26 Newsletter Ideas: What To Send Your Email Subscribers

Need some newsletter ideas? You’ve been sitting in front of your laptop for three hours and you still have no idea what to send your email subscribers?

Or maybe you’re super scared to email your list because you think you can’t offer anything of value?

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Perhaps you already send out weekly newsletters but you never get any response and your open rates are low.

Let’s be clear: writing an engaging, value-packed, and revenue-producing email is super hard. Especially when you’re already doing all the other tasks we creators have to do.

But you’re in luck because this post is going to give you everything you need to know to rock your email marketing.

I’m talking about newsletter ideas, why you should send a newsletter, how to increase your open rates, how to increase your click rates, what makes a good email and the crucial rules of selling via email!

Don’t have an email list yet? No worries, I’ve already written a post on everything you need to know to start an email list and how to get those first 100 subscribers.

Why Should You Send A Newsletter?

You’ve heard it before and you will hear it again, the money is in the list.

Let’s focus on security first. Basically, what do Google, Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and any other platform that brings you traffic have in common?

You aren’t in control.

If they want to change something they will, and if that something cuts your traffic in half, or even eradicates it (think major algorithm changes like the one Facebook has just done) you’ve got a problem!

But if you’ve got an email list then you have a group of people you can send to your blog and earn income from (in the nicest way possible, no spamming affiliate links, but we will get to that later).

So when those inevitable algorithm changes come, and they will, if you have a solid email list then your business has a much better chance of surviving or even thriving!

Now the money side of it.

To sell something the buyer has to either trust you or trust the product.

One of the best ways to build that trust is to help and serve. If someone goes out of their way to help you.

Think of someone holding the door for you when your arms are full of bags, or a shop assistant helping you search for the perfect dress for a special occasion.

You are far more likely to buy from them because you feel that if they are willing to go that extra mile, they must actually care about you.

And if they care about you, then their recommendations are genuine and will solve your problem and improve your life.

Of course building that level of trust is hard online, but if you can consistently show up in someone’s inbox every week, and every week solve a problem for them and help them out, well that can only be a recipe for success!

So when you do send those super rare promotion emails everyone knows that you genuinely think this product will work for them!

There are also plenty of minor reasons why sending a weekly email newsletter is awesome for your business but they are the main two!

What Makes A Good, Trust-Building Email Newsletter?

Now we know why we send that weekly email newsletter, but how do we know if our newsletters are any good…

Always Provide Value

A good newsletter always provides plenty of value, think like an awesome tip, a tutorial on how to do something, some behind-the-scenes information (because value can be entertainment remember) or exclusive content.

But this awesome value should be given freely.

Once someone has trusted you with their email address you should repay that to them tenfold (or more). This leads to the next point.

Don’t Make It Look Like You’re Selling In Every Email (Even though you are!)

The trick to sending income-boosing emails that people love to read is to tell stories. A good story is entertainment, and whatever you have on offer at the end should be a great finale to the story.

The offer should be something that will help the reader solve the problem they are facing (ideally, the problem you pinpointed with your story).

Sell things, but don’t make it seem like you are selling things, ya dig?

Make Sure Your Email List Is Receiving Exclusive Content

Because if they aren’t receiving exclusive content then what’s the point of being on your email list, right?

This is the main reason why I personally think just sending your latest blog post, or an RSS feed is dead.

Email Newsletters Should Be Frequent

I think weekly is ideal but if that feels too much for you (new blogger overwhelm is definitely a thing) then do every two weeks instead.

Your Emails Should Be Related To Your Niche and The Freebie(s) They Signed Up For

I mean if you signed up for a free ebook on how to train your cat to speak but then that person started sending you weekly emails about power skating, you’re going to hit that unsubscribe button!

So just make sure whatever freebie you created to entice people to sign up for your email list, is in the same niche as your newsletter content.

Hot tip: The word ‘news’ is in ‘newsletter’ for a reason. So be sure to include industry news and interesting current events that affect your audience and their interests, in your emails.

Okay so we know why we send a newsletter and what a good email newsletter looks like, but what about if you still can’t come up with something awesome to send your list?

26 Awesome Newsletter Ideas You Can Use, So You Always Know What To Send Your Subscribers

1. Behind-the-Scenes Content: Share insights into your daily operations, upcoming projects, or a day in the life of team members. This type of content helps humanize your brand and build a deeper connection with your audience.
2. Industry News and Trends: Keep your subscribers informed about the latest developments in your industry. This positions you as a knowledgeable source and adds value to your subscribers’ inboxes.
3. Exclusive Offers and Discounts: Reward your subscribers with special offers, discounts, or early access to new products or services. This not only incentivizes people to stay subscribed but also to engage with your content.
4. User-Generated Content: Showcase content created by your customers or community, such as photos, testimonials, or stories. This builds community and shows your audience that you value their input and experiences.
5. Educational Content: Share tips, how-to guides, or informative articles that align with your audience’s interests. Educational content is highly valued and can help establish your authority in your field.
6. Interactive Content: Include polls, surveys, or quizzes to engage your subscribers actively. This not only makes your newsletter more interactive but also provides valuable feedback.
7. Personal Stories or Anecdotes: Share personal experiences or stories related to your business or industry. This can make your newsletter feel more personal and relatable.
8. Event Invitations and Recaps: If you host or attend events, use your newsletter to invite subscribers or provide summaries and key takeaways from events.
9. Podcast or Video Content: If you produce multimedia content, include links to your latest podcast episodes or videos. This cross-promotion can increase your content’s reach.
10. Customer Spotlights and Interviews: Feature stories about your customers or conduct interviews. This not only provides interesting content but also strengthens your community.
11. FAQs or Q&A Sessions: Address common questions you receive or host a Q&A session within your newsletter. This is a great way to engage with your audience and provide valuable information.
12. Curated Content: Share a collection of articles, books, podcasts, or resources you find valuable. Curated content can provide diverse insights and save your subscribers time in finding quality information.
13. Previews of Upcoming Content: Give your subscribers a sneak peek of upcoming blog posts, products, or initiatives. This can build anticipation and keep your audience engaged.
14. Charity Work and Social Responsibility Initiatives: If your business is involved in charitable work or social causes, share your experiences and how subscribers can contribute or participate.
15. Recaps and Highlights: Share highlights or recaps from your blog or social media channels, especially if your subscribers might have missed important updates.
16. Toolkit: List of your favorite on-niche resources or tools you use
17. Ask your readers what they are struggling with using a survey (then you can write emails helping with those struggles in the future!)
18. Exclusive freebie: Give your current subscribers a brand new freebie just for them!
19. Coupons: An exclusive offer or coupon to your shop is always a nice idea
20. BTS Content: People love to know what really happens behind the scenes, so tell them
21. Fresh Updates: Keep your readers updated with anything new you’re working on
22. AMA: If you get a lot of questions, or see a lot of questions in on-niche Facebook groups etc then send a FAQs email and answer them!
23. Blog Growth Updates: People love hearing about how your blog is doing, so sending out an income/ traffic/ growth report is a great idea (even if you don’t blog about blogging I bet your subscribers would occasionally love to know your stats)
24. Mistakes To Avoid: Tell everyone about a big mistake (or mistakes) you’ve made (this is excellent for building trust)
25. Successes: Share a success story including the steps that got you there (you can use success stories promote as well but they should mainly be used to build trust and authority)
26. Curated content: Send your subscribers a list of the best on-niche posts you’ve found around the Internet that week

Tips For Writing Your Newsletter

If you are still really struggling, just think of your email newsletter as an exclusive blog post and write that.

The first sentence or two is just a quick behind-the-scenes.

Sometimes it’s about work, sometimes it’s personal, it could be a mistake I’ve made, something I’ve observed, something I’m working on or something I’m looking forward to.

The next section is my weekly tips and finds which is mainly a collection of curated content, so the best posts and tips I’ve discovered in the past week.

In the final section, I like to deep dive into a topic and this often ends up as either a personal case study on an aspect of my blogging business or an exclusive blog post.

So now you know exactly what to send your email list, how about improving those stats?

The main two stats we are looking at is open rate and click rate. Open rate is the percentage of your list that actually opens your email and click rate is the percentage of your list who click on a link in your email.

The more people who open your email the better and the more people who click the better because this shows that your list is engaged!

Tips For Increasing Email Open Rates:

It’s worth noting that the majority of email service providers measure open rates by loading a small image on each email and seeing if it loads or not.

If someone has images completely blocked then they may still be reading your emails but it might not be counted as an open.

So your open rates probably aren’t perfectly accurate but they are close enough!

Check your email won’t be classed as spam.

You can use a free service like Mail Tester.

It’s so easy to use!

Once you’ve written your email, before sending it out you will have the option to send a test email (Both MailerLite and ConvertKit offer this) just pop the email that Mail Tester gives you into that box and send the test email.

Then check your stats on Mail Tester. For reference, I’ve never got below a 9.5/10!

Make your subject line super clickable!

Once you’ve stopped your emails coming up as spam, making your subject lines clickable is by far the best way to increase your open rates.

Just like with blog posts your titles must be enticing and make readers want to click. You can use Coschedule’s Headline Analyzer to tweak your current boring subject lines into something more interesting.

And if you scroll right down it will show you how much of your email subject line is likely to show up in people’s inboxes.

Personalize the subject line

Making the subject line personal is also a good way to increase your open rates. Most email service providers make it super easy to include a subscriber’s name.

Think about it, aren’t you more likely to open an email that has your name in the subject line?

Tips For Increasing Email Click Rates

Click rates are so important if you ever want to direct traffic to your site from your email list or if you ever hope to make money from your list.

There are a few ways to increase clicks, such as:

• Including a clear call to action like ‘click here to find out more’
• Only have one link destination (although personally, I like to provide as much value as possible for my readers so I include plenty of links to lots of different places!)
• Make your email list want to click on the link (just like making your subject lines click-worthy, too.
• Make sure your links provide value.

On the subject of increasing clicks, one thing I love about my email service provider ConvertKit is that they provide a link click map that shows you exactly which of your links are getting to most love.

The screenshot above is a snippet of one of my latest emails. You can see my subscribers loved the SEO link but were less interested in the Pinterest tips, but what beat both is the video I made on how to create printables on Excel!

Newsletter Ideas For Selling In The Emails

Just like with a blog post, it’s my opinion that an email should always have some sort of way of making money.

But that does not mean the email becomes a solely promotional email.

So, for example, I always try and include a couple of affiliate links in my email, but only when the products make sense for what my email is about.

Just make sure you follow these rules:

• Never use Amazon Associate affiliate links in emails. It’s against their terms and you will get kicked out of the program when (not if) they find out.
• Always disclose affiliate links. Just like with blog posts legally you have to let readers know that you have affiliate links in the email.
• Have something for sale in every email, but lead with value, always.

But when you do send out those rare, promotion-only emails:

• If you are doing a big sale with multiple emails being sent out, make an option for subscribers to opt out of the sales emails so they don’t get annoyed. I know you can do this with ConvertKit.
• Be honest and tell people your results from the item. You should never be pushing something you haven’t tried yourself and think is awesome!

Apart from that I really am no expert in promotional emails (yet).

But, I have a course about affiliate marketing and there is an incredible section in there about selling in emails authentically.

Check out the course Affiliate Marketing & Blog Monetization!

Phew, I think that’s email marketing covered, but there’s still time for a few FAQs…

Frequently Asked Questions About Newsletter Ideas

I think the most important thing with email newsletters is to not overthink it.

If in doubt write something that you would send to your best friend who you are mentoring or teaching something.
You know, a friendly and supportive authority!

For example, the email newsletter from HerPaperRoute. Why will you love it? Because you’ll always learn something new super quickly (so many quick wins)!

26 Newsletter Ideas: What To Send Your Email Subscribers – Conclusion

Finally, my best tip is to sign up for loads of other bloggers’ email lists in your niche and see which ones you love and stand out.

Take inspiration from your favorite bloggers, don’t copy them but try and create a newsletter that you feel offers the same amount of value.

As always if you have any questions please comment below.

Plus if you found this post useful, please could you share it on Pinterest, I would be so grateful!

Related Reading:

• 100+ Email Opt-In Freebie Ideas (get the list for free!!!)

• Starting an email list (the guide you NEED to get your first 100 subscribers)

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