What is a Newsletter?
Many people believe email is a thing of the past, snail mail if you will, and the thought of receiving a newsletter gives you the ick.
However, a well-crafted and delivered newsletter is equivalent to receiving a gift from your long-distance best friend. It’s undeniable to doubt the power of true connection in a virtual world that is mostly noise these days.
A curated newsletter can do just that. Newsletters don’t have to be out-of-touch and can be something that you look forward to opening in your inbox every week or month. A newsletter renaissance is happening. Here’s what a newsletter really is.
What is a newsletter?
Extra, Extra, Read All About It! If you pictured an old-timey newspaper boy from the 1930’s on his bike doing his paper route, then you and I think alike…uncanny.
Email newsletters have become such an umbrella term for all email marketing and campaigns but it is only one part of a larger whole. A newsletter is an email sent to subscribers on a regular basis, containing news (duh) and informational content relevant to the company and of interest to subscribers (thank you Google digital marketing course).
Newsletters help you advertise your product, build up trust and expertise, create lasting relationships with your customers, and inform and educate.
Why is a newsletter important?
Why should we care? Email is for old people. Well actually, email is an incredibly valuable digital marketing tool with a return on investment of 4:1. That means that for every $1 you spend on each email subscriber, you will receive $4 in return.
But social media is free! That is true and with viral posts, many new businesses will not see the need for email newsletters. I get that. However, a viral post has the lifespan on the internet of 24-48 hours. After that, unless other people continuously share your content, you become irrelevant to the masses. Statistically speaking, only 6% of your social media content makes it to your audience at any given time. The lift you have to give to beat the Meta algorithm is heavy. Versus the lift of firing off email content, automating it, segmenting your list, and owning that content and providing your audience a soft place to land.
Social media is a great introduction tool. Kind of like when you meet new people at a party. However, you want to invite that person to an intimate dinner party later on in the year? Join a book club with them? You better get them on your email list.
The evolution of the newsletter - some professionally amateur research
Thanks to a post by Ben Young in 2021 on Nudge, the earliest physical newsletter was actually published in 131 BC, called the Acta Diruna. They were referred to as “governement gazettes” if you will. Traders and merchants then caught wind of the newsletter and it took off from there. Benjamin Franklin even had his own newsletter called “Poor Richard’s Almanack.” A real Lady Whistledown.
The 1990s made way for text-only newsletter in our emails resembling the traditional printed newsletters. As we approached the early 2000s, HTML added pizzaz with appealing visuals.
The Mid-2000s led way to personalization and segmentation targeting subscribers behaviors and preferences.
With mobile devices evolving into smart phones, responsive design found its place in the 2010s and took advantage of interactive content, embedding videos, surveys, and polls into your inbox.
That interactivity propelled us into modern day marketing with use of drip campaigns, automation, AI, personalization, compliance and privacy acts, accessibility, content quality and value, integration with other channels (ahem, multi-channel marketing), and predictive analysis.
However, one thing has remained true. The newsletter has always been adaptive, robust, and antifragile. Despite change and volatility, the newsletter has thrived. History proves that with the evolution from the newsletter to the newspaper. Newspapers then grew into monopolies and new media outlets circled back to newsletters. It’s resurged time and time again in a wake of progress.
My substackers get it. How do you think that medium got so popular? Newsletters.
Newsletters I adore
emily henry
This is my favorite contemporary romance author of all time & a queen of literary genius IMO. Real bookworms and booktok alike subscribe to this list to get the 411 on Emily’s book-to-film adaptations, newest books coming out, and other news before any of the other public peasants.
giggly squad
IYKYK. A proud giggler and new recruit, I cannot love these women more. One of my favorite aspects of their newsletter is the low admin around the visuals, however achieving such aesthetically pleasing and consistent content that I live for.
pretty little marketer
I randomly discovered Sophie on Linkedin and immediately loved her content. As a social media specialist & content queen, I love her roundups for my professionally amateur self and it keeps me in the know.
godmothers
Honestly, I have no clue how I ended up on a mailing list from a bookstore in Southern California but I am glad I did. Their interview with Nicole Richie (my muse) hooked me and I have been a fan of their content ever since. It is like dishing over your favorite reads with your best friends.
november j. brown
The delusional writer in me found November’s bookstagram account several months ago and her newsletters are delightful. Packed with good advice, encouragement, and fun writing challenges-November has built quite the writing community if that is your cup of tea.
anita of wordfetti
What would I do without Anita’s copywriting wisdom? Her newsletters are not only easy and fun to read, they are chalk-full of valuable information and actionable steps for marketers to level up their copywriting game. Plus, her website is majorly cute and fun to peruse.
honorable mention:
the skimm
Everyone and their mother knows theSkimm. I admittedly don’t read all of their emails anymore, however if subject lines could kill…they have me entertained and laughing always.
Key Takeaways
Are newsletters a thing of the past? Absolutely not. In fact, I think that we are in a renaissance of newsletters that will continue to progress as social media marketing gets tired. Followers want connection, entertainment, and to feel like it is personalized and meant for them. What better way then straight to their inbox? Also, email newsletters are really the gateway drug to many other types of marketing. Like Cady Herron taught us, the limit does not exist.
Click here for your FREE guide to Newsletter Tip, Tricks, & Best Practices
Want something specific and special for your business? Click Here to book a FREE, complimentary call with me so I can help your newsletters pack a punch.