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Writing Email Newsletters ​

We send a lot of email. As devices shrink and the inbox evolves, our oldest tip is still the most important: Only send when you have something to say.

Guidelines ​

Email newsletters generally follow the style points outlined in the Voice and tone and Grammar and mechanics sections. Here are some additional considerations.

Consider all elements ​

Every email newsletter is made up of the following elements. Make sure they’re all in place before clicking send:

"From" name ​

This is usually your name or the team’s name. It identifies the sender in the recipient's inbox.

Subject line ​

Keep your subject line descriptive. There's no perfect length, but some email clients display only the first words. Tell—don't sell—what's inside. Subject lines should be in sentence case. (Note that this is different from a headline, which you may want to include in the campaign itself.)

Example

  • Don't do this: Hoping to schedule a meeting later this week.
  • Do this: Can you meet?

Writing the email/newsletter ​

Body copy ​

Keep your content concise. Write with a clear purpose, and connect each paragraph to your main idea. Add images when they’re helpful.

Call to action ​

Make the next step clear. Whether you’re asking people to buy something, read something, share something, or respond to something, offer a clear direction to close your message so readers know what to do next.

Consider your perspective ​

When sending an email newsletter from RMADA, use the 3rd person “we.” When sending a message as an individual, use the 1st person.

Use a hierarchy ​

Most readers will be scanning your emails or viewing them on a small screen. Put the most important information first.

More than 50 percent of emails are read on a mobile device. Limit links to the most important resources to focus your call to action and prevent errant taps on smaller screens.

Use alt text ​

Some email clients disable images by default. Include an alt tag to describe the information in the image for people who aren’t able to see it.

Segment your audience ​

It’s exciting to send to millions of users at once, but it’s doubtful that every subscriber is interested in every topic. Segment your list to find a particular audience that’s likely to react.

Once you've selected an audience, adjust the language to fit their needs. For example, users who developed custom integrations are more likely to understand and appreciate direct, technical terms.

Test your campaigns ​

Use the preview mode to begin, and run an Inbox Inspection to see your newsletter in different email clients. Read your campaign out loud to yourself, then send a test to a coworker for a second look.