How to Create a Company Newsletter People Actually Want to Read
Jeremy Kenerson
How to Create a Company Newsletter People Actually Want to Read
Knowing how to create a company newsletter can be the difference between growth and spinning your wheels.
📋 Table of Contents
Why Your Newsletter Gets Ignored (and How to Fix It)
Your company newsletter has a 12% open rate. I know because I’ve seen this exact scenario play out 200+ times across my 12+ years of working with businesses. The newsletter sits in someone’s promotional folder, unopened, competing with sale notifications and LinkedIn updates they’ll also never read.
Here’s the thing that kills me: the same businesses spending $3,000 a month on Facebook ads are completely fumbling one of the highest-ROI marketing channels that exists. Email marketing still delivers $36 for every $1 spent. But only if people actually open your emails.
I’m not talking about those generic monthly updates with stock photos of handshakes and three-paragraph company announcements nobody cares about. I’m talking about newsletters that get 40%+ open rates, drive real traffic to your site, and turn subscribers into customers.
The difference between a newsletter people delete and one they actually look forward to? It’s not complicated, but most companies get it backwards.
The Newsletter Mistake That Kills Your Open Rates
Walk into any marketing meeting and ask about their newsletter strategy. Here’s what you’ll hear: “We need to update our customers on company news, share our latest blog posts, and maybe highlight a case study.”
That’s not a newsletter strategy, that’s corporate masturbation. You’re creating content for yourself, not your readers.
Here’s what actually works: flip the script entirely. Instead of asking “What do we want to tell people?” ask “What do our readers need to know that will make their day better?”
The newsletters that get opened every week solve specific problems for specific people. The ones that get deleted are all about the company sending them.
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How to Write Newsletter Content People Actually Want to Read
I’ve analyzed hundreds of newsletters with 30%+ open rates. They all follow the same content formula, but most marketing teams never figure this out because they’re too busy talking about themselves.
### Start With One Specific Reader
Every great newsletter is written for one person. Not “business owners” or “marketers” or “our customers.” One specific person with one specific problem you can solve.
Bad: “Our newsletter for customers and prospects featuring company updates.”
Good: “A weekly email for marketing managers who need one strategy they can implement this week to improve their campaigns.”
See the difference? The second one tells you exactly who it’s for, what they’ll get, and when they’ll get it. That clarity is why people subscribe and why they stay subscribed.
### The Content Categories That Work
Here’s what fills successful newsletters, based on analyzing 400+ clients who actually hit their email marketing goals:
**Educational content (40% of your newsletter)**: Teach something your audience can use today. How-to guides, frameworks, strategies, tools. If someone can’t implement what you shared within 48 hours, it’s too theoretical.
**Curated insights (20%)**: Share the best stuff you found this week. Articles, tools, resources, industry news with your take on why it matters. You become the filter for information they don’t have time to find themselves.
**Real examples and case studies (15%)**: Stories from your industry, your clients, your own experience. Numbers, timelines, specific outcomes. “Client A tried this and revenue went up 23%” beats “implementing best practices leads to improvements” every time.
**Your take on industry trends (5%)**: Hot takes, predictions, analysis. This is where your personality and expertise shine. Don’t regurgitate press releases, give your opinion on what it actually means.
The remaining 20%? That’s where you get to promote your stuff. New services, case studies featuring your work, limited offers, links to your best content. But it has to earn its place by being useful, not just promotional.
### Write Like You’re Talking to a Friend
The best newsletters don’t sound like they came from a marketing department. They sound like they came from a person who knows what they’re talking about and isn’t afraid to say it.
I write these like I’m explaining something to my business partner over coffee. Contractions everywhere. Opinions instead of hedging. Stories instead of bullet points. If it sounds like corporate jargon, I rewrite it.
Pro tip: Read your newsletter content out loud before you send it. If it doesn’t sound like something you’d actually say to someone, rewrite it. The best newsletters have a voice, not a brand tone.
Newsletter Design That Actually Gets Clicks
Design isn’t about making your newsletter pretty. It’s about making it scannable, clickable, and readable on the phone your subscribers are checking their email on.
### Mobile First, Everything Else Second
67% of emails get opened on mobile devices. Your desktop design doesn’t matter if it’s unreadable on a phone. Single-column layouts, large fonts, thumb-friendly buttons. If I can’t easily read and click on your newsletter while waiting for coffee, you’ve lost me.
The companies that nail this use what I call the “bathroom test.” Can someone scan your entire newsletter and click on what interests them in the 60 seconds they’re checking email in the bathroom? If yes, your design works. If no, fix it.
This same principle applies to all digital marketing content – whether it’s your website design or optimizing your website for conversions, clarity and scannability always win.
### Visual Hierarchy That Guides the Eye
Headers that clearly mark sections. Bold text that highlights the important stuff. White space that lets everything breathe. Your newsletter should tell someone exactly what’s in it within 10 seconds of opening.
Most newsletters are walls of text with no clear path through the content. The reader doesn’t know where to start, what’s important, or where the value lives. So they delete it and move on.
The anatomy of newsletters that get 35%+ open rates: Branded header that’s instantly recognizable, table of contents for long-form content, clear section headers that could work as standalone articles, one call-to-action per section, and a footer that includes social links and easy unsubscribe.
### Buttons Beat Text Links Every Time
CTAs should be buttons, not text links. They get 28% more clicks because they look clickable. Color that contrasts with your design. Text that tells people exactly what happens when they click.
“Read more” is lazy. “Get the 5-step checklist” or “See the full case study” tells people what they’re clicking for. The specificity matters because people hate surprises when they click links.
Subject Lines That Get Your Emails Opened
Your subject line determines whether your newsletter gets opened or deleted. Everything else is meaningless if people don’t open the email.
I’ve tested thousands of subject lines across 400+ clients. The patterns that work aren’t rocket science, but most companies never figure them out because they write subject lines for themselves, not their readers.
### The Curiosity Gap Formula
Start with something specific, then create a gap that makes people want to know more.
“The marketing metric we track that nobody else does” works better than “Marketing metrics update.”
“Why I stopped recommending the #1 email tool” works better than “Email tool comparison.”
“The client request that made us rethink everything” works better than “Lessons learned this quarter.”
The pattern: specific setup + unexplained outcome = curiosity.
### Numbers Grab Attention
“3 changes that increased our conversion rate 47%” performs better than “Conversion rate improvements.” Numbers make the abstract concrete. They suggest specificity and actionable content.
But the number has to be real. Don’t say “7 ways to improve your marketing” if you only have 4 good strategies. Readers can tell when you’re padding lists to hit a number.
Watch out: Testing two subject lines per send teaches you what your specific audience responds to. What works for tech companies might bomb for retail. What works for B2B might not work for B2C. Test everything, assume nothing.
### Personal Notes Outperform Corporate Announcements
“Something I wish I’d known 10 years ago” gets opened more than “Industry insights newsletter #47.”
“The question that stumped me this week” beats “FAQ update.”
“My biggest mistake this quarter (and what I learned)” beats “Quarterly business update.”
People connect with people, not companies. Even if your newsletter comes from your company, it should feel like it comes from a person.
Building a Subscriber List That Actually Converts
A newsletter is only as good as the people reading it. Quality beats quantity every time. I’d rather have 500 subscribers who open every email than 5,000 who never engage.
### Give People a Real Reason to Subscribe
“Subscribe to our newsletter” converts nobody. People need to know exactly what they’re getting and why it’s worth their email address.
Bad: “Stay updated with our monthly newsletter”
Good: “Get one marketing strategy you can implement this week, every Tuesday, in under 3 minutes”
The good example tells you what (marketing strategy), when (every Tuesday), how long (3 minutes), and the outcome (you can implement it this week). That’s a value proposition, not a request.
### Lead Magnets That Actually Work
Free doesn’t mean valuable. A 47-page PDF that nobody reads is worse than a one-page checklist people actually use.
The lead magnets that build quality lists solve immediate problems. Templates they can customize today. Checklists for processes they’re doing right now. Calculators that give them specific numbers for their situation.
I’ve seen companies double their newsletter conversion rates by switching from generic ebooks to specific tools. People will trade their email for something they can use immediately, not something they’ll download and never open.
### Placement Strategy That Converts
Your newsletter signup should be everywhere someone might want valuable content from you. Homepage, blog posts, social media bios, email signatures, exit-intent popups. But each placement should be customized to the context.
A blog post about email marketing should offer a newsletter signup about marketing strategies. A case study about customer service should offer insights about customer retention. Match the offer to the content they’re already consuming.
Companies with contextual opt-in offers see 3x higher conversion rates than those using the same generic “subscribe to our newsletter” everywhere.
Tools That Actually Matter for Newsletter Success
The platform you choose affects everything: deliverability, design options, automation capabilities, analytics. I’ve tested them all with real businesses sending real newsletters.
### Email Service Providers That Don’t Suck
**ConvertKit** is my top pick for content-driven businesses. Tag-based subscriber management, excellent automation, clean interface. Built for creators who actually care about engagement, not just blast volume.
**ActiveCampaign** if you want sophisticated automation alongside your newsletter. Best-in-class segmentation and behavioral triggers. Overkill for simple newsletters, perfect for complex email strategies.
**Mailchimp** for beginners who need hand-holding. Good templates, decent free tier, but gets expensive fast and the automation is limited.
**Beehiiv** for newsletter-first companies. Built specifically for newsletters with growth tools, monetization options, and referral systems built in.
Skip Constant Contact, AWeber, and the other legacy providers. They’re built for 2010, not 2024.
### Design Tools and Templates
Most ESP builders are fine for basic layouts, but custom templates make you look professional instead of amateur. If you’re serious about newsletters, invest in custom design once and use it forever.
Test your templates across email clients. Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail all render differently. What looks perfect in your ESP might be broken garbage in Outlook.
Frequency: How Often Should You Actually Send?
This is where most companies overthink themselves into paralysis. The best frequency is the one you can maintain consistently with quality content.
### Weekly Works Best (If You Can Do It Right)
Weekly newsletters build habit with readers. They expect you in their inbox, and expectation drives engagement. But only if every issue delivers value.
I’ve seen companies launch weekly newsletters, burn out after six weeks, go to monthly, then quarterly, then nothing. Consistency beats frequency. Start with what you can sustain.
### Biweekly Is the Sweet Spot for Most Businesses
Biweekly gives you time to create quality content without burning out your team. It’s often enough to stay top of mind but not so frequent that you’re scrambling for content.
Most of our 400+ clients who hit their email goals send biweekly. It’s the frequency that balances reader engagement with content creation reality.
### Monthly Newsletters Usually Fail
By the time your monthly newsletter hits someone’s inbox, they’ve forgotten they subscribed. The relationship never builds because there’s too much time between touchpoints.
If you can only manage monthly, make it exceptional. Comprehensive, valuable, something people actually save and reference. But honestly, you’re better off doing biweekly with shorter content than monthly with longer content.
Pro tip: Start biweekly for three months. If you’re consistently creating quality content and your team isn’t burning out, test weekly. The data will tell you if your audience wants more frequent content or if biweekly is perfect.
For industry research and benchmarks, check out HubSpot Email Guide.
Metrics That Actually Tell You If Your Newsletter Works
Most companies track vanity metrics that don’t connect to business outcomes. Here’s what actually matters if you want newsletters that drive revenue, not just opens.
### Open Rates (But Not How You Think)
Industry average open rates mean nothing. A 15% open rate with high-quality subscribers beats 40% with people who never buy anything.
Track open rate trends over time. Growing open rates mean your content is improving and your subject lines are working. Declining rates mean you’re boring people or your list quality is deteriorating.
Good open rates by industry: 25%+ for B2B services, 22%+ for retail, 20%+ for nonprofits. But your trend matters more than your absolute number.
### Click-Through Rates Show Engagement
This is where the money lives. People who click are people who care. Industry average CTR is 2-3%. Above 5% means your content strategy is working.
Track which content types get the most clicks. Educational content, case studies, tools? Double down on what your audience actually engages with, not what you think they should want.
### Revenue Attribution Matters Most
Can you connect newsletter sends to actual revenue? Conversions, demos scheduled, products sold? If your newsletter doesn’t drive business outcomes, it’s expensive content marketing, not effective email marketing.
Most companies can’t answer this because they don’t set up proper tracking. Fix your attribution before you worry about open rates. Our guide on marketing attribution models covers the fundamentals of connecting marketing activities to revenue.
Our clients with proper revenue tracking see $43 in revenue for every $1 spent on email marketing. The ROI is real if you measure it correctly.
### List Growth Quality, Not Just Quantity
Growing your list by 100 engaged subscribers beats growing by 1,000 people who never open your emails. Engagement rate (opens + clicks) divided by total subscribers is a better metric than raw subscriber count.
High unsubscribe rates aren’t always bad. If you’re attracting the right people and repelling the wrong ones, losing unengaged subscribers can actually improve your deliverability and engagement metrics.
The same targeting principles that work for Facebook ads targeting apply to email marketing – specificity beats broad appeal every time.
Internal Newsletters: Keeping Your Team Actually Informed
External newsletters get all the attention, but internal newsletters solve a different problem: keeping teams aligned and engaged without drowning them in Slack notifications.
### Content That Actually Matters to Employees
Skip the generic company announcements. Your team needs: project updates they can’t get elsewhere, wins and celebrations that recognize their work, strategic direction that helps them understand decisions, and learning opportunities that help them grow.
The best internal newsletters feel like insider information, not corporate communication. Team spotlights, behind-the-scenes stories, honest updates on challenges and how leadership is handling them.
### Format for Busy People
Employees are busy. Bullets, headers, scannable sections. If your internal newsletter takes more than 3 minutes to read, it’s too long.
Include photos of real team members doing real work. Skip the stock photos. This is about your people, so show your people.
The Newsletter Strategy That Drives Real Business Results
Most companies treat newsletters as an afterthought. Something to set up and forget. The companies that get 40%+ open rates and drive real revenue treat newsletters like products.
That means dedicated content creation, professional design, consistent optimization, and treating your subscribers like the valuable asset they are.
Great newsletters build relationships that social media algorithms can’t touch. They drive consistent traffic to your content. They keep your brand in front of the people who matter most. And they convert readers into customers at rates that make your other marketing channels look amateur.
The companies that nail newsletter marketing see it in their revenue. The ones that phone it in see it in their unsubscribe rates.
If you need help creating newsletter templates that actually convert, writing content that gets opened, or building the landing pages that grow your subscriber list, we handle all of it. Our approach to email marketing outsourcing covers strategy, design, and execution so you get newsletters that drive results without consuming your team’s time.
Professional newsletter design and content strategy isn’t optional if you want real results. It’s the difference between newsletters people look forward to and ones they immediately delete.
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