an email only to realize they aren't getting relevant content. That’s a sure way of losing your readers’ trust.
• Keep the subject brief. Shorter lines (55-70 characters) tend to outperform long ones. However, you may have to make it longer if your newsletters need clear identification.
• Be personal. 82% of marketers reveal that personalizing subject lines drives up open rates. Additionally, 75% of thought leaders agree that personalized subject lines can lead to skyrocketing click-through rates. When it comes to this tip, your best bet is to use the recipient’s name.
• Use time-sensitive subject lines. Thanks to FOMO (the fear of missing out), a sense of urgency drives click rates higher. Words like breaking, urgent, alert, and important should be your friends.
• Address a common concern. For instance, promise readers that by reading your newsletter, they’ve got a solution to their pain points, improve their lives or put a smile across their face.

Whatever you do, be sure the subject line pique your readers’ curiosity and drive them to click it for more information. For instance, “How to X3 Your Sales in Just 1 Hour” sounds intriguing, right?

You can also spice up your subject line with “power words” to stimulate subscribers and appeal to their emotions. The words include:

• Blissful
• Amazing
• Jaw-dropping
• Mind-blowing

4. Start with a Killer Opening Line

Your readers have clicked that subject line. Kudos!

But the sender name and email subject lines aren’t always what people see first. GASP!

Your opening line is also equally important, so maintain the rhythm. A powerful opening line will entice the readers to diver deeper.  

Most email clients reveal a portion of the newsletter directly in the email browser. The reader can read this portion without opening the whole message.

See this desktop screenshot of an email program:

And another screenshot of a mobile email app…

So, what should your opening line contain? Here are the best tips:

• Address each recipient by their first name. it further personalizes and authenticates the messages
• Stay clear of the dry, tired “Hi, I’m so and so…”
• “I realized that we both…” or “I saw that you…” sounds powerful. Such approaches spark interest and build a better relationship since you’ve drawn upon a common experience.

Go straight to the point and make a connection instantly. Try drowning readers in preliminary chatting, and they’ll flee in a huff to save their precious time.

5. Connect in the Body

It’s time to connect with the readers and show how your offerings can bring value to their lives.

Keep it short and simple (KISS). Don’t overwhelm your readers with extraneous details. Create some rapport, attract their attention, and warm them up to push the potential customers through your sales funnel.

• Split up the body into short, easy-to-digest paragraphs and sections
• Write in the second person and befriend the pronoun “you” throughout the newsletter.
• Spice up the content with personal questions like Do you have any questions?

6. Let the Body Shine

You’re compiling diverse topics in one newsletter. Therefore, ensure the package is cohesive. Make scanning a breeze, and the readers will dive into what attracts them most.  

Pick up a local daily and visit the sports page to see what we are talking about. See how it’s broken into a separate article using lines or spacing. And while every article talks about something different, they all have a consistent theme.

• Plain Text vs. HTML emails

 As the name suggests, a plain text email doesn’t involve formatting, graphics, or images. Sounds boring? But according to research, plain text can boost your open rates. They offer greater consistency and ensure all email receipts can digest your newsletters.

Email clients (a computer program that accesses and manages a person’s emails) may frown at HTML-heavy emails and filter them. In fact, HubSpot reveals that Gmail’s default “promotions” filter tends to flag “salesy” emails and deny them entry to users’ inboxes.

Furthermore, HTML emails appear differently in different email clients- The way Gmail displays these emails may look different from how Outlook does. Some browsers, email clients, and screen-readers (for physically challenged users) may not even display the HTML formats due to technical reasons.

That said,  HTML can boost the impact and engagement of your newsletter content. With it, you can spice up your email with your brand’s logos and colors, divide the content into manageable sections, and use enticing CTAs to link to your site. Also, you can use font sizes and colors to organize your newsletter body into an easy-to-follow hierarchy. Readers may find it challenging to pinpoint crucial information in plain text format since everything appears the same.

So, what should be your best bet? We recommend you grab the best of both worlds. You can easily switch from HTML text to plain text with most email marketing platforms. Also, if you’re worried that your snazzy HTML email may not be displayed correctly, you can include an option of viewing the content as a web page on their browser.  

• Crafting an attractive HTML newsletter template

Your newsletters are a regular series. Therefore, they should have a consistent newsletter design and unifying visual elements. That’s where a template comes in to help. Your template needs to have these visual spices:

• Use a fixed width, not a fluid layout: Set horizontal dimensions to enable your readers to read without rotating their mobile devices or scrolling from side to side.
• Include a header: It captures readers’ interest, introduces hierarchy, and boosts your branding.
• Sections: Visually divide the body into sections, considering that each section will talk about something different. The most engaging or crucial section should appear at the top. Will your sections have varying sizes? Be sure the most crucial topic occupies the most space.
• Social Buttons: Who doesn’t want people to follow their social media accounts or profiles?
• Logo: It’s your brand’s most crucial visual element
• Headings: Helps in introducing visual hierarchy and dividing sections.
• Your face: The readers want to know that human face being all that juicy talk. It boosts human connections and cement business relationships.
• CTAs and links: Link back to social or website pages to increase engagement, clicks, reads, and other desired metrics
• Share button: Let people share the newsletter directly without navigating away.
• Footer: Mimic your website’s footer to cement your brand and provide contact details.

But let’s face it- Unless you know your way around design, programming, and email clients, crafting a template from the ground up isn’t a walk in the park. That’s why you need a pro in that game.

Get a ZOEY Newsletter Writer and Skyrocket Your ROI

You now have our sure-fire tricks that deliver results if implemented well. But you don’t have time to weave them into your email marketing efforts.

Don’t fret. Every freelance writer in our top-in-class team knows how to write a newsletter that gets read. We can craft:

• Daily newsletter
• Weekly newsletter,
• Monthly newsletters, 
• Biweekly newsletter, and more.

Start increasing your email marketing ROI today by checking out our content writing services here!

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash: Thanks Brett : )