One of the most important tools for bloggers is your newsletter. But are you wondering why you need a blog newsletter, how to write a good one, and what to send to your subscribers? Then this post is for you! I’ve had a newsletter since 2015 (approximately) and I’ve sent tons and tons of emails since then. So in this post I’m going to share my tips and tricks in the hope that it will help you write an awesome newsletter. 

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What Is a Blog Newsletter? 

The world of blogging is very different now than when I started in 2013. One way in particular is how important having an email newsletter is. 

You probably know what a newsletter is, but in case you don’t, it’s when you gather email addresses from your subscribers/readers and then send them emails.

This is different from when people sign up to receive your blog posts via email by using an RSS feed. RSS feeds are “protocol[s] that provides a standard method for websites to publish updates that anyone can see by displaying them in a program or website called an RSS reader” (x). These feeds “are published and updated in real time, so if you subscribe to a site’s RSS feed, you’ll always have access to the newest published content” (x). 

A newsletter, however, is when the blogger creates the content and schedules it to be sent when they want. Sometimes, newsletters are just about most recent blog posts, but even then, they’re not sent automatically when a post is posted to the blog like an RSS feed is. 

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Why You Need a Blog Newsletter

As a whole, the readers subscribed are often your readers most interested in your content. If they sign up to receive your emails and they stay subscribed, they are the ones most likely to see and read your posts. 

Your newsletter is super important because it might be one of your only audiences that you can guarantee you can reach. 

They are the audience most interested in what you have to say. 

They are the audience who wants more from you. 

Your newsletter can bring you more traffic and it can make you money. But it can take a while to build your audience, which is why you want to start building it ASAP. You can send them new blog posts, give them sneak peaks of your content, make them free downloads, or something else all together. And, as a reminder, the end of this post is a list of specific things to send your subscribers.

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This is very helpful for a couple of scenarios because you have a dedicated audience who are more likely to buy something than the average reader, whether it be a product you’ve made or clicking affiliate links. 

You don’t have to start with a paid newsletter platform! There are several free newsletter options. I personally use MailerLite. They have what’s called the ForeverFree plan, which is for less than 1,000 subscribers and less than 12,000 emails per month. Since I send emails weekly – and only occasionally more than that – it was perfect. I’m not sending 12 emails a month to 999 people! But even the free plan has awesome forms, landing pages, newsletter templates, and more.

Check out 8 different newsletter services, as well as my review of MailerLite.

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How To Write a Good Blog Newsletter 

Blog newsletters are a different type of writing, and just because you’re a good writer doesn’t mean you’ll automatically be good at writing newsletters, so let’s talk about how to write a good newsletter.

First things first, you need to get people’s attention with the subject line. Like with blog post titles, you want to say something that is accurate but draws people in.

However, you don’t want to use a subject line that doesn’t have anything to do with your content or that is obviously clickbait. Part of the purpose of a newsletter is to have a dedicated audience that trusts you and wants to read what you have to say. If you use clickbait headlines – especially those that are misleading – you are creating an audience that doesn’t trust you and wants to actively avoid what you have to say.

Then, start your newsletter like people are probably going to delete it after the first sentence (because they probably are). Oftentimes, the start of an email will show up in the preview space of email inboxes. This means you can dig into the content more than you can in the subject line, but you also want to hook readers so they actually open your newsletter. 

Additionally, when it comes to writing newsletters, your newsletters should be short, especially compared to blog posts. Newsletters should really be less than 500 words, if not less than 300. 

There are a few reasons for this. One, you want people to actually read them in addition to your blog posts. If your blog posts are several thousand words long – like mine are and like they should be for SEO purposes – you don’t want to be writing an additional thousand or so words for your newsletter. People barely want to read emails in the first place; they definitely don’t want to read long ones. 

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Two, you can use your newsletter to direct people to your blog posts. The way I do this is I include a few sentences from the blog post and write “(Keep reading)” with a link to the post. This is what that looks like: 

This gives people a preview and hooks their attention but doesn’t give away any crucial information.

I include this whenever I have a new blog post and I include the picture because it breaks up the text and also draws attention to the post. And, fun fact, I link the image and the post title to the post itself so there are a variety of ways that people can get to the post. 

Another thing you should do to write a good newsletter is draft your newsletter ahead of time. My process is that, since I send out my newsletter on Monday nights, I write a draft newsletter on Friday or Saturday in a Google doc. 

Then, on Sunday, I reread my draft, make edits, and schedule it in MailerLite. I do this so that I catch typos and missing things, but also because it’s so easy to think that I wrote an awesome newsletter only to realize later that it’s just a jumble of ideas. (If you’ve been a subscriber for years, you can probably remember some jumble-y emails.)

Additionally, in order to write a newsletter that is regularly engaging and makes people want to read, I really suggest planning your newsletter topics out ahead of time. 

I actually vaguely plan out my newsletter topics for an entire year. I don’t always stick to them, but having the ideas ahead of time makes it easier to write them when the time comes. This also helps me write newsletters that are connected to each other and to my blog content.  

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Now that we’ve covered tips to write a great newsletter, let’s talk about important things you should and shouldn’t do when it comes to writing newsletters about health.

I’ve also written a bunch in past posts about what you should know when it comes to writing about health specifically. And if you’re a health blogger, these things definitely apply to your newsletter, too. 

These are not specific to health bloggers, but they are the ones more likely to need to keep this in mind. But if you have ever written about health topics – including but not limited to the COVID-19 pandemic – then you need to know them, too.

This includes: 

• Don’t share misinformation
• Be clear when you’re sharing your personal experiences
• Make clear you’re not a medical professional (unless you are) 
• Be legal in general
• Be clear when you’re sharing your opinion versus facts, and know that it isn’t always obvious when it’s one or the other
• Be ready for someone to ask you to provide sources for a fact

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What To Send Your Newsletter

Now that we’ve covered why you need a newsletter and how to write a good one, let’s talk about specific things to send your newsletter!  

Recent blog posts – I suggest you include a few sentences from the post to give people a taste.

Blog posts about a specific topic – I recently wrote a newsletter about living with heat intolerance because it’s summer, so I sent my newsletter my blog posts about POTS and heat intolerance.

Your take on a news item – This is especially applicable for something related to your niche. As a health blogger, there has been no shortage of these in recent years!

What’s going on in your personal life – I like to do this because I don’t actually share a lot of specific information about my personal life online, so this helps maintain the connection with my readers. It also helps to explain why I’ve been low on blog posts on content.

Recapping something (a month, year, etc.) – I do this at the end of every month. I share the blog posts I published, a highlight of my Instagram posts, a highlight of my Reels, and, if I created a new free download or ebook that month, I include that, too.

Blog income report – Look, human beings are nosy. We all want to know what’s going on in other people’s lives, and that’s especially true when it comes to money. This is a GREAT way to get people to read your newsletter. 

Free downloads (especially those you post on your blog) – Free downloads are so great. If I’m going to be sharing a new free download on the blog, I always send it to my newsletter subscribers, too. In fact, my newsletter subscribers also have access to my resource vault, which you have to subscribe to get 😉 . 

Your advice around a particular problem – I really suggest doing this if you have encountered the problem! For example, “I did [thing] but I should have done [solutions]”.

Why you do or don’t do a specific thing – This provides insight into you and your process. For example, I explained to my newsletter why I don’t sell health ebooks. 

Sneak peeks – This makes your subscribers feel special! I did this when I created my ebook for health bloggers. I do this when I make a new download that I’m going to give out on my blog. You get the idea.

Deals – This is especially essential for making money through affiliate links! Just make sure that you know what your affiliate program’s rules are. For example, Amazon Affiliate doesn’t want you to use affiliate links in email marketing. 

Your favorite resources for something – This is another great way to make money through affiliate links. But alternatively, you can do this without affiliate links in order to build trust among your subscribers. 

Like this post? Share it! Then check out: 

How To Improve Your Blogging Skills: 8 Skills You Need, How To Be Good at Blogging: Blogging with Limited Time, Essential Social Media Tips for Bloggers, Starting a Chronic Illness Blog: Tips for Blogging with Fatigue and Pain