How to Run an Email Newsletter That Doesn’t Suck

Do you want to start an email newsletter that people actually read? It’s easier than you think, if you follow a few simple rules.

Quality over quantity

Could you imagine a room of 50 people being interested in listening to you? That’s a lot of people.

Even having just 50 people opening your emails and enjoying them is better than a big list of people who’d rather gouge their eyes out than read your sales pitch.

Don’t buy a list. Seriously.

Sure, it sounds like a shortcut, but trust me, it’s a dead-end street. You’re just asking to annoy a bunch of random people who don’t care about you—and that’s how you end up in the spam folder, permanently.

Build your list the right way, organically. Make people want to subscribe. Offer them something cool (like an e-book, discount, or cat memes, whatever works).

Write what your audience want to read, not what you want to sell

You’re probably tempted to talk about how great your product or service is, please, spare us.

People don’t care. What they do care about are solutions to their problems. So, focus on giving them what they need, tips, advice, and useful content.

Save the sales pitch for when your audience is buttered up and ready to buy.

Keep it targeted

Know your audience, what they want, then give it to them.

Sounds simple, but you’d be surprised. You’ll need to actually understand your buyer persona, who are you talking to, and then don’t be tempted to inflate your numbers with people who don’t matter.

If you try to talk to everyone, you end up talking to no-one.

Repeat yourself. Repeat yourself. Repeat yourself.

Open rates for email newsletters are typically around 20-25%. That means more than three quarters of your audience missed your last email. Don’t worry, it’s not personal.

If you have something important to say, say it again. And again. (But maybe with different wording to keep it fresh.)

Repurpose your content, recycle your blog posts, and make sure your message sticks.

Repurpose like a pro

You’ve worked hard on that blog post, video, or graphic, why let it rot on your website? Share snippets in your newsletter, on social media, and in emails.

One piece of content can live a full, vibrant life in multiple places. Don’t let it die alone in a forgotten corner of your blog.

Keep it short & sweet, but always with links to more

People are busy. Not everyone has time to read your 1,000-word masterpiece.

Keep your emails short, snappy, and visually appealing. Don’t cram everything into the email; get them curious, and link them back to your website for the juicy details. Your SEO will absolutely love the traffic too (but that’s a whole other story).

Need some help?

If you want to run a kick ass newsletter and need some help, send us a message, we can help.