How to Create a Newsletter | Essential Guide

There are so many different ways that you can communicate with your clients and target audience these days. Social media usage is constantly at super high levels these days, making everything from paid ads to in-house content valuable for getting a message out there. Similarly, there’s still plenty to be said for blogging, digital PR and link-building content. However, for many, understanding how to create a newsletter is something of a lost art. 

Email communications and regular send-outs might feel a little outdated, but if you have a good handle on newsletter writing and proper client targeting, it can be a very effective use of time. This article will answer the question of “How do I create a newsletter?”, touching on both the creative and technical aspects every business should consider. 

Determine the core purpose of the newsletter

Knowing how to make a newsletter feel essential starts by giving it a clear direction and purpose. Having a ‘North Star’ to follow in terms of motivation and content will make it a lot easier to collate information and formats that your target audience are actually going to care about. 

Some potential approaches to take include: 

• News curation. Taking a ‘state of affairs’ approach to the broader industry that you operate in, to save your subscribers time. 

• Guides for tasks. Writing detailed or basic guides to common paint point issues in your industry, offering your audience something for free. 
• Community & project breakdowns. Focusing on clients, projects or community outreach efforts to give a peek behind the curtain to your other subscribers. 

Getting the ‘why’ pinned down allows you to then focus on the ‘how’. 

Newsletter writing tips

Knowing how to create an email newsletter that actually has an impact requires you to understand how to hook your audience immediately, while communicating everything in 60 seconds or less. We’re operating in the era of short attention spans after all!

• Open with a clear HOOK headline that offers something of value
• Use snappy statements, bold text and bullet points to deliver on the promise of the hook
• Close with a call to action (CTA), such as “read the full case study”, “claim your discount” or “get in touch” to drive activity off the back 
• Follow general communicative guidelines, similar to developing landing pages, blogs or press releases 

Having a good baseline of copywriting skills is essential, but it’s important to format information for quick consumption. Transposing some data into infographics and including photography is always wise. 

Technical aspects for a good newsletter

There are some essential aspects that everyone needs to cover if they’re planning on making their newsletter a success. 

• Design the newsletter for mobile-first absorption with large buttons, a single column layout and high-contrast colour schemes
• Don’t send everything to everyone; use data to target specific sectors of your audience to make sure the response is as relevant as possible
• Make sure you follow a regular schedule, whether that means monthly, bi-weekly or weekly
• Regularly clean your contact list, to make sure the newsletters go to the most relevant parties possible

Start building your newsletter today

Take a balance of strong copywriting, data-driven audience segmentation and a purpose-driven approach, and you’ll know how to create a newsletter with impact. If you’re still not sure, get in touch with us at Digital Next. We’ve supported countless businesses in their outreach campaigns in many different forms, ensuring to keep quality content at the top of every communication. Collaborate with us and maximise the impact of your messaging.