Newsletters are probably the form of email marketing that businesses and consumers are most familiar with. They provide the perfect excuse to visit your subscribers’ inbox whether it be monthly, weekly or even daily and help you stay top of mind.

Why are newsletters so popular?

The New York Times newsletter readers read two times as many stories as those who don’t receive newsletters. They’re also two times as likely to become paid subscribers. They have  more than 50 newsletters with a grand total of 14 million subscribers. It’s the goal of their newsletters to “build meaningful relationships with readers by delivering our original, world-renowned journalism and product experiences straight to their inbox.” Newsletter readers spend 80% more time on NewYorkTimes.com than non subscribers. Email newsletters can significantly boost your website engagement.

So, what makes for a lovable newsletter?

Here are a handful of tips for making a newsletter that your subscribers will love:

  1. Keep your subscribers in mind. Sure you’re sharing updates about your company and goods and services, but it must be with your subscribers’ needs in mind. Solve their problems and you’ll see the results.
  2. Choose a template that can be customized for your brand. There are some services that offer HTML email templates, such Stripo.email and many others. Make sure you choose a newsletter template that’s set up to serve your goals for your newsletter and that it feels like it comes from your company.
  3. Use subheaders. Attention spans are at an all time low and subscribers will more than likely be skimming your email. Make it easy for them with subheaders.
  4. Keep it short and simple. Use teasers for each piece of content and bring your subscribers to your website to read the rest.
  5. Use captivating images. Grab those skimmers’ attention with some great photos or graphics.
  6. Send regularly. Monthly newsletters may be the most popular, but some businesses prefer to send weekly or even daily. You want to stay top-of-mind with your subscribers so that your business is the first they think of when they’re in need of your goods or services.
  7. Check your reports. It’s important to track what is (or isn’t) working with your newsletters. If your open rate could use a boost, test different subject lines and make sure you have a familiar From Name. If your click-through rate could be higher, try including different content in your newsletters.

At Benchmark Email, we love newsletters as much as the businesses who use our tools to send them. And we see a lot of them!

We ❤️ Newsletters

I asked the Benchmark team across the globe to share some of their favorite newsletters with all of you.

Here’s what they had to say:

Adastros Cruz – The Artist Formerly Known as Senior Marketing Designer – Guatemala

What I love about this email from Grammarly is how the content is goal oriented, this was their ‘new year’ email and at the end of it they included a recap of their 2018 but kept it customer-focused.

See the full email here.

Grammerly newsletter 1 of 2

Grammerly newsletter 2 of 2

What I love about this newsletter from Muzli is the content I get, but also how simple it is, just an image a graphic and a clear short and sweet CTA.

Muzli newsletter

Daniel Miller – Marketing Director – USA

Subaru is one of my favorite newsletters.

If you’ve ever owned a Subaru, you’ve experienced what it means to be part of the Subaru family.

Subaru’s real marketing kicks in after one has purchased a vehicle.

From tips to where to camp, hike and travel with your new baby (the car that is) to new releases, rally competitions they’ve won and even experiences shared by other drivers.

No matter what level of “car expert” you are, Subaru speaks their customers language. Adventure, discovery and fun!

Their newsletter backs their message and creates brand loyalty. I ❤️ my Subaru and the way the company treats me.

Subaru newsletter

Fernanda Brito – Social Media & Digital Partner – Mexico

I really liked the content in this email from Cracks, it is also practical and quick to read, without a doubt I expect the next email. ?

Cracks newsletter

I like the design of this Cool Hunger MX email which has a lot of color and notes of interest as well as city events related to art and design.

Cool Hunter MX newsletter

Love Veg always shares new recipes and ideas according to the seasons of the year.

Love Veg newsletter

Ronald Liang – Frontend Development Manager – USA

Kumar Guarav – Email Deliverability & Support – India

They say great minds think alike and Ronald and Kumar shared love for the same email. Here’s what they said:

Ronald: I love receiving these newsletters from Smashing Magazine, because they’re a quick way to catch up on the latest web design news and topics. Their newsletter is text-heavy, but they do throw in some playful graphics of their mascot here and there that keeps it fun.

Kumar: I love the way these guys present the entire newsletter, the content at the top includes a brief description/welcome message from the Editor, Table of content at the top with every article numbered and linked accordingly to the actual article in the newsletter. Proper spacing between the articles, fonts large enough to be readable on all devices. Sponsor ads being marked accordingly and finally at the end, sender information and the purpose of the newsletter. Everything is presented in a very professional format.

Smashing Newsletter

Kristen Pon – Senior Product Designer – USA

I also love getting Action Rocket’s newsletters because it keeps me up to date with email industry news (they compile articles from various sources). Also, over time I’ve seen them test out various things to push email boundaries like switching up their layouts, adding interactions, etc because of who their audience is. (At the top they mention they use experimental code)

Sorry, the forwarding of their newsletter breaks those things so you can’t see it.. but this is what their newsletter normally looks like.

Action Rocket newsletter

Action Rocket also does special newsletters every so often, like this one here. It’s goal is to show how much of an email shows above the fold.

Special Action Rocket newsletter

Yamile Flores – Learning Experience Designer – Mexico

I have a lot of subscriptions in several newsletters: fashion, shoes, food, recipes, but this that comes from NESTLE I really love it, Why? As you can see since the subject line has my  son’s name, then this newsletter reminds when my son turns months /years and what he should achieve in that month, some recipes I can cook for him and other important facts relative to his age. So I really love to read it and keep it. It’s a pity the promotions are just for Spain, not for México, but still I like it. I reminds me to say Congratulations Jaden! Every month.

Nestle newsletter

Denise Keller – COO – USA

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE getting this email from Tim Ferriss every Friday like clockwork.

It’s 5 bullets, so it’s quick and easy to read while I’m sitting a traffic light.  It is always informative and I inevitably learn something I didn’t know before.

Tim Ferriss newsletter

This is one of my top 5. I’m forever taking screenshots of this newsletter from Scott’s Cheap Flights and sending them to family and friends saying “Let’s GO!”

I love the easy to read format and the info telling the best way to book this particular flight.

Scott's Cheap Flights newsletter

Even though I rarely cook, I thoroughly enjoy Ina Garten’s occasional newsletter emails.

They are super basic, no fancy graphics with an easy link to her recipe.  My husband and I actually made this one and it was FAB!

Barefoot Contessa newsletter

Alvaro Rosado – Product Design – Mexico

I like this email for the brightness of the images, the animations and the clarity of the message. The text is really easy to read and understand. Also it has clear call to actions that allow me to understand what to do next.

Uber Eats newsletter

Jason Ashley – Web App. Development Manager – USA

I like the Crunchbase Daily newsletter because it gives links to the latest updates of companies to watch, and the subject line refers to the companies too. Goes to variety of blogs. The newsletter content is a lead in to a blog. Also, the blogs have links to outside resources used for research, so the newsletter is like a gateway to different blogs and the different blogs have multiple resources which are commonly other blogs on the same subject.

Crunchbase Daily newsletter

I like this Node Weekly newsletter because it references the latest updates of node.js a programming language I like to stay on top of. The sections reference multiple resources from a variety of common well known blogs from different community services. It really helps to stay on top of what’s new, and if nothing new, to see the items those in the community feel are important.

Node Weekly newsletter

This is my favorite of all time. It gives the graphs of my favorite currencies, their projected short term trend, the give rates, the levels they see as resistance and support to watch for. Allows for a quick view of trend and cross currency comparison on similar pairs. This is my absolute favorite email for the last 7 years since I found it.

FX Pro newsletter

Bulat Kutliev – Frontend Engineer – Russia

I like Medium’s customized feed for me, with additional nice recommended topics. Topics are sorted from more specific to common articles. The design is also minimalistic and neat.

Medium Daily Digest newsletter

Lucas Braga Peres – Customer Engagement Specialist – Brazil

The content has my name and the name of the course that I have done here in Brazil on the main text. Then, they suggested more courses based on my certification level, with CTAs and images. Also, they have social media links and the image and text proportion is ok.

PADI newsletter

Emperatriz Ortegón – Marketing Designer – Colombia

I really like video games, especially the competition and co-op games. always I want to know any news, updates or offers for video games that I play, so I choose this email from my favorites. Epic Games aaaalways sends me information about events, new maps, new game styles on the platform. I also like how they use colors, images and the newsletter structure is not too rigid and clean.

Fortnite newsletter