After sending a weekly newsletter for five years straight (you can binge them all right here), I think it’s FINALLY time I answer the questions I get asked day in and day out about how to write a newsletter.

How do you get started with email marketing?

Should I send a weekly newsletter?

What the hell do I say, and do I REALLY have to send an email every single week?

In this post, I’m answering ALL of your newsletter questions—and I can’t wait to dive into it.

But first, make sure to subscribe so you can see real examples of these tips! 👇

What is an email newsletter?

How to write a newsletter? Actually know what it is. 

It’s a regular email that you send out to your subscribers, typically with content about a certain topic or theme.

That’s the basics. Beyond that, you can customize it to your brand and what you want to share with your audience every week. 

I named mine Tuesday Table of Contents (TOC) because that literally embodies my brand. And by including “Tuesday” in the name, you know exactly when to expect me in your inbox.

You don’t have to do that. You could just send a plain newsletter with a subject line and a tip and call it a day. You don’t have to complicate it when you’re just starting.

What’s the difference between a weekly newsletter and a sales email?

It all comes down to the purpose. 

A weekly newsletter is meant to keep your audience engaged. Most business owners send a tip and call-to-action. Your goal here is to provide value.

A sales email’s purpose is to (you guessed it) sell something. Maybe you’re hosting a new workshop or launching a course. You probably want to tell people about it and who better than a list of people who are used to seeing your name in their inbox every week? (Another reason why your newsletters should be sent weekly.)

Leading up to the launch of your new thing, you’ll probably send 1-2 emails a day promoting it. 

And before you say anything, you’re not annoying. You’re serving your community. 

Why do you recommend sending them weekly?

Because if you don’t, you run the risk of people forgetting about you. 

Weekly newsletters = they know when to expect you.

Biweekly newsletters = they forget about you for 13 days and then say “oh, yeah, this chick, okay” when they get your emails.

Monthly newsletters = they think “who the hell is this? I don’t even remember subscribing.” *unsubscribe*

WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE 12 CHANCES TO HAVE A ONE-ON-ONE CONVERSATION WITH YOUR IDEAL CLIENT, OR 52?

I think I know your answer.

Before you come for me, of course, this is not one-size-fits-all advice. 

Maybe you send a monthly newsletter, but a bunch of sales emails throughout. Maybe you send a biweekly newsletter, but 1-2 nurture emails in between. 

I don’t know your email marketing strategy, but I do know that if you email your list only once a month, you’re gonna have one hell of a time building an actually-engaged audience. Showing up consistently in someone’s inbox weekly is also a great way to build a relationship with them; to increase that like-know-trust factor needed in order for them to eventually make a purchase from you or hire you.

How else can I exhibit consistency with my newsletters?

#1 – Make it a THING!

Name it, give it a logo, write it a tagline, talk about it often, like it’s the best thing since sliced bread. 

Do whatever you need to do to get people excited about it. 

When you make your newsletter a THING—aka when you make your readers want to subscribe; when you make sure they have FOMO about not inviting you into their inbox—you’re significantly more likely to gain readership and grow your list. 

And when you grow your list, you have a group of people you can email literally whenever you want who actually want to know when you launch something new or have an exciting update. They are your people who are more likely to buy your stuff.

#2 – Send it on the same day each week

If you willy-nilly send your newsletter whenever you want, you’ll be in danger of subscribers not even realizing that those emails are your regular newsletter at all, therefore driving down your engagement rate and decreasing the number of opens your emails get.

If readers know what to expect, they can look forward to it! They’ll be excited for Tuesday, or Wednesday, or WhateverDay (as opposed to just confused why they get emails from you “all the time” – even though it’s only once a week).

#3 – Use the same format

Newsletter readers appreciate the same format every single week. It’s comforting. And, it makes your newsletter feel more legit. 

Butttt I didn’t follow this advice last summer. As you might know, I don’t exist in the summer. I take the entire month of July off from client work to sit my ass on the beach for 16 hours a day.

So, I decided to try a new format for my weekly newsletter called Sara’s Summer Off. It had been 4.5 years since I’d done anything different from my Tuesday TOC. It was honestly so fun to try something new and I got some great feedback from my subscribers! 

I could get away with this because I’ve been doing the same thing for a few years. If you’re just learning how to write a newsletter, stick with one format for consistency.

#4 – Write about the same general topic of content

While of course the topic of your newsletter will change every week, the general type of content will stay the same.

For example, the Tuesday Table of Contents is always about marketing, but this specific edition is about writing newsletters. Next week’s will be about email welcome sequences. 

Maybe the one after that will be about developing your target audience, or SEO, or website copywriting, or… whatever I want, as long as it’s related to the subject of marketing, because that’s what people expect from me.

Do they have to be long? I can’t do that shit.

NOPE! They don’t. At all. 

Do not use me for an example on this one—remember: I’m an extremely long story long type of person, and I love writing emails. 

Also, remember: I would (and have, so many times) ditch every other marketing platform to spend all my energy on writing emails. 

Newsletters still perform well—maybe even better, tbh—if they’re short (as long as they have value and/or are fun to read!)

Are you sure I’m gonna be able to keep up with a weekly newsletter? It sounds like a lot.

Yes, I swear, it’s easier than you think.

…because of a beautiful little thing called ✨scheduling✨ and ✨planning ahead✨

Even though you’re sending a newsletter once a week, you don’t have to actually WRITE your newsletters once a week.

• Sometimes I tell my subscribers I’m having so much fun on vacation, when, in fact, “vacation” is still 3 weeks away at the time I’m drafting the email.
• Sometimes I tell my subscribers about the bug bites I got on our camping trip, well before the mosquitoes have descended upon my unsuspecting skin. 
• Sometimes I tell my subscribers about all the tequila I drank, days before my sugar-rimmed margarita was shaken-not-stirred. 

…but I KNOW all of those things are going to come true by the time my subscribers are reading the email, so what’s the harm in preparing?

In fact, I recommend planning ahead and spending one day each month batch creating your newsletters to align with your content strategy / what’s going on in your life and business / what you want to promote that month.

After almost five years straight of not missing a single newsletter, I feel quite qualified to tell you: It’s okay to schedule your newsletters ahead of time, and writing them is NOT as hard as you think. Especially when you have someone tell you what to write about.

And, of course, your newsletters don’t have to align with the day-to-day events of your life, making planning ahead even easier. It’s totally fine to reference things that have happened in the past, like your first crush not knowing who you were or how you single-handedly saved your luxury hotel’s incognito audit.

What the frick do I write about?! 

Great question! I’ve answered it for you right here in this blog post and you can steal these newsletter ideas to get started.

But first, I’ll give you some tips for coming up with ideas:

⭐️ Keep a note in your phone named “newsletter ideas” and write down everything that comes to mind.

As soon as the idea strikes, even if it’s half-assed, or kinda stupid, or a little bit nonsense, write it down. This will really come in handy when you’re trying to think of something good to send, but you’re not sure what you want to say.

I also recommend doing this for blog posts and Instagram ideas!

⭐️ Repurpose your blog post content into emails.

EX: I’ve used my blog post about the 14 SEO mistakes to avoid on your website and turned it into multiple newsletters, because there’s a lot of great content in there that I expanded on via email.

If I wanted to, I could send one newsletter about all fourteen mistakes. Newsletters really only need to be the tip of the iceberg, because you can always send your readers to learn more elsewhere (like on your blog, your YouTube channel, your Instagram, your course, your digital product, etc).

And speaking of…

⭐️ Boil down larger topics into smaller ones.

For example, if I knew I wanted to write a newsletter about website copy, maybe instead of writing one about the general topic, I’d send one about homepage copywriting tips, or how to write a minimal services page, or how to infuse personality into your copy.

⭐️ Think of your newsletter as a conversation with a friend that you’re helping out with homework.

Be friendly, while educating—and use your normal-self voice, while also providing value.

⭐️ Think about what you’re hoping to promote, and use that as inspo.

Launching a course about email marketing soon? Start talking about lead magnets.

Introducing a new website copy audit service next month? Start talking about the benefits of having a bomb website.

Selling a newsletter content planner? Start talking about how helpful it is to have your newsletter content planned out.

See where I’m going with this? Whatever you’re promoting, think about WHAT your audience would need to know about the subject BEFORE making the purchase / downloading it / signing up for it.

How do I get people to sign up for my email list?

“But Sara, how do I even get people to want to receive my emails?”

I’m glad you asked. Because you obviously need people to send your beautiful new weekly newsletter to!

You could just share the link on your website and social media and hope for the best.

But the real trick to getting email subscribers is to trade their email address for something of value—aka a freebie.

A free resource is something you create that provides juuuuust enough value on a specific topic related to your expertise (don’t make a rookie mistake like I did and make a freebie about Pinterest when I am, in fact, NOT a Pinterest manager.)

It should do at least one of these things:

• Make someone’s life easier
• Help them with a problem they’re trying to solve
• Give them information that may not be readily available elsewhere
• Teach them how to do something
• Make something more convenient

And then demand ask nicely for their email address in exchange for your free resource. 

Writing strategic opt-in copy will help you convince people they need this resource and therefore need to be on your email list.

Any final tips for me before I go on and start my own newsletter?

Duh! Aside from everything I’ve already told you, there are two more tips to follow that’ll increase engagement in your newsletters:

1. Be mindful of spacing. Lots of people read newsletters on their phone, which means they’ll be looking at a much smaller window of space—aka you need to hit the spacebar after every 1-2 sentences so as not to crowd their screen.
2. Write short, punchy subject lines. Watch this video for more tips!

Check out this blog post for more email copywriting tips, and this blog post for a master list of the best newsletters for marketers.

Now, it’s (optional) homework time — here’s how to write a newsletter:

If you’re thinking of starting your own weekly newsletter, here are a few things to consider:

• What will you name it?
• When will you send it, and how often? (ahem, weekly, plz!)
• What will you write about?
• Who is your target reader, and what do they want to learn more about (or be entertained by)?
• What will your opt-in copy say to make readers want to sign up?
• What will be your selling point?
• Which format will your newsletter be?

& if you want even MORE help with how to write a newsletter, check out Swipe File, a monthly subscription giving you five strategic topics to use in your newsletter. Each topic comes with a “how to write this” guide and subject lines. I do everything except write the newsletter for you. Join now to have next month’s newsletters planned for you!

For a more comprehensive DIY route, my email marketing course teaches you how to write the best newsletters, how to get the right people on your email list, and how to keep them there.

Happy newslettering!