{"id":5072,"date":"2026-09-07T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nodigitalbrain.com\/?p=5072"},"modified":"2026-10-08T15:31:30","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T13:31:30","slug":"how-to-create-a-newsletter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nodigitalbrain.com\/en\/marketing-automation\/how-to-create-a-newsletter\/","title":{"rendered":"How to create a newsletter people actually want to read"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Let\u2019s start here: how many unread emails<\/strong> do you have in your inbox? It\u2019ll sound counterintuitive, but \u2013 trust us! \u2013 this is exactly where we need to begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because newsletters<\/em> are, in fact, a powerful marketing tool<\/strong>, and they\u2019re even coming back into fashion (just think of the success of Substack<\/a>). But they work in a sneaky way. In other words: while with a blog post you<\/em> have to go looking for it, a newsletter is content that \u201ccomes to your house,\u201d or rather reaches your (digital, of course) address and slips into your own private space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is exactly the point we come back to whenever we talk about how to create a newsletter<\/em>. After all, plenty of companies fall into a strange delusion of omnipotence<\/strong>. They may think (rightly or wrongly) that they\u2019re the \u201cleader in sector X,\u201d and that this entitles them to bombard the poor user with messages until they hit the Unsubscribe button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re saying all this because, before creating a newsletter \u2013 that is, before writing it<\/em> \u2013 there\u2019s something far more important you need. And that\u2019s a strategy<\/strong>. It\u2019s mainly strategy that we want to talk about here, along with a few other tips<\/em> on how to create and launch an effective newsletter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read on to see what we\u2019ve put together for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first step is defining a strategy<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve said it, and we\u2019ll say it again: the first step is defining a strategy<\/strong>. If we start out by \u2018borrowing\u2019 random newsletter ideas here and there, without adapting them to your sector and your audience and without adding anything new, we\u2019ve already lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep in mind \u2013 rightly so \u2013 that there\u2019s no such thing as a perfect newsletter. There\u2019s no single type (or strategy) of newsletter that works equally well for someone selling industrial bolts and someone running a colorful-socks e-commerce store. Every market sector and every target audience calls for a completely different approach<\/strong>. The same goes for consultants and\/or freelancers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at a few examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If your brand is in the fashion<\/em> space, your audience is probably looking for inspiration, new trends, style advice; or simply details on promotions and deals. It all depends on the type of audience and what you sell: maybe you offer basics, timeless essential pieces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In that case, your buyers care little about the Paris runways or the latest extravagant trends. What they\u2019re after is practicality, fabric quality; they want to know how to wash that white T-shirt without shrinking it on the first wash, or how to put together three pieces for the office without losing their minds in the morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See why generic \u201cstyle advice\u201d as an argument tends to fall flat? The type of content you send by email needs to be really, truly targeted<\/strong> and really, truly useful<\/strong>. Not useful in some abstract sense, but useful to the people who buy from you<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, before you even write the email, you need to map out your audience \u2013 taking your sector into account. It\u2019s about getting inside your customer\u2019s head<\/em> and understanding what their real, everyday need is in relation to what you sell. That way you avoid ending up as the pushy salesperson and instead design a standing appointment<\/strong> (by email) that people are glad to show up for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Types of newsletters \u2013 which one should you choose for your business?<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Once you\u2019ve calibrated the content to your target\u2019s real needs, you need to choose the right structure. Needless to say: not every newsletter should take the same form. To keep things simple, here we\u2019ll narrow the main models down to three broad categories:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The editorial newsletter<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

With an editorial newsletter you\u2019re not selling anything, at least not directly. Instead, you offer guides, insights, solutions<\/strong> to specific problems or trends in your industry. That\u2019s why it\u2019s the perfect choice if you offer services, consulting, or sell complex products that require a considered decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The psychological mechanism is simple: if today you solve a small problem for your reader for free, tomorrow, when they need a professional and have to reach for their wallet, they\u2019ll remember you. You\u2019ve built authority and trust, which are the foundation of every sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The commercial newsletter<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you run an online store or sell physical products, this is your bread and butter. We\u2019re talking about product launches, exclusive discounts, flash sales<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Careful, though: being commercial<\/em> doesn\u2019t mean you have to \u201csqueeze\u201d the reader. If 90% of what you send is just a run of photos and a Buy now<\/em> button, your open rate will crash. Even sales need a bit of context, some behind-the-scenes<\/em> detail, or a story that creates an emotional connection. Think of yourself as a trusted personal shopper<\/em>, and act accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The digest<\/em> newsletter<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You know that super-informed friend or colleague who picks out the most interesting articles of the week and sends them your way \u2013 maybe even with a comment attached? Well, the digest<\/em> newsletter does exactly that, only better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s about doing a curation job (so-called content curation<\/em>), gathering the best links, news, videos or useful tools<\/strong> for your target audience \u2013 all accompanied by an explanation or a comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a godsend for anyone tired of drowning in the web\u2019s endless flow of content. With a digest<\/em> you offer immense value: curated insight, and time saved for people who want to stay up to date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[infographic]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Great, now the strategic part is locked down. We\u2019ve figured out what to say, who to say it to, and in what format. Time to get our hands dirty with the technology<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tools you\u2019ll need<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now \u2013 as you can probably guess \u2013 you can\u2019t do email marketing<\/em> using your personal inbox (say, by putting a hundred customers in bcc, i.e. blind carbon copy). If you do, besides risking privacy fines<\/strong> that would make your hair stand on end, half your emails will land straight in spam. Yikes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To do things properly you need an email marketing platform<\/strong> (also called an ESP<\/em>). The good news is you don\u2019t need to spend a fortune to get started<\/em>. The bad news is that, if you pick the wrong tool, it could actually slow down your newsletter\u2019s growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So let\u2019s walk through how to find your way, without losing your mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Free tools for a zero-cost newsletter<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re just starting out (meaning: zero budget, your list still has just a handful of subscribers, you run a small operation), the watchword is minimalism<\/em>. You need simple tools that work well. Here are two platforms<\/strong> offering excellent free plans<\/em> to start testing with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MailerLite<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

If you hate technical complications, MailerLite<\/em> is perfect for you. It has a very generous free plan (typically letting you manage up to a thousand subscribers without spending a euro) and an interface so clean it\u2019s genuinely \u2013 and we mean genuinely \u2013 accessible to everyone. The email builder is a drag-and-drop tool of disarming simplicity. You couldn\u2019t ask for more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brevo (formerly Sendinblue)<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The ideal choice if you don\u2019t have a huge number of contacts but want to send a lot of emails. Unlike other tools, Brevo<\/em>\u2019s free plan doesn\u2019t cap the number of subscribers, but<\/em> it does cap the number of emails sent per day (around three hundred). On top of that, its servers are based in Europe, which makes privacy management much smoother from day one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mailchimp<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Mailchimp is perhaps the best-known email marketing platform, even among people who are just starting out. Over time, though, its free plans have shrunk considerably, while the platform itself has become quite complex \u2013 almost overkill if all you need to do is get started. It\u2019s probably not the ideal tool for beginners; but if you already have Mailchimp set up at your company and you\u2019re using it well, feel free to stay put: it does its job just fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advanced tools to scale your strategy<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

At a certain point, if you\u2019re doing things right, your list will grow<\/strong>. You\u2019ll pass the threshold of a thousand, two thousand, five thousand subscribers. In short: the free tool will start to feel too small \u2013 and that\u2019s a good thing, because it means the marketing is working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once the newsletter becomes a serious asset, you need automation, advanced segmentation<\/strong> (separating big spenders from customers who only buy during sales) and precise tracking<\/strong>. This is where you level up:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ActiveCampaign<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The undisputed king of automation for small and medium businesses. It\u2019s not just a tool for sending newsletters \u2013 it\u2019s a genuine sales engine. It lets you build flows like: \u201cIf the customer opens email X but doesn\u2019t click the link, wait two days and send them email Y with a testimonial.\u201d It costs money<\/em> and takes some learning<\/strong> to set up properly, but if your business is well-structured it pays for itself very quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ConvertKit<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Built for content creators, it\u2019s perfect if you\u2019ve chosen the path of the editorial newsletter<\/em> or if you sell info-products and consulting. It\u2019s focused almost entirely on text<\/strong> and on visual cleanliness (no heavy, graphics-laden emails that end up in Gmail\u2019s \u201cPromotions\u201d tab). It\u2019s a powerful, precise tool, very focused on converting readers into paying customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to grow your newsletter subscriber list<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ve got your newsletter, okay \u2013 but you need an audience. Or rather, you need subscribers. Often, whoever runs a company and works with newsletters makes the mistake of relying only on the email addresses already sitting in their database.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Things like: old customers, current customers, people who emailed years ago just to ask for information\u2026 To be clear, we don\u2019t mean to dismiss that \u2013 that\u2019s an interesting audience too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, a newsletter works when subscribers have deliberately chosen to sign up<\/strong>. That can happen, for example, because they found your website and want to stay updated (so they leave their email in the right box); because they discovered you on social media; or \u2013 and this is the most interesting part \u2013 because you offered them something<\/em> in exchange.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at all three scenarios below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The signup box on your website<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Your website is your main storefront, and it\u2019s exactly where the most important battle plays out. A newsletter signup box<\/em> needs to be visible, appealing, and placed strategically: on the homepage, halfway through a blog post, or via a smart pop-up that only appears when the user is about to leave the site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most important thing is that the box be connected to your email marketing platform<\/strong>, so everything runs automatically. This is often the point where business owners get stuck \u2013 and it\u2019s exactly where a web agency (like No Digital Brain!) comes in, handling the implementation of whichever email service you prefer<\/a> without a hitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social media<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The best way to use social media today is to use it to drive people onto your email list<\/strong>. Because social media is, in a sense, borrowed space. Your contact list, on the other hand, is entirely yours. And that makes all the difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, you shouldn\u2019t just limit yourself to asking your followers, in stories and posts, to subscribe to your newsletter. The ideal approach is to create curiosity. For example, you could show short teasers<\/em> of what you write by email, or tell part of an anecdote and close by saying it\u2019ll all be covered in full in the next email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your social followers need to feel that exclusive things happen in the newsletter \u2013 that it holds the best content, the kind you don\u2019t publish anywhere else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lead magnet<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Nobody hands over their email address \u2013 which is a piece of private space \u2013 just for the fun of it. They do it if they get immediate value<\/strong> in return. This incentive is called a lead magnet<\/em> (literally: a magnet for contacts).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It needs to be a free digital piece of content<\/strong>, easy to consume, that solves a specific problem<\/em> for your target audience. A few concrete examples? If you sell B2B services or consulting, it could be a PDF checklist, a ready-to-use Excel spreadsheet, or a short practical guide. If instead you run an e-commerce store, the classic lead magnet is a welcome discount code (say, 10% or 15% off) on the first purchase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the right incentive, you\u2019ll finally be able to grow your contact list. And that\u2019s exactly what guarantees your newsletter\u2019s effectiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Privacy and GDPR, for a legally compliant newsletter<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now there\u2019s just one last hurdle left, and it\u2019s often the one that causes the most anxiety: privacy regulation<\/strong>. GDPR compliance<\/a> is, however, an essential step if you want to protect yourself and avoid significant administrative fines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Basically, to manage a contact list in line with European regulations, you need to follow three fundamental rules:<\/p>\n\n\n\n