How Do You Write a Business Newsletter Template?

Creating a good business newsletter template that builds credibility and attracts clients shouldn’t feel like a never-ending battle. One day you might win with an appealing design, and the next you lose readers with bland content. Without a clear and consistent structure, readers can become confused and look elsewhere.

For ten years, I’ve used simple frameworks to keep e-newsletter subscribers loyal. Download the Easy 5-Step Business E-Newsletter Template to create business-boosting emails.

What is a Good Business Newsletter Format?

Business newsletter template formats vary in style based on your industry, audience, and your goals.

When you adapt your template to your content, your goals, and your audience’s needs, you can build relationships that lead to sales.

In my experience, a strong business newsletter format focuses on:

  • An engaging introduction or feature articles with clear calls to action that build interest in your content and offers.
  • A one or two-column format (or a mix of both) to enhance reading or skimming.
  • Compelling design elements like quality images, consistent branding, complementary colors, and easy-to-read text.

The right business newsletter templates create must-read messages.

Templates and Snippets

“Think of it like having a toolbox full of ready-to-use content pieces. We create templates for different sections like updates, client stories, or promotions. When it’s newsletter time, we just plug in the relevant info and voilà!”

Tommy Mello, CEO, A1 Garage Door Service

How Do You Create a Branded Email Template?

Online newsletters are easier to customize, analyze the results, and send at any time, often costing less than a print newsletter.

Good Business Email Templates

Compared to paid options, free business email templates have limits; your email marketing provider (ESP) might restrict the number of “sends” and subscribers on your plan.

Design-wise, look for templates with a clear, mobile-friendly, and easy-to-scan design. ESPs offer everything from basic business newsletter templates to industry-specific designs.

Good formats organize your content well and help your messages maintain a look and feel consistent with your brand.

Email templates have some downsides. Layouts that look plain or are common, used by other businesses, don’t stand out. Templates might also not offer enough customization or personalization options. To avoid these issues, pick templates that fit your brand, customize them, and use subscriber data to personalize the content as much as possible.

Test different layouts, content locations, CTAs, and subject lines. Making the design mobile-friendly and adding video, animated images, or interactive sections can encourage engagement. Personalizing the content for each reader also helps.

Tracking data to see what works best lets you adapt the design over time.

Your email footer should comply with anti-spam regulations like CAN-SPAM (U.S.), and GDPR (Europe).

An industry-specific one for professional services firms (accountants, attorneys, etc.), can yield an engaging email. A clear format is crucial, as is clear writing.

Email Marketing Resources:

Knowing how to write an article for a business newsletter can prepare you for writing a business newsletter. It’s all part of how to write an email promoting your business. Suitable writing styles also vary by industry. Learn how to create a professional email newsletter or how to write a law firm newsletter.

Successful Business Newsletters: Case Studies

The FROGED software platform inbox, showing folders on the left, email senders in the middle, and text-filled balloons on the right. Their business newsletter templates followed a simple format.

Marketing Sherpa’s research offers insights into email marketing methods that have boosted engagement.

Their study of the software platform FROGED‘s emails showed the company’s switch to plain-text messages with simple calls to action doubled open and click-through rates.

It helped that the emails came from a staff member, adding a personal touch.

United Capital's FinLife Digest e-newsletter. A focus on interesting, trustworthy content made their business newsletter format stand out.

Their study of financial life management company United Capital showed how the firm revamped its “FinLife Digest” newsletter with original content and curated pieces.

This mix aimed to offer more valuable content. Their research showed readers cared about more than saving and investing, prompting United to add content on broader financial life stages. This customer-centric approach boosted newsletter engagement by 145% in one year.

Both newsletters used simple templates filled with interesting, trustworthy content.

Business Email Templates – Free Download

Even with a template, it’s not always clear where to place key e-newsletter content.

If you’re tired of wasting time guessing, get an outline that shows what to add and where for maximum engagement. Use it to fill your e-newsletters with information your audience will love.

The template suitable for any business covers:

  • 5 essential email elements
  • The most eye-catching places for engagement and action
  • Instructions for government-compliant footers
  • BONUS: customizable HTML templates for platforms like MailChimp

With this template, you can create a newsletter that “wows” your subscribers and keeps them engaged. And visual learners will easily spot where everything goes.

How Do You Update Your Business Template?

If you use an email service provider, updating your template should be as easy as a few clicks in your content boxes. Once you’ve saved it, email yourself a copy and see how it looks on your laptop, desktop, or mobile devices. Many platforms also let you preview it in different screen sizes.

Business E-Newsletter Template Creation Made Easy

With these tips, you can spend more time creating and less time guessing. Making a business newsletter template becomes as easy as 1-2-3.

To save time and stress less, get the Easy 5-Step Business E-Newsletter template.

How Do You Write a Company Newsletter for Clients?

Do your clients forget about you between projects? Your communication strategy could be the culprit. A company newsletter builds strong customer relationships and reminds them about your services.

For a decade, I’ve created effective company newsletters for service providers. My e-newsletter marketing packages help you publish a newsletter and a free audit shows how to improve one.

What is a Company Newsletter?

Company newsletters share news, events, and other items of interest with employees and clients. They help businesses:

1. Promote their brands and thought leadership
2. Share industry insights
3. Showcase company culture and values
4. Highlight client success stories
5. Nurture leads and sales

Internal vs. External Company Newsletters

An internal newsletter for employees contains information that will help them in and outside of work. News, events, employee initiatives, and profiles build teamwork and morale.

Business-to-consumer and business-to-business newsletters feature news, information, and offers to attract and retain clients.

Your content is the heart of your newsletter; the bones of its structure hold it together.

How to Write a Newsletter for a Company

To craft an effective company newsletter, follow AIDA: Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action.

  • Attention: Place the most compelling elements, like a catchy subject line or headline, at the top. Use power words, numbers, emojis, news, or scarcity (“This Friday Only”) to spark curiosity. Add preview text that builds on the headline and hints at what’s inside.
  • Interest: When you’ve caught attention, the challenge is to sustain interest. As HubSpot suggests, build relevance by ensuring your content aligns with your newsletter’s purpose. Keep readers engaged with intriguing facts, quotes, or questions. Use relevant visuals and personalize your content to match subscribers’ interests.
  • Desire: Show the usefulness of your products or services. Highlight benefits and solutions, building desire for your offerings.
  • Action: This is your newsletter’s ultimate goal. Add a clear, persuasive, and eye-catching call-to-action (CTA), such as a sentence or button that links to your website or landing page. Use action verbs and focus on what readers will gain by clicking, like reading more, buying, or registering.

For more tips, learn how to write a newsletter article for business. It can prepare you for writing a business newsletter. It’s all part of how to write a company newsletter. Suitable writing styles can also vary by industry. Learn how to create a professional email newsletter or how to write a law firm newsletter (with company newsletter examples).

More Resources:

SendGrid’s 37 email marketing tips for 2024 highlight proper email authentication standards like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to improve deliverability.

Base your topics on your business goals and your content marketing strategy. Your subject matter may vary based on whether you want to raise awareness, gain leads, or engage customers.

Examples:

  • Brand awareness: “What is” articles that explain products or services. Example: “What is a good way to invest for retirement?”
  • Lead-generation: Events or offers that require a sign-up. Example: Income Tax Deduction Webinar.
  • Client engagement: Quizzes, feedback requests, or reviews.

Without interesting content, your e-newsletter could lose subscribers. But creating eye-catching content doesn’t have to be hard or time-consuming. Effective company newsletters can increase brand awareness and keep customers loyal.

These strategies are adaptable to different business types or industries.

“Use content from your blog, whitepapers, or case studies. Summarize or update this content for your e-newsletters, saving time on creating new material from scratch.”

George Petropoulos, founder, Inoriseo

The Letterhead blog states that repurposing content into email newsletters provides “time-saving benefits” and helps get “more value from the content you’ve already created.”

What Are Some Good Company Newsletter Ideas?

Popular engaging content ideas include:

  • A Warm Welcome – Start with a friendly greeting or introduction.
  • Mark Your Calendars – Inform readers about upcoming events or webinars.
  • Industry Insights – Share the latest news and trends.
  • Product Updates – New offerings, features, or improvements that enhance value.
  • Client Spotlights -Celebrate their successes through testimonials that reinforce your brand’s value proposition.
  • Special Offers – Engage through promotions, discounts, or limited-time deals.
  • Blog Digest – Summarize and link to recent blog posts.

You may also borrow company newsletter ideas from similar emails and adapt them to your topic and audience.

To find fresh company newsletter ideas, brainstorm content relevant to your clients:

  1. Industry trends and insights
  2. Client success stories and testimonials
  3. New product or service announcements
  4. Exclusive content offers or discounts
  5. Expert Q&A sessions

Quora offers more good topics for a company newsletter.

What is a Company Newsletter Template?

Part of the Easy 5-Step Business E-Newsletter Template, an example of a company newsletter template.

A visually appealing newsletter layout features one or two columns or a mix of both.

For example, the Easy 5-Step Business E-Newsletter Template leaves room for your logo, your social icons, feature articles, and a call-to-action. It also guides you on creating a GDPR or CAN-SPAM-compliant footer (clear opt-out links, accurate sender information, etc.).

Structured to match how people read newsletters, it maintains interest from start to finish.

Whichever template you use, adapt it with your branding and content to attract and hold attention.

How Do You Write a Company Newsletter for Clients?

As shown, clear, specific, and unique details help your messages stand out. You don’t need to deliver lots of information; a simple, fluid design eases reading and scanning.

Save time, boost engagement, and gain business with a clear e-newsletter format. Get the Easy 5-Step Business E-Newsletter Template today!

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