What Should Be Included in a Business Newsletter?

The question, “What should be included in a business newsletter?” can be hard to answer. The many possibilities toughen decision-making. But it’s possible to save time while you create engaging content that shows your expertise.

If you struggle to make newsletters that set your business apart, consider my email marketing packages or get a free audit.

What Business Newsletter Content Should You Include?

Good topics suit your business and content goals. You can inform potential clients about your products or services. You may also reuse or reframe social media posts, blog posts, or press releases.

Newsletter Ideas for Business Based on Your Goals

What are your customers’ problems? What keeps them awake? Relieve their pain through stories, quotes, or advice.

  • Brand awareness: Share your company culture through a video or a personal story. Promote a grand opening or an annual sale.
  • Lead-generation: Offer resources like ebooks, checklists or guides, free trials, or webinars; add “how-to”s or tips.
  • Planning: Creating a content calendar maintains consistency, aligning your content with your marketing goals.

How Do You Make a Company Newsletter Interesting?

Match your content to each buyer’s journey stage (awareness, consideration, decision-making).

Eye-tracking studies show people read online in an F-shaped pattern, focusing on the top and left side. A good outline for informational text follows the AIDA format (attention-interest-desire-action). Another option is an inverted pyramid with a one-column layout, placing the most important information at the top. It aids skimming and scrolling on all devices.

Crafting Engaging Business Newsletter Topics

  • Enticing Headlines: Write headlines that spark interest. Refine them based on A/B tests in blog or social media posts first. Use strong verbs, numbers, and benefit-driven language.
  • Engaging Preview Text: Provide a concise, compelling content summary in 150 or fewer characters.
  • Visual Appeal: Add clear images, infographics, or videos to break up text and enhance readability.

What Should Be Included in a Business Newsletter – Content Examples

A series of business newsletter-themed icons that show what should be included in a newsletter, such as envelopes and charts and graphs in white and shades of orange, blue, and gray.

Maximize Trends: With Google’s AMP technology, you can make emails interactive through polls, games, or forms to boost engagement and gather data.

Predictive personalization lets businesses tailor emails based on reader behavior and preferences. You can promote products or services based on recent buying patterns.

Example: a coupon for a discount on investment planning after an initial consultation.

Content curation: using AI or other platforms helps you highlight topics efficiently. Personalize the content based on readers’ preferences.

“One effective strategy I’ve implemented is leveraging content repurposing. By repurposing existing blog posts, case studies, or industry insights into digestible newsletter formats, you can streamline the creation process while delivering valuable content to your audience.”

Gustav Nicholson, editor, Ampifire

How Do You Write a Business Newsletter?

Experts suggest e-newsletters should be 300 words or fewer to accommodate short attention spans. Many newsletters are slightly longer, at an average of 500 to 700 words.

How to Write a Business Newsletter

Key parts to write:

  • Headlines: Make a statement. Example: People are overdosing on coffee ☕️ (Touristy)
  • Compelling Body Copy: Write clear and informative articles, drawing on your experience; highlight a tip, a blog post, or an offer.
  • Clear calls-to-action: Tell readers what you want them to do and emphasize what they’ll get. Should they visit a link for more information, download a checklist, or register for a webinar? Example: “Teach yourself all the tools and techniques you need to support your mental health” (Calm; Calm Down e-newsletter)

For e-newsletter content writing tips, explore Writing a Business Newsletter. Learn How to Write a Newsletter Article for Business, How to Write a Professional Services Newsletter, or How to Write a Law Firm Newsletter.

What Are Corporate Newsletter Best Practices?

Keep a regular publishing schedule. Choose optimal sending times based on your audience demographics.

  1. Set expectations on your “Subscribe” page. Tell potential subscribers what to expect in each issue and how often you will send it.
  2. Use email platforms like MailChimp or Constant Contact for mobile-friendly designs.
  3. Accessibility: Add clear “alt text” for images, text instead of graphics, and follow Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. Use complementary colors and sans serif fonts (12 to 16 points).

Monitor and Analyze Results: Track open rates, click-through rates, and unsubscribes. Use this data to refine your strategy and deliver interesting content. MailChimp reports that the average business e-newsletter open rate is about 37 percent.

A/B Testing: It’s sometimes limited in its scope. Consider factors like audience demographics and sample sizes when you assess the results. GetResponse suggests you follow data, not your gut feelings.

  • Permission-Based Marketing: Follow GDPR (Europe), CASL (Canadian Anti-Spam Law), and CAN-SPAM Act (U.S.) best practices. Under CAN-SPAM, ensure subscribers have opted to get your newsletter. Provide your company’s physical mailing address and clear unsubscribe options.
  • Segmentation: If you tailor content to different audiences (job role, industry, etc.) send it to separate lists.
  • Send from a recognized name rather than “ABC Widget Company” to avoid spam filters and foster trust.

These ideas can be adapted to different types of businesses and industries.

How to Make a Company Newsletter Interesting

A well-crafted newsletter is a long-term investment in your client relationships. Now that you know what should be included in a business newsletter, you can drive engagement, build trust, and reach your goals.

If you struggle to create standout newsletters, consider my email marketing packages or get a free audit.

5 Business Newsletter Writing Best Practices

When you make e-newsletters, which I’ve done for more than ten years, you can overlook some business newsletter writing best practices. Some, like privacy rules, require legal compliance. Others, like the format, can affect a newsletter’s overall impact.

Follow these steps to create emails that comply with commonly accepted standards and build engagement.

See these videos for a more in-depth view of each step described in this blog.

1. Have a plan – Studies show people read online content in an F-shape. They focus on the top and the left side, reading from left to right.

A yellow-ish red eye with a red circle and points around it. Eye-tracking studies show that people read online content in an F-shaped pattern; considering this in your content creation is among the business newsletter writing best practices.

They also tend to scan or skim emails. As email marketer Des Brown suggests, when you create an e-newsletter, consider:

  • scannability
  • visual hierarchy
  • reading patterns

Structure your content accordingly.

Many email marketing platforms offer mobile-friendly templates you can adapt to your style. Especially if you’ve never created an e-newsletter, compiling one is like guesswork. See what to add and where for prime engagement with The Easy 5-Step Business E-Newsletter Template.

2. Consider the format – Beyond planning and structure, a regular format eases creation.

Service provider e-newsletters often start with a “welcome” message, followed by one or two main articles, and then end with an offer. One section usually features a blog.

The listicle format has helped me keep creating e-newsletters for 11 years. Sticking to five key points saves me time, preventing me from driving down dead ends. 

3. Foster ideas – I love to pre-crastinate, gradually adding ingredients to my pot of soup. I log ideas or snippets whenever inspiration strikes. 

Whether you use an online scheduler or a spreadsheet, a three to 12-month content calendar can keep you organized. Apps may remind you about deadlines.

As you consider topics, explore how to save time and how your emails fit into your overall marketing strategy: 

  • Curate content from sources like industry news websites using tools.
  • Reduce, reuse, and recycle: Reinvent any existing content (blog posts, video, press releases, white papers, etc.). Link back, summarize, or rephrase. 

4. Catchier content – Most e-newsletters are educational, selling more subtly than email marketing campaigns. 

Eye-catching headlines, body copy, and calls to action are crucial. The subject line is the first thing people see and influences whether they will open an email.

Example: How to protect, preserve, and pass on your wealth by design (Sundvick Legacy Center)

Content that engages is not only useful or persuasive, but relatable. Sharing your stories in your own voice, like what works and what hasn’t worked for you, shows you as a person, not a bot. Your unique experiences help you stand out.

5. Privacy compliance This is an important business newsletter writing best practice. During a recent e-newsletter review, I was surprised at least ten percent of the U.S. companies’ footers didn’t follow CAN-SPAM rules. Some had “unsubscribe” links in low-contrast colors, making them hard to see.

Other CAN-SPAM aspects to note for commercial emails:

  • identify ads
  • don’t use deceptive subject lines

CASL (Canadian Anti-Spam Law) and GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation; Europe) require similar compliance.

What are some of your favorite e-newsletter best practices? Feel free to comment below.

QUOTES

“Create a questionnaire of common information you need to know from clients to put together an e-newsletter. Also, have a template where you can fill in the blanks of what they can discuss, depending on the type of newsletter (sale vs. announcement vs. new service, etc.). Organization and planning can help make the writing process go smoother and faster.”

Ashley Romer, SEO Manager, PaperStreet Web Design

“Your newsletters should include a variety of elements (blogs/articles, videos, podcasts, upcoming events, etc.). Balance consumable content with promotional content to maximize value for the recipient.”

Harvard University Brand and Visual Identity Guidelines, “Email Newsletter Best Practices

Healthcare Email Marketing: Best E-Newsletters

In my newsletter, I discussed the aspects of effective emails — check out these examples that follow healthcare email marketing best practices, with good design and writing.

DISCLAIMER: I’m not affiliated with any of these sites. I like their content, and present it for educational purposes only for better healthcare email marketing.

1. MaineGeneral HealtheMatters – They present their information in a visually appealing way while projecting a positive image of their organization to build trust to keep patients and get donations. Donors can give money with one simple, easy-to-find click.

2. MaineHealth Health Matters e-Newsletter – MaineHealth’s engaging e-newsletter truly informs, with healthful recipes, links to health tips and videos, and news everyone can use.

3. Consumers for Affordable Health Care (CAHC) – The weekly Coffee CAHC e-newsletter covers federal and state policy news about health care.  It’s distressing, though, how much it has become politicized and how divisive the issue of access to affordable health care has become.  Aside from the political issues, I applaud the informative information, and they make great use of subheadings throughout to break up the different sections.

Are you getting enough leads and revenue from your newsletter?  If not, contact me for a free e-news audit today!

What do you think?  Do you have any great newsletters to share here?

Published November 6, 2018