Are you looking to create an email newsletter for your business but struggling for inspiration? In this article we will review some of the great newsletters we have received in our inboxes to help you get ideas for your next newsletter.
What is an email newsletter?
If you’re sending emails to potential customers it’s important to define a clear purpose for each communication. People don’t spend a lot of time reading emails so you don’t want to muddle your messaging.
An email newsletter is about sharing updates, stories, achievements or tips with your subscribers rather than promoting your products or services. Your promotional emails are about you making sales. A newsletter is about nurturing your relationship. The stories you share should be interesting and show you’re expert in your field not just a money grubbing corporation.
Ideally, you want your newsletter to take a soft sales approach and promote your products indirectly through great content.
So let’s dive into a few examples from companies that do this really well.
Trading212 Email Newsletter
Trading212 is a fintech company that offers mobile apps where anyone can easily trade stocks. I receive this newsletter every Monday which summarises the hottest trades from the day before. That’s the first thing they got right, sending on the same day every week means their subscribers know when to look out for this email.
Subject line
Let’s start by look at the subject line:
A subject line should invoke some form of emotion that tempts the subscriber into opening an email. This subject line creates a fear of missing out, or FOMO. If you’re interested in trading stocks you want to stay on top of the hottest trends and that’s exactly what’s on offer.
The use of an emoji helps the subject line stand out in an inbox and it kind of relates to the subject line.
With a subject line you’re restricted by the number of characters so while keeping it short you need to get in as many keywords as you can. The use of ‘quick read’ in the preview text gives another reason to open the email now, it won’t take long.
Content
In our post about how to create an email newsletter we discussed the importance of finding a balance of image and text. Subscribers only spend an average of 11 seconds looking at an email so you need to grab their attention and make reading easy.
Trading212 have done a great job of finding that balance:
What’s great about their content
Different colours are used with purpose and make getting the message across easier
Good use of images. The logos make it clear what company they are referring to. The charts again get the message across without any reading.
Clear headings. Highlighting keywords by making them bold draws the readers attention.
Clear CTAs. The call to actions are a good size, the colour stands out and most importantly the text is more descriptive than just ‘read more’.
What you can learn from Trading212
This email is a great example of how you can show your expertise in your industry. The email isn’t trying to sell me anything, it’s educating me on the best stocks. Try and do the same, show your subscribers you are more knowledgeable than your competition.
YogaMatters – Online clothing store
Not a Yoga person myself but came across this brand while doing competitor research for a client and happened to really like their emails. Yoga Matters sell Yoga clothing and related items through their online store. The reason for picking this particular email newsletter is the great balance of promoting products through the use of content.
Subject line
YoyaMatters send out this particular newsletter every Sunday with a subject line similar to:
As we discussed above, sending on the same day every week builds anticipation. We also talked about emotions and the words ‘self-care’ does that whilst letting the subscriber know this email is about improving their life. With Spring around the corner at the time of writing this blog, the mention of it builds anticipation and makes this email almost time sensitive.
Lastly, they make good use of the preview text to promote their upcoming class. This adds to the notion that they offer more to their subscribers than just products.
What’s great about YogaMatter’s content
The content again uses a nice balance of images and text with clear and large CTAs. The headings are clear and inticing.
Header. Let’s start by looking at the header. They have included a navigation menu which I would always recommend having.
This is a good way of showing all the different options available on your website and driving traffic to it.
With out taking up too much space, they also get across the option for free delivery, offering a benefit to their subscribers.
Articles. The articles in the email newsletter have a blend of useful content and that relates to products they want to promote. The products themselves relate to the topic at hand.
The content includes a mix of tips, books and product promotions. All of them stick to the theme of ‘Sunday is for self-care’. This is a great idea, find a topic or theme that you can base your content around.
Booking.com email newsletter – Travel
Competition is tough in the travel market. It’s important for businesses to show they understand the market they are in. Based on this email it looks like booking.com do. I can go to them for more than just booking my travel, I can look to them for advise.
Subject line
The subject line is simple but sticks to my theme of invoking emotions in the reader.
A personalised subject line is likely to increase open rates. It’s a good A/B test to run if you haven’t tried it before. The use of the emoji and the start of a new year creates a feeling of joy and excitement.
What’s great about Booking.com’s email newsletter?
Header. The header is personalised, the recipients name is mentioned in the top right so you can quickly access your profile. They have also assigned a ‘genius level’ which makes me curious how I can increase my score. If your subscribers have accounts, make it easy for them to access their accounts from their emails.
Title. This email came to me at the start of the new year. It’s great timing to start talking about travel trends, every one is looking to book their holidays and again FOMO kicks in.
Articles. The articles in this email are not trying to sell me anything. They are telling me what others are doing. If you’re reading this in the future, most of the world was close to a recession in 2023 so ‘money saving trends’ are a hot topic.
The use of charts and images is great. Makes for easy reading and tempts me into wanting to knowing more.
I didn’t know there was a Booking.com ‘community’. If you do have a forum for your visitors getting them to take part is a great way to keep them engaged.
Lastly, Booking.com go in for the sale right at the end. The search box itself doesn’t work in the email but links off to their website. After giving so many ideas to save money and recommending locations I’m ready to at least start checking prices.
In summary, A personalised email with well laid out content and recommendations is a great way to keep your subscribers engaged.
Rightmove – Property
Another great example of a good email newsletters comes from Rightmove. They are a leading property search website in the UK. The newsletter contains the latest news around the property market and content that is informative yet promotes their service without trying too hard.
Subject line
Again, for readers from the future, 2023 started off pretty depressing with interest rates on the rise. That’s why I am a fan of the subject line.
The from name is ‘Laura at Rightmove’. This is another A/B test you should run. Try sending the email from an actual person vs just the company name.
What’s great about Rightmove’s content?
Header. The header contains link to the website pages which is something I would say is best practise. The navigation menu at the top is followed by a summary of what’s in the email.
The links go straight to their website. This is another great idea. From the small amount of people that open your email, even less will scroll through it. That’s why getting relevant links ‘above the fold’ drives engagement.
Articles. The articles are a good blend of driving website traffic and providing intriguing content.
The content ends with a mention of homes abroad. I didn’t know Rightmove did homes abroad and they have shared that information in a way that arouses my curiosity.
In summary, Rightmove have stayed topical, created content that’s unique and appealed to their subscribers curiosity.
So there you have it! Some amazing examples of email newsletters you can draw inspiration from. Just remember, use the opportunity to show your knowledge. Keep it topical and make sure it benefits your subscribers.
If you need help, get in touch with us.
