What makes a good newsletter?

In the world of modern media, newsletters are often considered podcasts’ less sexy cousin. Podcasts are dynamic, democratic, build passionate communities around them, and can be enjoyed while doing anything from household chores to hillwalking. Newsletters, on the other hand, have an old-fashioned vibe, still carrying connotations of dull, lengthy missives sent by over-keen siblings at Christmas.

But to believe that would be to do newsletters a disservice. Over the last few years – and perhaps in podcasts’ shadow – they have grown substantially in popularity, becoming an invaluable means of direct audience engagement. According to a Reuters Digital News Report, one in seven people over 55 say email is the primary way they access news; Stylist magazine’s newsletter subscribers are in the millions.

Media consultant Peter Houston summarised the benefit of newsletters perfectly: “the wins waiting for anyone that produces a great newsletter are many and varied: you’ll grow a list of people who care… you can build habit and loyalty… you can use it to develop new products… and you’ll have a new platform for advertising”. The key word here, however, is ‘great’. 

The four Cs

So what makes a ‘great’ newsletter? 

As manager of this year’s Publisher Newsletter Awards – and a newsletter enthusiast besides – I’ve zoned in on four main principles a good newsletter needs:

1. Content: This should be obvious, but it isn’t. If you want your target reader to open your newsletter again and again, engaging content is essential. Promotional posts might get you some click-throughs at first… but they’re not the stuff of lasting relationships. Your subscribers are trusting you to share content they will use and/or enjoy – provide them with real value.
    
2. Collation: I may be biased as an editor, but to me, a newsletter should be like a mini magazine: well-considered and perfectly curated. Readers like variety in content, format, even length of articles – think about what you’re pulling together and what that says about your brand.
    
3. Consistency: In short: keep showing up. Whatever your schedule, if you keep it regular (and have all the other elements in place), your audience may actually look forward to your email arriving. How many brands can say that?
    
4. Connection: Remember that by signing up for your newsletter, a reader is agreeing to a more intimate relationship with you: you are being given direct access to them with no algorithms getting in the way. This is an opportunity to learn more about them and create a kind of loyalty hard to engender on the latest social platform. 

I have one final tip: if you need inspiration, look to publishers. Publishing brands are well-placed to produce a good newsletter. First, writing quality content is second nature to them. Second, a strong editorial team, used to creating newspapers and magazines, knows just how to pull together content in an appealing package. And of course, catering to audience needs is absolutely essential for their publications’ survival, whether online or in print.

Freelance writer Erica Bruist once said, “No one needs more s**t to read” – and this is why the key to a successful newsletter is creating genuine value beyond a series of links or promotional material. Of course, we can’t ignore the fact newsletters are a means of conversion – the Financial Times’ Sarah Ebner says that “newsletter readers read 300% more articles on average than your other FT readers” – but done well they can, and should, be quality products in their own right.

Joanna Cummings is a freelance writer and the editorial director and co-founder of The Grub Street Journal. She is also manager of this year’s Publisher Newsletter Awards and a public speaker on confidence and imposter syndrome in the magazine industry.