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Email marketing can be a great way to engage your existing customers and leads.
However, it’s important to remember that consumers are often bombarded with email messages from different companies, not to mention their friends, family, and colleagues.
In fact, according to Radicati Group, organizations and individuals sent an average of 269 billion emails each day in 2017.
And this number is expected to increase up to 3% reaching more than 246 billion by 2019.
Email marketing is effective because of this simple truth – your email is not as accessible publicly compared to your other social media info.
It is private. It is something that they have given to you freely in exchange for information from your brand.
But since emails are private, it is made for a human, personalized touch.
Now you may be wondering, how can I cut through the noise to effectively reach my audience?
Email newsletters might be just the answer!
Now, what’s an email newsletter?
An email newsletter is a form of digital communication between a business and its subscribers.
Emails are used to generate customer interest and engagement by sending them updates about the business and other information that they might find useful or relevant to them.
The best email newsletter examples will demonstrate how to connect with your audience and build stronger customer relationships by providing valuable content that keeps your readers wanting more each month.
Now you may be wondering, “how do I create an email newsletter?”
Email newsletters will vary depending on the needs of each business, but the overall process remains the same.
You must determine a goal for your newsletter campaign, develop engaging content, optimize for your audience, and then send your newsletters out to the audience you choose.
You may or may not already know what you want your email newsletters to look like, so read this step-by-step guide on how to create email newsletters.
Below are just a few of what we consider the best email newsletter examples that we believe should win an award for their efforts.
We’ll discuss what’s great about each and how you can learn from each example to improve your own email marketing newsletter.
1. Litmus
Being that Litmus is an email marketing testing company, it should come as no surprise that they made it onto our best email newsletter list.
Not only does Litmus offer interesting content that its readers will find valuable, but the company also uses a beautiful and engaging design that keeps users interested in their content.
Here’s an example of one of the company’s email newsletters:
First, let’s talk about design. Each of the sections of this newsletter is clearly defined.
Litmus uses different colored backgrounds to help break the newsletter content up into easy-to-read sections.
The images are very simple, yet effective.
Rather than overwhelming readers with detailed or complex imagery, Litmus uses simple graphics that easily get the point across.
In addition to the graphics, Litmus also uses a calls-to-action throughout the email at the end of each post description.
This makes it easy for users to go to the site and read the rest of the content.
Notice also that these CTAs are not specific and engaging.
Rather than using a more generalized call-to-action, Litmus helps the reader better understand how the content can help them.
For instance, “Learn the terminology,” tells the reader just what they will get out of clicking on the content and reading it.
Much like many of the other email newsletter examples, we will cover in this blog…
…the Litmus newsletter provides readers with a variety of different content pieces that can help them better understand their challenges.
Aimed at businesses that use email marketing as part of their digital marketing strategy,…
…the newsletter content helps readers better understand different aspects of email testing and the benefits it can provide.
And speaking of digital marketing strategy, check out this post next to learn the top proven ways to create a digital marketing plan for your business.
2. Yelp
The secret to creating the best email newsletter is making sure that your content is relevant to your audience.
You can do this by segmenting your email lists to ensure that the content you provide to each subscriber is engaging and relevant to their interests.
Yelp offers a great example of an email newsletter that does just that.
This weekly email newsletter provides specific information targeted to those living in the Boston area.
Yelp’s ultimate goal is to help its users find the best places to eat, visit, and shop in their area.
That’s precisely what this newsletter does as it provides both content and suggestions on things to do and see in the Boston area.
To adopt Yelp’s approach to newsletter content, you’ll need to consider what you know about your audience and the type of content they find interesting.
For instance, if you find that a group of your subscribers has similar interests, you might separate them into an email list of their own and send content that’s relevant to these interests.
Don’t know much about your audience? Ask them to self-identify when they sign up for your newsletter.
You can provide a list of topics you plan to cover and ask the user to check off the topics they’d like to see more about.
This will help you ensure that your content is relevant and useful for your subscribers.
3. General Assembly
General Assembly is an organization that helps professionals expand their skill set through course content and training.
Their newsletter (shown below) makes excellent use of a minimal layout with custom graphics to grab the reader’s attention.
The layout is simple with clear separating lines between each section. The graphics are relevant and engaging without distracting from the content topics.
Notice that the red CTAs help draw attention to where the reader should go next to RSVP for a course.
This email newsletter lets users know about upcoming events and courses that General Assembly has to offer.
The copy is clear and engaging, getting the point across quickly and providing the necessary details upfront.
This newsletter is very easy to scan, which is a vital component of emails that are marketing different events.
If you want to produce newsletters like these best email newsletter examples, then reach out to us.
Our professional email marketing agency can bring your email newsletter campaign back to life! All you have to do is contact us to schedule a call that fits into your busy calendar.
4. Moz
The Moz Top Ten sets itself apart from other email newsletter examples because it doesn’t just use content that’s been written by the Moz team.
Instead, the Moz Top Ten compiles a list of awesome articles from around the web that its audience will find interesting and useful.
They choose this list carefully to ensure that the content is helpful and well-written, offering a variety of different topics that keep their users reading each month.
This is a great example of how you can utilize content from other organizations to continue to provide value for your audience.
This shows readers that the company cares about their customers and leads beyond just being able to promote their own content.
The list format is also effective for this email newsletter as it sets expectations for readers and breaks the content down into a scannable format.
5. Ben & Jerry’s
Another important part of creating the best email newsletter is working to educate your customers and empower them to make better decisions when it comes to your products or services.
That’s exactly what ChunkMail from Ben & Jerry’s does!
Here’s an example of their fun yet educational newsletter:
Rather than providing dry informational content, Ben & Jerry’s takes a fun approach to educating their audience.
This newsletter includes recipes for milkshakes that can be made with the company’s product as well as tips for preventing freezer burn.
The newsletter also goes beyond just ice cream related information.
It contains content that aligns with the brand’s reputation for social consciousness. Readers that identify with and support the company’s values will appreciate this article.
Not only does it provide valuable information to readers, but it helps further the company’s brand image by reflecting on its unique values.
Notice also that the email content contains social media buttons at the bottom with an invitation to “connect with us!”.
Again, putting these links to your social media profiles in your email newsletter content helps you engage with your consumers across channels…
…and create an additional touchpoint with your fans and followers.
6. Cook Smarts
Cook Smarts’ “Weekly Eats” newsletter is another great example of what the best email newsletters provide – value in an easy-to-read format.
Each week, the company sends subscribers meal plan recipes and other kitchen tips.
Let’s take a look at one of their newsletters:
The layout of the email content is simple, providing one section with menu items, one section with kitchen how-to’s, and a final section with helpful tips and tricks.
This makes it easy for readers to skim and find the section of the newsletter that they’re most interested in.
The images are simple and attractive, showing readers what each meal looks like.
And the company maintains consistent branding throughout the newsletter with gold and black text and background colors throughout.
Here’s a good article with tips in branding your small business.
One important thing to notice here is the “Forward to a friend” call-to-action link at the bottom of the email content.
By inviting subscribers to email their favorite recipes to their friends, Cook Smarts is helping to expand their reach and potentially their email list.
7. InVision
InVision is another company with excellent email newsletter examples.
Each week, InVision provides an email filled with different blog posts and design tips that their readers will find useful.
By providing a great mix of content that provides value for their readers, InVision can keep their subscribers happy and engaged each week.
Here’s an example of their newsletter:
The design of the email is simple but uses engaging and relevant images and videos to keep their readers interested.
The different sections are clearly marked, making it easier to scan and read the content.
Another important thing to take note of is the fun call-to-action buttons throughout the email content that appear in InVision’s signature pink.
With phrases like “Cat GIFs on Every Page” and “Behind Every Great Design,” the CTA buttons are enticing and encourage readers to click to find out more.
8. SXSW
If you’re not familiar with SXSW, it’s a music, film, and interactive conference that takes place in Austin, TX every year.
This event uses email newsletters to drive registration and attendance while building interest for the event.
Much like the event’s presenters and performers, SXSW’s newsletters work to engage subscribers visually to build excitement for the event.
Here’s just one example of their email newsletter.
Notice that there is very little written content in this email message.
Instead of bombarding the reader with the details of the conference, SXSW aims to engage the subscriber visually and get them back to the site to register.
The call-to-action buttons are easy to see with a yellow background and black text.
The text is clear and simple, encouraging readers to “register now” for the event.
The email also uses an impending deadline for discounted registration as a motivator for readers to act immediately.
In addition to CTAs to register, the email also provides some prompts for the subscriber to find out more about the film and music events that will take place at the conference.
This offers a little teaser to keep subscribers interested and entice them to act.
9. Fizzle
The Fizzle newsletter provides weekly tips for entrepreneurs who are working to build their businesses.
Though the organization has other content assets, such as a blog and podcast, they provide unique content in their emails each week, which helps keep their subscribers engaged.
This makes the content have more of an exclusive feel and eliminates redundancy for those who also follow the blog or podcast.
Here is an example of their best email newsletter:
You’ll notice that this newsletter looks a little different than some of the other email newsletter examples we’ve covered so far.
The content is much longer, allowing users to read the tips right in their inbox instead of clicking on the company’s website.
However, there are several things that Fizzle does well to make this longer format work.
First, they use clear headers and subheaders to break up the content and make it easier to digest.
The most important points are bolded, making the content easy to scan and read quickly.
The author also summarizes the main points at the beginning of the email so that readers know what to expect.
Notice that Fizzle also includes links to follow the company on social media or subscribe to their podcast.
This is an effective best practice for email newsletter content as it helps you create more touchpoints for your customers and leads.
10. Medium
Medium is a blog-publishing platform that has recently gained popularity over the past few years.
The company uses its email newsletters to help bring great content from the blogs published on their platform to their followers and fans.
Here are just one of their email newsletter examples:
What’s great about this newsletter is that its design is simple, yet effective.
Medium uses section dividers to separate each post and includes engaging images with each.
This allows them to present a lot of content in their newsletter without overwhelming the reader.
You’ll also notice that the newsletter gives the reader a little taste of each article so that they can quickly decide if they’d like to read the rest of the post.
The content then links to each article where the reader can easily finish reading the post.
The newsletter also tells readers how long each post takes to read, helping subscribers decide if they have time to dive in now or need to come back to it later.
Takeaways
With the excellent email newsletter examples above, it’s easy to see just how powerful email marketing can be in helping you reach and connect with your target readers.
If you want to create the best email newsletter for your audience, it’s important to consider what they care about most and how you can provide value through consistent and relevant content.
Follow the best practices of a few of the examples above and you’ll be on your way to creating an award-winning email newsletter in no time!
Don’t feel like you have the time?
Work with an email marketing agency like ours! Our email marketing services include plenty of customization options for small businesses like yours.
Reach out to us today to see how we can help you grow and improve your email newsletters to look more like the ones we just discussed.