How to Write an Effective Newsletter

Newsletters are a great way to reach out to your audience on a regular basis to keep them updated with what’s going on with your client. Unlike social media campaigns or email pitches, where you’re often introducing the reader to your client’s company for the first time and trying to pique their interest, newsletter readers are typically already subscribed and tuned in to your client’s news.

Make sure your audience stays subscribed by crafting a newsletter that’s helpful and informative but still punchy and quick-to-read.

Read on to see a few tips on how to write an effective newsletter:

1. Color blocking is your friend

Think of when you open up a newsletter in your inbox: You don’t want to stare at a huge expanse of text. Instead, break up your newsletter into sections with your main ideas. Then, visually segment these sections with blocks of color and different sizes and styles of font.

See below for an example of one newsletter I put together for Caster client AdaSky, where I used different color blocks and fonts to break up and differentiate content.

By segmenting your text with varying sizes and shapes, it makes it easier for the reader to skim quickly and find the information that’s most important to them.

2. Use images—but be careful

An effective newsletter is informative, but it’s also dynamic and easy-to-read. A simple way to add vibrancy to your letter is to include images within your text—but be careful to pay attention to the scale of your images.

If the images are too big, they’ll take up too much room in the body of the newsletter and obstruct your readers from seeing your text. (This might seem like a minor inconvenience, but in the ruthless world of inboxes, one second of hassle can get you deleted—or worse, unsubscribed.)

You also want to watch out for large image files, as they can sometimes crash your readers’ inboxes—definitely a no-go. If you use a tool like Mailchimp to build your newsletter, it’ll often tell you if the image file you’ve uploaded is too big and will help you resize it.

3. Less is more

This is kind of a ubiquitous epigram when it comes to the world of PR, but it cannot be overstated for your newsletter. Yes, you want your newsletter to deliver useful information, but if it’s too long, your readers will likely unsubscribe.

If you want to send out quarterly updates on your client (like I’ve done above for our client AdaSky), then the below formula is a good guideline:

1. What has the company done recently?
2. What is the company currently doing or will do son?
3. A call to action.

Of course, the call to action is often the most important part of the newsletter, as it tells your readers where to go next, whether that’s sending an email, watching a video, or visiting a website.

To make your call to action extra enticing, you can format it as a Button or an image.

Ready to start building a newsletter for your client? Share your comments, questions, or tips with me on Twitter @merryshoebell.