How to Write Your First Email Newsletter, With an Example

Your first email newsletter needs one promise you can keep in this issue. A bakery could help subscribers decide what to order for a weekend breakfast. A freelance designer could show clients how to send a logo that will print clearly. Either gives someone a reason to open an email from a business they already know.

Choose a question you have actually heard

Look at the last few questions that came through your inbox or across the counter. Pick one you can answer without asking the reader to buy anything. For a neighbourhood bakery, “How do I keep Saturday’s loaf fresh for Sunday?” gives the writer a clearer assignment than “Share our latest news.”

Write the promise at the top of your draft. For this bakery it might be “By the end of this email, you’ll know what to do with the loaf you can’t finish today.” Save any paragraph that serves another purpose for a later issue.

A complete first newsletter you can adapt

Here is a fictional first issue from a bakery. The invitation at the end also gives its owner an idea for issue two.

Subject — A plan for the half loaf on your counter
Preview text — One thing to do while the bread is still fresh.

Hello from Alder Street Bakery,

A customer picking up a sourdough loaf on Saturday asked what we do with the half we know we won’t finish. Once the loaf is cool, we slice that portion, put the slices in a freezer bag and freeze them the same day. On Sunday morning we can take out just enough for toast.

What usually gets left over in your kitchen? Hit reply with the name of one bake. I’ll pick one of your questions for a future issue.

Mara, Alder Street Bakery

Write a subject line that the email delivers on

Read only the subject and the first two sentences together. If the subject promises a tip, the reader should reach that tip quickly. The bakery’s email could also use “How we freeze a half loaf.” A subject about weekend specials would send the reader looking for prices and opening hours that never appear. Use the preview text to add a useful detail before someone opens the message.

Send yourself the first copy

Open the test message on your phone. Check who it appears to come from, whether the opening line is visible, and what happens when you tap your one main link or press reply. Send a reply all the way through and check the receiving inbox. If you asked a question, someone needs to be able to answer it.

Before sending to your subscribers, set aside a place to collect their questions. A sheet with the columns reader question, possible issue and next step is enough to start. If nobody replies, bring a different real customer question to issue two. One quiet send gives you little evidence about the whole idea.

For an issue brief and a reusable pre-send worksheet, see The Newsletter Studio publishing toolkit.