Newsletter Writing Guide

Newsletter Types

Type	Tone	Key Focus
Company update	Professional, warm	Clarity, relevance
Product announcement	Excited, informative	Benefits, what's new
Industry roundup	Authoritative, helpful	Curation, insights
Personal/creator	Conversational, authentic	Connection, personality
Team digest	Informal, efficient	Brevity, highlights

Multi-Audience Newsletters

When your newsletter serves multiple audience segments (technical + non-technical, free + paid, internal + external):

Option 1: Layered Content
Lead with the universal benefit anyone can grasp. Add labeled sections for advanced readers: "For developers:" or "Technical deep-dive:". This lets everyone get the core message while specialists can go deeper.

Option 2: Modular Sections
Create clearly labeled sections for different audiences. "For Engineering:", "For Business Users:". Each segment gets relevant content without wading through irrelevant material.

Option 3: Consider Segmentation
If audiences have fundamentally different needs, separate newsletters may serve better than one trying to do both. Link between them for cross-pollination.

The layered approach works best for most mixed-audience newsletters. Start broad, add depth progressively.

Subject Line Best Practices

Good Subject Lines

• "3 things I learned at [Conference]" — specific, personal
• "We shipped [Feature]. Here's why it matters." — news + benefit
• "The one metric we got wrong" — curiosity, vulnerability
• "[Name], your weekly digest is here" — personalized, expected

Bad Subject Lines

• "Newsletter #47" — no reason to open
• "Don't miss this!!!" — spammy
• "Updates" — vague
• "Important information inside" — generic

Formula

[Specific thing] + [Why reader cares]

Structure

SUBJECT LINE
[Hook + value signal]

PREVIEW TEXT
[Extends subject, shows in inbox]

---

OPENER
[2-3 sentences: context, hook, or "here's what's in this issue"]

MAIN SECTION 1
[Lead story or update]
[2-3 short paragraphs]
[Link if relevant]

MAIN SECTION 2
[Secondary story]
[Keep it scannable]

QUICK HITS
- [One-liner with link]
- [One-liner with link]
- [One-liner with link]

CLOSER
[Wrap-up or preview]
[CTA if relevant]
[Sign-off]

Writing Tips

Openers That Work

• The question: "Ever wonder why [X]?"
• The surprise: "We were wrong about [X]."
• The personal: "Last week, I [did X] and learned [Y]."
• The direct: "Three things you need to know this week:"

Keep It Scannable

• Short paragraphs (2-3 sentences max)
• Headers for each section
• Bullet lists for quick items
• Bold key points (sparingly)
• White space is your friend

Write for Mobile

• 60%+ of emails opened on mobile
• Single column layout
• Thumb-friendly links
• Preview text matters

Calls to Action

Good:

• "Read the full post →"
• "Reply and tell me what you think"
• "Grab your spot before Friday"

Bad:

• "Click here"
• Multiple competing CTAs
• No CTA at all

Accessibility

• Use semantic headers (H1, H2, H3) rather than just bold text
• Include alt text for any images
• Make links descriptive ("Read the changelog" not "click here")
• Don't rely on color alone to convey meaning
• Keep sufficient contrast between text and background

Email Deliverability

Spam Trigger Avoidance

• Skip ALL CAPS in subject lines
• Avoid excessive punctuation ("Amazing!!!", "Don't miss this???")
• Don't use misleading subject lines that don't match content
• Keep link count reasonable (under 10-15 for short newsletters)

Mobile Rendering

• Preview text shows on ~90% of mobile email clients—make it count
• Subject lines truncate around 40 characters on mobile
• First 3 lines visible without scrolling; put your hook there

Image Considerations

• Some email clients block images by default
• Include alt text for all images
• Don't rely solely on images to convey critical information
• Aim for at least 60% text content

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Fix
Too long	Aim for 3-5 min read max for most newsletters
Buried lede	Lead with the most important thing
No personality	Let your voice come through
All links, no context	Give readers a reason to click
Inconsistent schedule	Pick a cadence and stick to it
No subject line testing	Write 3-5, pick the best

Tone Calibration

Casual/Creator

Hey! Quick one today—I found this thread on [topic] and had to share. It completely changed how I think about [X]...

Professional/Company

This week we're excited to share updates on [Project], along with key learnings from our Q3 analysis...

Team/Internal

Happy Friday, team! Here's what happened this week and what's coming up...

Metrics That Matter

• Open rate: Subject line effectiveness (aim for 25%+)
• Click rate: Content relevance (aim for 2-5%)
• Unsubscribe rate: Overall value (keep under 0.5%)
• Reply rate: Engagement, connection

If open rate is low, test subject lines.
If click rate is low, improve content or CTAs.
If unsubscribe rate is high, reconsider frequency or relevance.