10 Excellent Examples of Small Business Newsletters

Intro

Have you ever wondered what makes a consumer listen to a brand?

We have quite a few answers to that question, but one that tops the list is producing high-value content that resonates with the clients.

Now, how do you do that?

An effective and inexpensive way is by creating email newsletters that speak directly to your consumers. More than 89% of marketers credit their success to email marketing, making it a powerful tool to pool all your marketing efforts in the right direction and bring desired customer traction.

So, if you are marketing a small business and want to leverage this tool to create result-driven newsletters, we have a bag full of tricks waiting for you. Let’s get started.

What Makes Newsletters an Important Part of Email Marketing?

In a micro-connected world like ours, consumers feed on content that is both engaging and detailed. They appreciate brands that put constant effort into customer engagement and derive value from comments and feedback.

Newsletters allow you to achieve this organically without burning a hole in your pocket. They also level up your email strategy by curating information in an interesting way that might otherwise become too heavy on the eyes.

But that’s not all they do. Here are a few other benefits of using newsletters as a part of your email strategy.

Get maximum value from the simplest of tools

You don’t need a fancy or expensive tool to draft a newsletter.

Gmail offers easy integration with Google Docs and its excellent template repository. Simply take your pick from the existing templates and edit the text to create a well-designed newsletter.

Use email clients for Mac or Windows to manage all your emails from one place and save, schedule, send, and delete your newsletters without juggling different applications.

You also have the option of using newsletter builder tools that let you create an impactful newsletter in a matter of minutes. Leverage online marketing tools to draft newsletters related to follow-ups, reminders, or an after-sale thank-you note. This will help you save both time and financial resources. "Business newsletters can be great ways to keep your target audience engaged" said Ronald Osborne, an award winning business coach.

Give a boost to your brand's credibility

With a small business, the first thing you need to do is establish it as a credible and trustworthy brand.

Newsletters allow you to send relevant insights and data to your clients, in an easy and engaging way, so they can consume that information.

Additionally, they help you connect with your customers on a more personal level. Here are a few tips to get you started:

• Create a compelling subject line, keeping your target segment in mind.
• Keep the sentences short and relevant, and use images, high-quality videos, and GIFs as a part of your message.
• Verify the email address before sending to avoid wastage of resources.
• Always follow up with a unique email signature.

Retain and build clientele

A newsletter helps you find your target audience, so your information reaches the eyes that genuinely want to hear from you.

Use effective email segmentation techniques and divide your mail lists to send specific messages to specific groups. That will help your newsletter draw relevant audiences who will keep the conversation going.

It also gives you more chances for cross-platform promotion on different social media sites, which increases your brand’s presence in new segments.

You can leverage these analytics to understand how well your newsletters are performing in which markets, which saves costs while giving you a high ROI.

Helps you stay on your feet

Emails have now become more interactive than ever with the option of plugging in GIFs, videos, interactive publications, surveys, and polls. Various email marketing tools provide you with such features.

Take advantage of these advancements to gain appropriate feedback and open up channels for smooth communications between businesses and clients.

It will help your small business in three ways:

• Stay updated on customer demand.
• Collect genuine feedback you can use to improve services.
• Monitor market trends and what you can add to your existing catalog.

Consider using user feedback software for in-depth information.

Build and maintain your reputation

When you give out reliable information, it establishes you as a thought leader in your niche, which helps you build better brand value.

When people know they can trust the information you’re giving them, they are more likely to look forward to hearing your views.

Let’s explain this with a simple example.

• Say you’re operating a small business that deals in silk hair accessories.
• Now, you know all the benefits of silk for hair.
• You take that information, map your target audience, and send out newsletters about how silk is amazing for hair and how you are using it to make fashion-forward accessories.
• Consumers know how beneficial silk is, and now they know where to buy it.
• They look forward to receiving more information because you’re adding value to their lives.

Focus your content on the consumer, build a personal rapport with your clients, optimize your newsletter with video and GIF plug-ins to make them interactive, and talk to them regularly. The TinyEmail marketing automation blog has more tips on this topic.

Let’s take the conversation forward and have a look at some brilliant examples of newsletters that have successfully created brand value and nurtured customer relationships.

10 Examples of Newsletters for Small Businesses

To begin with, always have a set goal in mind before creating your newsletters and take an approach that is more suited to your target audience. To help you understand, here are some successful business newsletters.

1. The Hustle

The Hustle was a newsletter that started with no more than 300 subscribers as a business-only email. Now, they have more than a million readers, and the numbers are only growing.

Things to note:

• Use of informal, assertive, and authentic tones and extreme attention to detail when it comes to their content
• The design is very minimal, with a white base and light imagery, making it easy to read and consume
• Mobile-friendly interface

2. Canva

Canva is software focused on making designing easy, and their newsletters are the perfect example of what the company stands for. They are quirky, young, dynamic, and unique.

Things to note:

• Focussed on the target audience, with relevant content and quirky designs
• Crisp, direct, and simple-to-read content
• Use of bright colors that dominate the design industry

3. NextDraft

NextDraft newsletters can be described as witty, humorous, and engaging. The founder, Dave Pell, handpicks the ten most trending subjects on the internet based on their engagement rates and views, offering the perfect mix of stories and news to his readers.

Things to note:

• The language used is conversational, information-driven, and interesting
• Bang-on content with a deliberately simple and straightforward design

4. REI

As an e-commerce company, REI focuses on selling adventure-driven gear; therefore, their audience is limited to people who are driven by the excitement in life and are relatively young.

Things to note:

• The newsletters embody an informal approach
• Graphic-heavy, directed towards selling products
• The company uses these newsletters to talk about new launches, products on sale, and upcoming stock for new seasons

5. Austin Kleon

What makes the Austin Kleon newsletter successful is its simple and relaxed approach to the content. The signature itself is a hand-drawn illustration that speaks volumes about its organic approach.

Things to note:

• The hero in the newsletter is the informative content, with links to relevant pages the readers might find useful and no heavy marketing promotions
• The language is also very friendly and light, without any jargon, so the readers get instantly connected to the messaging

6. Stacie Bloomfield

Stacie Bloomfield’s newsletter is the perfect example of creating an impactful newsletter without having a complicated layout.

Things to note:

• Zero hassles, easy layout, and only one CTA
• The content is direct, with important sentences highlighted in bold and no heavy use of graphics
• Extremely well-detailed with data about upcoming classes, booked classes, and slots available

7. FandangoNOW

An online movie-streaming platform, FandangoNOW uses a straightforward approach for its newsletter.

Things to note:

• It starts with a header that talks about the intention of the newsletter, followed by relevant information about the latest cinematic releases, award-winning movies, and so on
• Graphic-heavy and low on content

8. The Ringer

The Ringer’s newsletter offers a dynamic approach to its readers, considering that it deals with topics as diverse as pop culture and politics. It talks about everything under the sun, without making it sound boring or monotonous.

Things to note:

• The newsletter comes with a massive image as the header, followed by long-form content
• A perfect mix of graphics and content
• Since the language is simple, the reader instantly connects with the information

9. Intercom.com

As the name suggests, this newsletter is all about staying connected with what’s current. They are highly informative and follow a minimal design, with the content at the center.

Things to note:

• The newsletter talks about marketing, business, sales, and start-ups and has a slightly serious tone
• Simple and easy-to-understand language makes them the go-to newsletter for those interested in the subjects
• Their USP lies in the weekly round-up of all the important stuff, which helps you save on a lot of reading time while keeping you updated about everything new in the industry

10. Away

Away is a new-age brand that pioneers in designing smart luggage. Their target audience is people who love to travel, which is reflected in their newsletters and their design language.

Things to note:

• They use a simple layout, with a big tagline talking about the idea behind the newsletter, followed by images and minimal content
• They send a monthly newsletter talking about their products and what makes them unique, along with sharing the latest updates in their catalog

Final Thoughts

Small businesses thrive on good customer engagement and retention, and email newsletters do the job in a cost-effective and impactful manner.

These examples will help you understand which approach would suit your business the best. A few common points to remember are to always segment your market before devising a strategy and draft content that is simple, easy to read, and directed towards your audience.

If you’re able to grab and hold the attention of your target consumer, your job is half done. From there, all you need to do is to provide consistently good and valuable content to scale your business.