If you’re a creative entrepreneur, you’ve likely heard a million times how important email marketing is. (At least 400 of those million times was probably from me, and I’m not sorry.)

However, we’re so focused on growing our own email list, that we likely don’t pay enough attention to what actually hits our inbox.

While it’s no secret that email marketing is used to butter you up for an eventual sale down the line, newsletters usually aren’t spammy or salesy at all — they’re actually extremely helpful and entertaining, if you’re subscribed to the right ones.

I find lots of valuable information from the newsletters that I’m subscribed to, and in today’s post, I’m giving you the inside scoop to these marketing newsletters that are actually worth reading.

What I look for in marketing and copywriting newsletters to subscribe to

Before I share my best recommendations for marketing and copywriting newsletters to trade your email for, I thought it’d be helpful to share with you WHY I consider them worthy of your precious inbox real estate.

In my opinion, the best newsletters are:

• Fun and easy to read
• Value-packed with things I can use, implement, or learn from 
• Entertaining / engaging & help you learn more about the brand’s personality 
• Consistent! I don’t ever want to guess about when I’ll receive a newsletter
• Offering a new or different perspective 

The below round-up of newsletters are among my favorites on the Internet, and I hope you’ll like ’em!

[SIDE NOTE before we move on: to learn how to write the BEST email newsletters—and how to get more subscribers on your email list—check out my email marketing course! I’m teaching you everything I know about email list growth, email opt-in copy, email welcome sequences, email newsletter copywriting, and more.]

Marketing Examples

Number one on my list for a reason. Harry of Marketing Examples is one of the most helpful marketing resources on the Internet.

He has successfully grown his email list to almost hundreds of thousands of subscribers, and he’s an incredibly talented marketer. He knows exactly what his audience wants, and he knows all the secrets to creating bomb content. I learn from him on the daily.

If you don’t subscribe to his newsletter, I’m going to assume that you hate expert advice, and have no interest in becoming a better marketer.

Take my word for it: you want this guy in your inbox. I’m a Marketing Examples stan, and I hope I’ve done a good job of influencing you to become one, too.

Read the BTL Expert Interview with Harry here!

Total Annarchy

Consider this recommendation one number-one-A. I couldn’t possibly place Bestie Ann at number two. Ann Handley is a best-selling author, a managing partner at MarketingProfs, and a content marketing Goddess.

In addition to being extremely knowledgeable, she’s also kind, supportive, and funny. And she wears leopard print suits, so that alone feels like enough of a reason to subscribe to her newsletter. Total Annarchy is a fortnightly newsletter about content marketing sent out every other Sunday morning that you definitely don’t want to miss.

Tuesday Table of Contents

If you only subscribe to one newsletter on this list, make it the TOC.

And, yes, I am only saying that because it’s mine. But I’m not too humble to refrain from tooting my own here: if you like my blog posts, you’ll love my newsletters.

Every Tuesday morning, I send a digital marketing tip, three of my “fave saves” (favorite posts from other creators I’ve found helpful during the week), and a book recommendation (because, duh). These emails are a short-and-sweet escape from your day, with an opportunity to learn new things and be introduced to other creators in the digital space. Click here to subscribe!

The Creative Marketer Newsletter

When you subscribe to The Creative Marketer newsletter, you’ll get one technique and one online tool every other Thursday.

After writing ad copy for brands like Burger King, Hyundai, and Siemens, The Creative Marketer‘s Founder, Shlomo, realized something:

Creativity isn’t random. You can practice it. Trigger it. Repeat it.

So, he created and learned formulas that you, too, can use to smash the creative block.

Marketing Brew

A spin-off of Morning Brew, this newsletter is packed with industry info. Their introductions are always clever, and they share tons of things I literally would never know about the marketing industry if I didn’t take a few minutes out of my day to review their newsletter.

They send their emails 3x a week, which is a liiittle much for me, but when I said they were *packed* with info I wasn’t kidding. There’s something for every marketer, and you can always count on them including a news story that’s actually interesting. Sign up here.

Please Advise

Every week day, Please Advise graces your inbox with their “single-scroll” marketing email. Their whole gag is sending an easy-to-implement marketing tip, without any extra stuff—so all you have to do is scroll once to get to the end.

I love the short-and-sweet vibe, but the tips often have a link to read more if you want to. I usually wait until their Friday email, when they send a recap of everything they’ve advised you on throughout the week, and decide what (if anything) I want to read more about and click on those links then.

Tips and Sips

I may be biased because I named and developed the format for this newsletter, but my client-friends over at Duo Collective have one of the best marketing newsletters in the game. This Duo is made up of former agency marketing queens Abbey Oslin and Courtney Petersen, both extremely talented businesswomen with a collective 20+ years of experience in organic marketing.

They give away an insane amount of value (and fun!) in their weekly newsletter, and for anyone who wants to learn about SEO, branding, or digital marketing, subscribing should be a non-negotiable.

The Friday Five

Whenever I open my inbox to The SM Collective‘s newsletter, I immediately think to myself: “oh, yay, it’s Friday!”

Stepfanie’s newsletter is a simple yet value-packed quick review of five of her favorite resources she’s saved throughout the week on topics ranging from website design, to organic marketing, to SEO, to freelance business operations.

She gives a mini update about what she’s working on at the beginning, then dives right into the resources. It’s short-and-sweet and the perfect pick-me-up for the that final weekday morning motivation.

Cool Copy Newsletter

Fellow copywriter Terry Schilling sends one of my favorite newsletters. It’s a no-frills, story-based weekly newsletter for copywriters, and he doesn’t skimp on the helpful hints. I always learn something valuable when I read Terry’s emails. Click here to subscribe.

Tonic Site Shop

While Tonic’s email is a little lengthier than some others on this list, the stories are worth it. I’d describe this newsletter as helpful comedy—I always find myself chuckling at something. And, of course, who doesn’t want a cocktail recipe delivered straight to their inbox from time to time? You can subscribe here. (Side note: if you’re in the market for a Showit website, please purchase a Tonic Site Shop template so my Squarespace ass can live vicariously through you.)

The Skimm

I’ve been subscribed to the Skimm for YEARS. No joke. I’ve been reading it every morning since college. While this daily newsletter has little to do with marketing, keeping up with current events and staying informed about the world’s latest happenings is extremely important. Not only will the Skimm help you maintain your status as a functioning human in society, but you’ll likely find a lot of inspiration buried in this all-encompassing email.

We should all take a lesson from the Skimm’s book on email marketing, because they’re a perfect example of a company who is doing it RIGHT. The content is relatable and easily digestible (duh, ‘skim’ is literally in their name), and there’s something for everyone. Not only do I get a lot of my news and inspo from their daily newsletter, but I also often find other people to connect with through their small showcases at the end. (When you subscribe, you’ll see what I mean, and you can thank me later.)

The Skimm also has several sister newsletters about things like money, book recommendations, and more. Click here to subscribe—it’s an emergency.

Smart, Pretty, and Awkward

This one isn’t marketing related, but I’m including it anyway because it’s a MUST SUBSCRIBE. 

Everything Molly Beck does is gold to me, and this newsletter is no exception. As a tragically long-winded person, I am always so envious of people who are able to keep things brief, actionable, and entertaining, all at the same time – and that’s exactly what this newsletter is.

You’ll want this in your inbox, I promise. I read the entire thing every single time, and I genuinely learn something new from it every single time, too.

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If we haven’t had the chance to *virtually* meet yet, hi! I’m Sara Noel—website copywriter and marketing mentor for creatives, copywriters, and all-around cool people. If you like my content and you want even more BTL in your life, here are a few ways you can connect with me:

Subscribe to my newsletter! I send one marketing tip, once a week – and, according to my subscribers, it’s “the best marketing newsletter on the Internet” and “the only reason to wake up on Tuesday mornings.” So… yeah. You’ll love ‘er. 😏 Click here to subscribe!

Check out my services. I write website copy, sales pages, email sequences, blog posts, and brand messaging guides for entrepreneurs of all kinds! Maybe you’re my next favorite client.

Read the rest of my blog. It’s home to everything from copywriting tips, to marketing education, to freelance advice, to portfolio-worthy projects… if you like this post, you’ll love the blog. Here’s a quick roundup of my most popular posts.

Sign up for my email marketing course. In this self-paced, 5-module email marketing course, I’m teaching you how to get the right people on your email list AND how to keep them there with the best email copywriting strategies.

You’ll learn about how to create the best lead magnets, write the most convincing opt-in copy, craft the most engaging welcome sequence, build a strategic newsletter content marketing plan, AND how to write the most entertaining, consistent email newsletters. Sign up now!

Enlist me as your mentor. I have an entire in-depth blog post about my one-on-one consulting process for new and aspiring copywriters, if you’re interested in having a big-sis-style mentor to help you grow your freelance copywriting business & get results.

To get in touch with me directly, send me a DM or email sara@betweenthelinescopy.com. Have a great day!