Newsletters: Outdated or underrated?
There’s a lot of chatter (cough: nonsense) out there about the current state of email newsletters:
“Newsletters are dead.”
“Nobody reads newsletters anymore.”
“They just clog inboxes.”
The truth: newsletters aren’t dead, but bad newsletters are.
Yes, it’s true that inboxes are noisier and more ignorable than ever (COVID and over-sending taught us that). With 376 billion emails sent and received globally every day, it’s safe to say that inboxes are overcrowded.
It’s also true that humans are busy, and not everyone will read your newsletter every time. But when a newsletter is done well, it becomes the reason someone opens their inbox.
I have over 2,000 people on my RE:markable newsletter list.
Do they all open and read? No. But around 45 people read it religiously, week in and week out.
That’s a tiny percentage – but those 45 are gold.
And you probably only do that for one to two newsletters yourself, right? (if any!).
Think about the last one you loved.
You didn’t open every single edition, but when you did, it mattered.
The question isn’t “are newsletters dead?”, the question is, how do you make your newsletter worth showing up for?
Let’s dive into your guide to starting an email newsletter your audience truly needs.
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A newsletter means different things in B2B vs B2C
The difference between B2B and B2C newsletters can be narrowed down to:
- B2C newsletters generally lean towards inspiration, lifestyle, entertainment, or deals. You’re speaking to people in their personal lives, when they’re short on attention and more emotional in their decision-making
- B2B newsletters are usually about learning, staying ahead, speaking to the 'out of market' people (and in market), solving work problems, or industry trust-building. You’re speaking to professionals who want to look smart, get promoted, save time, or find solutions
Whilst the two might have different contexts, the principles are the same:
- Be valuable
- Stay consistent
- And HUMAN
A lot of people will get stuck on the difference between B2B and B2C email marketing, but when it comes to newsletters, it’s best to continue working under the guiding belief that people buy from people (so they really aren’t that different at their core, just in their approach).
I always say all marketing is H2H (human to human).
Don’t start a newsletter if…
I'm going to be blunt and start with the ‘don’ts’ before we dive into the ‘do’s’.
You shouldn’t start a newsletter if you’re:
- Only doing it because your boss (or CEO) said you need one (with zero other justification, intention, strategy, or objective)
- Copying or imitating competitors without knowng if your audience would want, need, find helpful, engage or appreciate it
- Struggling to maintain email marketing basics, like deliverability, list hygiene, and automation - or you are just batching and blasting now or doing whatever with zero strategy
- Lacking the time or resources to sustain a high quality with your newsletter – newsletters are long games, not one-offs!!
- Of the belief that a newsletter’s main job is selling, because it isn’t.
Good reasons to start a newsletter
Now you know the reasons that shouldn’t prompt you to start a newsletter, what about the good reasons for launching one?
You should launch a newsletter if you:
- Have something GOOD to say – insights, knowledge, stories, humour, curated resources, entertainment – that genuinely helps your audience
- Want to build trust and brand authority and connection to your audience
- You want to grow email - maybe you're just starting out and before getting into the more complex areas of email this is the starting point
- Are looking for an ongoing way to start conversations and stay at the top of your audience’s minds
- Are in it for long-term awareness, reputation, and nurture… not quick wins, hacks (no hacks in email), and overnight success
- Can commit to consistency in a way that makes sense for your capabilities, objectives, and audience needs (whether that means monthly, weekly, or anything in between)
Define your own newsletter
First, I want you to remove any thoughts of what anyone else is doing from your mind before we continue.
(Remember, if you do what everything else does, you'll be the same, and same will NOT bring exceptional results).
Not only can you not lift someone else’s newsletter and make it your own (or achieve any version of success with it), but it’ll also stop you from being able to set clear objectives to achieve with your newsletter.
Here’s how to define your own newsletter:
Personal branding + newsletters
People connect with people, especially in the age of boring, eye-roll-inducing AI-generated content.
This is why personal branding is the secret weapon for your newsletter, where it can really shine! Especially in B2B.
That means that you should:
- Show your brand or 'personal' voice clearly, but write how you speak and maintain a conversational tone. Newsletters aren’t just one-way; you want them to feel like open communication
- Add your perspective and take a clear stance, don’t just list a bunch of links and call it a day. People have signed up to get your insights, opinions, and expertise
- Put your name and face to it (if it makes sense)
B2C brands can do this too. So a skincare brand you could create 'Glassy' the weekly glassy skin ritual – part education, part inspiration, part tips. Created by a real person, not “the brand.”
That’s the difference between “another promo email” and “a newsletter I get value from”.
When you think about the newsletters you’re most eager to open or most consistently read (you're probably not as 99.9% are rubbish in my opinion), it’s due to feeling a connection with the overall brand, whether it’s the way they engage you with words, their values, or the solutions and insights they regularly offer.
People buy, connect, and feel from other people!!
The newsletter pyramid of needs (strategy step by step)
Right, so now that you know why you should start a newsletter, how to define it, and the importance of implementing a personal brand into it, it’s time to move towards a well-defined strategy.
Think of this as your inverted pyramid (similar to this one in the PPPP™ Framework):
You start at the top with the first layer, then work your way down - but you can only go down if you've done the layer before.
- Newsletter charter - Mission, vision, values of your newsletter - this is what you are promising and must stick to but it must align with the mission, vision and values of the organisation
- Purpose - What’s in it for the audience? (inform, entertain, inspire) - what is the core purpose of the newsletter?
- Objectives - Specific goals and objectives - what are you even trying to achieve? What are you not trying to achieve? Split into a primary objective and secondary objectives
- KPIs & metrics - how you’ll measure progress and success (engagement, replies, feedback, not just open rates)
- Content strategy - Themes, tone, frequency, persona fit, types of content, content creation, people involved, resources
- Execution & optimisation - How you’ll design, test, collect feedback, and evolve (emails aren’t a static process, you need to improve and adapt!)
No scattergun newsletters or everything but the kitchen sink approaches here! Just newsletters that have a strong strategy to build on.
B2B vs B2C: Examples
Human behaviour: Why people open
You can’t treat your newsletter the way you treat your social media channels.
People don’t sit scrolling through their inbox the way they sit and scroll endlessly through their TikTok feed.
Email is not as fun as TikTok, or dopamine-hitting, and it will never be.
Email is email.
Email is intentional.
It has to have a purpose and provide value for your audience.
We open our inboxes at work and in our lives when:
- We’re looking for something (info, updates, promo codes, important info)
- We’re checking for habit’s sake (guilty).
- We’re curious about something
- We've been sent a SMS that says an email has been sent
So your job is to be the thing they expect and enjoy, not the thing they forget and resent (and send straight to the junk folder).
Newsletters done right
Newsletters aren’t about quick sales and chasing numbers. They’re about showing up consistently with value for your audience.
❌ Don’t start one unless you’ve got something real to say
❌ Don’t sell, serve first
❌ Don’t overcommit – start small, evolve over time
❌ Don’t let the rest of your business hijack it. Stay audience-first
Done right, newsletters are still one of the best ways you can build trust, awareness, and relationships in B2B and B2C… if you’re doing it right!
And if you don’t know where to start, what you might be doing wrong and could be doing more of, or which steps to take next, I can help, just get in touch here.
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RE:markable is the weekly email about emails. Dropping the latest email marketing news, updates, insights, free resources, upcoming masterclasses, webinars, and of course, a little inbox mischief.