I sent my first newsletter in 2012. It was terrible. A wall of text with five different topics, no formatting, and a subject line that said “Monthly Update.” I had 87 subscribers. Three people opened it. One unsubscribed. The other two were probably me testing from different accounts.
Fourteen years and hundreds of newsletters later, I’ve figured out what works. And I’ll save you the years of trial and error: the newsletter isn’t your blog summarized into email form. It’s a completely different medium with different rules, different expectations, and different potential. When done right, a newsletter becomes the most profitable channel in your entire blogging operation.
But most bloggers treat newsletters as an afterthought. Something they “should” be doing. Something they send when they remember. That inconsistency is exactly why their newsletters don’t work. This chapter fixes that.
Pick a Frequency and Stick to It
Weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. Pick one. I don’t care which one you pick, but pick one and be consistent for at least six months before changing.
Here’s my honest take on each:
Weekly is the gold standard. It keeps you top of mind, builds habit-forming readership, and gives you 52 chances per year to connect with your audience. The downside? It’s a commitment. If you can’t consistently produce a good newsletter every week, don’t start weekly. A mediocre weekly newsletter is worse than a good bi-weekly one.
I send weekly. It takes me about 90 minutes per issue now, down from 4+ hours when I started. The speed comes from having a system, which I’ll share later in this chapter.
Bi-weekly is the sweet spot for most bloggers. You send every other week, which gives you enough breathing room to make each issue good while staying frequent enough that people don’t forget you. If you’re just starting, I’d recommend bi-weekly. You can always increase to weekly once you’ve built the habit.
Monthly is the minimum viable frequency. Below monthly, you’re not really running a newsletter. You’re sending occasional emails. Monthly can work if your content is in-depth and high-value, like a 2,000-word industry analysis. But for most bloggers, monthly means 12 touchpoints per year. That’s not enough to build a real relationship.
The frequency you choose affects everything: your content strategy, your writing schedule, your subscriber expectations, and your revenue potential. A weekly newsletter to 5,000 subscribers will generate more revenue than a monthly newsletter to 15,000 subscribers in most cases. Frequency builds trust. Trust builds revenue.
Newsletter Formats That Actually Work
After studying dozens of successful blogger newsletters and running my own experiments, I’ve found three formats that consistently perform:
The Curated Newsletter
You gather the best content, tools, and resources from your niche and share them with your commentary. The value isn’t in the links themselves (people can find those on their own). The value is in your filter. You read 50 things so they don’t have to, and you pick the 5 that matter.
This format works well when you’re starting out because the pressure to create original content every issue is lower. You’re curating, not creating. But here’s the thing: your commentary is what makes it worth reading. Don’t just drop links. Tell subscribers why each link matters, what you agree or disagree with, and how it applies to their situation.
The Original Newsletter
One topic per issue. Your take. Your experience. Your advice. This is harder to produce but builds a stronger connection. When people subscribe for your original newsletter, they’re subscribing for you. Not for links they could find elsewhere.
I shifted to mostly original content about two years ago. My open rates went from 32% to 41%. The content was harder to produce, but the engagement was dramatically better. People replied more, clicked more, and bought more.
The Hybrid Newsletter
A short original piece (300-500 words) at the top, followed by 3-5 curated links with your commentary. This is what I’d recommend for most bloggers. You get the personality of original content with the utility of curation. And on weeks when you’re short on time, you can lean heavier on curation without the issue feeling empty.
Structure of a Newsletter People Actually Read
I’ve analyzed my own newsletter data obsessively. Open rates, click rates, read time, scroll depth (when available). The structure that performs best follows a pattern:
A Strong Opening Line
Not “Hey everyone, hope you had a great week!” That’s filler. Start with something that creates curiosity or delivers immediate value.
Good openings I’ve used:
- “I lost $2,400 last month because of one email automation mistake.”
- “The plugin I’ve recommended for three years just got acquired. Here’s what that means for you.”
- “You don’t need 10,000 subscribers to make money from email. Here’s proof.”
The opening line determines whether someone reads the rest or closes the tab. Treat it like a subject line for the body of your email.
One Main Thing
Every issue should have a “main thing,” a primary piece of content that justifies opening the email. If someone only reads one section, this is the one. It could be a lesson, a story, a resource, or an opinion. But it needs to be substantial enough that the reader feels like they got value.
I spend 60% of my newsletter writing time on the main thing. The rest of the issue is supporting content.
Supporting Content (2-4 items)
Quick hits. A tool you discovered. A blog post worth reading. A stat that surprised you. A question for your audience. These items add variety and give different entry points for different readers. Some people love your main essay. Others scan straight to the links. Both are valid.
A Clear Ending
Don’t just stop. End with a question, a recommendation, or a preview of next week’s issue. “Next week, I’m breaking down the exact automation that recovered $6,000 in abandoned cart revenue for a client.” That gives people a reason to watch for your next email.
Subject Lines for Ongoing Newsletters
Your nurture sequence has the benefit of novelty. People just signed up, so they’re more likely to open. Ongoing newsletters don’t have that luxury. Subject lines become critical.
After testing hundreds of subject lines, here’s what I’ve found:
Specific numbers win. “How I got 342 subscribers from one blog post” beats “How to grow your email list” every time. Numbers create curiosity because they’re concrete. Vague promises are easy to ignore.
Questions work if they’re good. “Are you making this email mistake?” gets attention. “Want to improve your emails?” doesn’t. The difference is specificity and implied consequence.
Curiosity gaps work, but don’t be clickbait. “The tool I just switched to (and why)” creates a gap. It’s honest. You did switch tools. The reader wants to know which one and why. “You won’t BELIEVE what happened to my open rates” is clickbait. Don’t do that.
Consistency markers help. If your newsletter has a name, use it. “Friday Drop #47: The automation that runs my business” tells subscribers exactly what this is. They recognize it. It builds pattern recognition in their inbox.
Avoid all-caps, excessive punctuation, and emoji overuse. One emoji in a subject line is fine. Five emojis and three exclamation marks lands you in the promotions tab and makes you look desperate.
My highest-performing subject line format: [Newsletter Name] #[Number]: [Specific, curiosity-driven description]. It’s boring to write, but it opens at 38-45% consistently.
Building a Sustainable Creation Workflow
The number one reason bloggers quit their newsletters isn’t lack of subscribers. It’s burnout. Writing a newsletter every week (or every other week) on top of blog posts, social media, and client work feels impossible unless you have a system.
Here’s the system I use. It takes about 90 minutes per weekly issue once you’ve practiced it:
Capture Ideas Throughout the Week (Ongoing, 0 Extra Minutes)
I keep a running note on my phone. Every time I read something interesting, solve a problem, or have a thought about my niche, I add it to the note. By the time I sit down to write my newsletter, I have 10-15 potential items to pull from. The writing session isn’t about generating ideas. It’s about selecting and refining them.
Pick the Main Thing (10 Minutes)
Scan your idea list. What’s the most interesting, timely, or useful idea? That’s your main thing. Don’t overthink this. If you’d text a friend about it, it’s worth writing about.
Write the Main Thing First (40 Minutes)
Set a timer. Write the main section in 40 minutes or less. Don’t edit while writing. Get the ideas down. You’ll clean it up later. I aim for 400-600 words for the main section. Long enough to be substantial, short enough to be readable on a phone.
Add Supporting Content (15 Minutes)
Pull 2-4 items from your idea list. Write a sentence or two of commentary for each. Link to relevant resources. This section should feel like quick, useful bits, not full paragraphs.
Write the Opening and Closing (10 Minutes)
Now that you know what’s in the issue, write an opening line that hooks and a closing that either asks a question or previews next week.
Edit Once (15 Minutes)
Read through the whole thing once. Cut anything that doesn’t earn its place. Fix awkward sentences. Check links. Done.
Total: 90 minutes. That’s less time than most people spend scrolling social media on a Tuesday evening.
The key insight: your newsletter doesn’t need to be a literary masterpiece. It needs to be useful, consistent, and sound like you. An imperfect newsletter that ships every week beats a perfect newsletter that ships when you feel inspired, which is never.
When to Promote (and When Not To)
This is where most bloggers either leave money on the table or destroy their newsletter’s trust. Both extremes are bad. You need a system.
The Natural Mention
You’re writing about WordPress performance, and the best caching plugin you’ve tested is FlyingPress. Mentioning it with an affiliate link is natural. You’re not promoting. You’re recommending something relevant in context. This is fine in every single issue. Nobody minds genuine recommendations that fit the topic.
The Dedicated Promotion
Once a month (roughly), you can dedicate a section of your newsletter to a product recommendation, affiliate deal, or your own product. Frame it as a recommendation, not an ad. “I’ve been using [tool] for six months, and here’s what I think” is a recommendation. “SPECIAL OFFER: 50% OFF TODAY ONLY” is an ad. Your subscribers signed up for your opinions, not your ads.
The Seasonal Push
Black Friday, New Year, back-to-school, whatever makes sense for your niche. Two to three times per year, you can send a dedicated promotional newsletter. Your audience expects it during these periods. But limit it to events that genuinely offer good deals. Don’t manufacture urgency.
The Rule I Follow
Out of every four newsletters I send, three are pure value with at most one natural mention. One includes a dedicated recommendation section. That’s roughly 75% value, 25% promotion. Some months I don’t promote at all. Some months I promote twice. The ratio balances out over time.
What you should never do: promote in every issue, promote products you haven’t used, promote products that don’t serve your audience, or promote without disclosure. All four are trust killers. And once you lose newsletter trust, you don’t get it back.
Growing Your Newsletter Beyond Your Blog
Your blog drives initial subscribers, but your newsletter can grow on its own through a few strategies:
Referral incentives. Ask current subscribers to share your newsletter. Some platforms like Kit have built-in referral features. Even without a formal program, a simple “Know someone who’d find this useful? Forward this email” at the bottom of each issue works.
Cross-promotion. Find bloggers in adjacent (not competing) niches and recommend each other’s newsletters. I’ve gained 200+ subscribers from a single cross-promotion with a blogger in the SEO niche. It works because the audiences overlap but aren’t identical.
Newsletter directories. Sites that list and categorize newsletters by topic. The traffic is modest but highly targeted. People browsing newsletter directories are specifically looking for new newsletters to subscribe to.
Social proof in every issue. Include your subscriber count or open rate when it’s impressive. “Join 4,700+ bloggers who read this every Friday” is social proof that encourages forwards and shares.
Your newsletter is an asset. Unlike social media followers (which the platform owns), your email list belongs to you. Treat it accordingly. Protect it. Grow it. And show up consistently, because the bloggers who send great newsletters every week for two years build audiences that most bloggers spend a decade trying to build through SEO alone.
Chapter Checklist
- [ ] Choose your newsletter frequency (weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly) and commit to it for 6 months
- [ ] Decide on your format: curated, original, or hybrid
- [ ] Set up a running idea capture system (phone note, Notion page, whatever sticks)
- [ ] Write a template structure for your newsletter (opening, main thing, supporting items, closing)
- [ ] Create 10+ subject line templates you can rotate through
- [ ] Block time in your calendar for newsletter creation (90 minutes for weekly)
- [ ] Establish your promotion ratio (I recommend 3:1 value to promotion)
- [ ] Add a referral ask or forward prompt to your newsletter template
- [ ] Send your first issue, even if it’s rough
Chapter Exercise
Write your first newsletter issue using this structure:
- Opening line: One sentence that creates curiosity or delivers an insight. No greetings, no pleasantries.
- Main thing: 400-600 words on one topic you’re passionate and knowledgeable about. Write it in one sitting without editing.
- Supporting items: 2-3 quick links or tips with one sentence of commentary each.
- Closing: A question for your readers or a preview of what you’ll cover next.
- Subject line: Write five options. Pick the most specific one.
Time yourself. If it takes more than 2 hours for your first attempt, you’re overthinking it. Ship it. The next one will be better. And the one after that will be better still. The only way to build a newsletter habit is to start sending.
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