What is a Newsletter?

A newsletter is a digital form of communication sent out in an email format to subscribers who’ve opted in to receive it. Used by both individuals and businesses, newsletters are a great tool for staying connected with customers, followers or clients. By including content that’s interesting and relevant to the user, businesses can use newsletters to increase customer loyalty and trust.

A newsletter builds a base of engaged subscribers eager to hear directly from you. It allows you to develop content that resonates with your audience, even if it falls outside of top search engine results. Newsletters let you forge deeper connections through content crafted specifically for subscribers, not just optimized for keywords. You can provide value on topics and in formats that speak to their interests, driving loyalty. A newsletter audience is there because they actively want to consume and engage with your content in their inbox. This owned and direct channel allows you to enrich relationships beyond what a blog or domain alone can do.

Dor Cohen, Growth and Distribution Specialist at Wix.com

Depending on its purpose, newsletters contain a variety of topic specific content—from news and blog articles to informative videos and advertisements. For example, if someone signs up to the Wix Blog weekly newsletter, they’ll receive articles on everything ranging from the best marketing strategies and web design tips, to guides on how to start a business and more.

Newsletters may also contain promotional items such as discounts that the subscriber can use to purchase products or services. No matter the type of content, newsletters are an effective way for brands to connect with their audience and establish themselves as thought leaders in their specific industries.

What are the benefits of a newsletter?

Below, we’ve outlined the five main benefits for brands to consider when they decide to curate a newsletter of their own:

01. Reach a wider audience

Newsletters enable businesses to reach a wider online audience, as opposed to relying on traditional marketing methods such as television or radio ads. Because they’re generally free, while enriching readers—businesses might reach potential new customers by sparking interest and engagement with their brand’s content.

02. Increase engagement with a brand

By creating content that’s interesting and relevant, newsletters can increase a brand’s customer loyalty and connection. Building relationships is an important aspect of any type of marketing, and newsletters are a great way to engage with readers by generating ongoing interest.

A newsletter cultivates an engaged readership that goes beyond the casual blog visitor from SERPs. It allows you to build a community around your content and establish deeper connections with your audience, keeping subscribers anticipating your next email and fostering brand loyalty. It provides a direct channel to share your latest posts, showcase different voices, and promote offerings - retaining readers between blog visits. A newsletter turns casual visitors into an invested audience that keeps growing alongside your blog.

Dor Cohen, Growth and Distribution Specialist at Wix.com

03. Build brand awareness and relevance

Newsletters provide an opportunity for businesses to build brand awareness by sharing their values and expertise with their readership. This can be even more impactful if newsletter content is adapted and shared on social media. Making your newsletter content shareable, and encouraging readers to send it to their friends, family and colleagues, is an effective way to spread your brand’s message.

04. Cost-effective marketing

Newsletters are a cost-effective method of marketing new products or services, compared to other forms of marketing. That’s because they don’t require large investments in terms of design, printing or distribution. For example, existing brands can repurpose content from blogs, whitepapers, webinars or social media for their newsletters, saving costs and resources.

05. Easily trackable

Businesses can easily track the success of their newsletters and email marketing campaigns. Most email marketing platforms provide brands with analytic dashboards or clear tracking codes that make it easy to pull performance data. From open rates and click-through rates to how many people read a post—these numbers can help brands plan similar content to increase future engagement rates.

If you send your newsletter through Wix’s email marketing platform, for example, you’ll have access to our full suite of website analytics tools to track the performance of your content.

Newsletter tracking metrics

Here are some important metrics to keep track of:

Open rate: Percentage of subscribers who opened the newsletter.

Click-through rate (CTR): Percentage of subscribers who clicked on a link included in the newsletter to view a webpage or other form of content.

Bounce rate: Percentage of subscribers who received the newsletter and didn’t open it.

Conversion rate: Percentage of subscribers who signed up for a product or service using a link in the newsletter.

Subscriber growth: Number of new subscribers who signed up within a specified time period.

Unsubscribe rate: Number of subscribers who opted out of the newsletter audience.

Types of newsletters

The most common newsletter types are informational, promotional and educational:

Informational newsletters provide readers with up-to-date information on a particular topic or industry. These typically include news articles, industry updates, product releases and other relevant content. A great example of this is the Foreign Policy Design Group’s newsletter.

Promotional newsletters are used to promote a brand’s products or services. These are newsletters that include special deals, discounts, coupons or other offers that encourage readers to take action and purchase from the business.

The UK retailer John Lewis is a great example of someone who’s nailed a promotional newsletter strategy, especially around holiday times when they want to engage consumers the most.

Educational newsletters provide readers with useful information related to their industry or topic. These newsletter can include tutorials, expert tips, case studies, industry trends and more. The Wix Blog newsletter is an example, providing readers with ongoing resources for creating and marketing their website and business.

What should be included in a newsletter?

Newsletter content can vary from brand to brand, depending on the goals, strategy and style of each. However there are a few essential things all newsletters should include:

Headline or title
Table of contents
Feature articles or content
Images, graphics, or multimedia
Contact information
Subscription or opt-out options
Links to company social media or website
Copyright or legal notices (dependent on country you're sending the newsletter in)

How to create an effective newsletter

Below, we’ll give you four steps to get started with creating a newsletter of your own. On top of these tips, we recommend you check out some of the best newsletter examples for inspiration:

01. Identify your audience

Before you make a newsletter, it’s important to understand who your audience is and what type of content they’re interested in. Your newsletters can be planned to elicit higher engagement rates by researching reader demographics and finding out what topics and formats resonate with them.

For example, if research reflects that the majority of your subscribers are small business owners, it makes sense to share content that’s relevant to entrepreneurs starting and managing a business on their own.

02. Create quality content

When writing a newsletter, quality content equals content that readers will value. Whether that’s industry news, informative articles, webinars or more—make sure it's relevant to the readership. On top of this, be sure to use a tone and voice that resonates with readers and remains consistent with your branding.

03. Keep it short and concise

Less is usually more when it comes to the length of your newsletter, since content that’s short and to the point will keep readers engaged more easily. The general recommendation is to keep newsletters between 200-400 words, or about 2-3 paragraphs—a good rule of thumb is that it should take no more than a few minutes to read an email.

Your goal is to find an engaging balance—too much content, and readers might lose focus or interest, but too little may not hook them. Of course, you can still provide a rich amount of material by including links to articles, videos, industry reports and more.

04. Include visuals

Visuals such as images, videos, infographics and interactive elements have a better chance of engaging newsletter readers. It’s also a chance to enhance brand recognition, by including your brand’s font, colors and your own logo design. With quality visuals, it’s also a great way to break up written content and enhance your newsletter’s overall design.

05. Test, test and test some more

To ensure your brand looks professional in readers’ inboxes, newsletter creators should test email campaigns before they go out to subscribers. We recommend sending it over to trusted colleagues or friends—having an extra pair of eyes to identify errors like grammar mistakes or broken links gives you a chance to perfect your newsletter content before it gets sent to the masses.

Newsletter distribution platforms

Once your newsletter design is ready and you have a content strategy in place, there are a variety of distribution platforms you can use to share it with readers.

Email marketing is an effective way to distribute a newsletter to reach this audience. Services such as Brevo, SendinBlue, or Constant Contact are examples of popular platforms for such distribution. These automated email marketing services allow brands to build a list of subscribers, send out newsletter campaigns and track performance with ease. Wix users can also take advantage of Wix Email Marketing, which includes powerful features for connecting with your website’s audience and beyond.

In addition, newsletter creators can leverage social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to share newsletter content with new followers.

How often should I send out my newsletter?

The frequency of your newsletter depends on your audience and how much content you have to distribute. It can be daily, weekly, monthly or on a customized schedule. Try to understand your audiences tolerance for how often they'd want to receive a newsletter from you, send it too often and you risk forcing them to unsubscribe but don't send it often enough and you may fail to engage them. The most important thing is consistency and this is key to maintaining reader engagement. Once you decide on a sending schedule, you should stick to it.

Are there legal considerations to sending out a newsletter?

Yes, depending on your location, there may be laws regarding email marketing, such as the CAN-SPAM Act in the US. It's important to comply with these regulations, including providing an opt-out option and honoring subscriber privacy otherwise you risk tough violation penalties.

Is it possible to monetize a newsletter?

Monetizing a newsletter is possible but not necessarily easy. You should first focus on building up a base of loyal subscribers who engage with your content before you consider monetizing your newsletter. Once you decide to commit to monetization there are a few ways you can do this:

Charging subscribers for premium content
Selling advertising space on your newsletter, or asking brands to sponsor it in exchange for a shout out or link to their product/services.
Promoting affiliate products or services
Using newsletters as part of a larger content marketing strategy to drive conversions to your own brand and business. This is a strategy popular with enterprise businesses.