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13 Email marketing newsletters you need in your inbox

Email marketing newsletters take on a variety of different shapes, sizes, and designs. So, how do you know what’s right for your brand? It all comes down to what you plan to share with your subscribers.

Your email marketing newsletter can provide readers with many types of information, including:

Guides
Tips & tricks
News
Updates
Product launches
Blog updates

With many viable options out there, it can be overwhelming to pick out the right format. But don’t fret—we’ve done the hard work for you. Check out our guide below.

13 of the best email marketing newsletters

If you’re lacking in ideas for your next email marketing newsletter, consider reviewing these examples to stir up your creative process.

Best email marketing newsletter: News

When people think of an email marketing newsletter, they often think of curated news content. While this isn’t wrong, the best newsletters have curated and original content. It’s this combination that helps foster a relationship between brands and their readers.

1. CNN’s 5 things

CNN is a trusted news source, and while they have their original stories, they’re often regarded as one of the best sources of curated news as well. In fact, their newsletter won the 2019 Webby Award.

Source: Webby Awards

2. The Algorithm – Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Technology Review

“The Algorithm” is one of the MIT Technology Review’s six available newsletters, and it was nominated for a 2019 Webby Award. Each Friday, the newsletter delivers a great variety of curated content from the technology industry.

Source: MIT Technology Review

3. CNN’s Reliable Sources with Brian Stelter

CNN was on a roll when it came to the 2019 Webby Awards. Not only did their “5 Things” newsletter win the 2019 best email newsletter, but their “Reliable Sources with Brian Stelter” newsletter was also an honoree in this category.

It has an outstanding collection of the week’s top trending news from a variety of different industries, including:

Politics
Entertainment
Technology

This newsletter is a combination of CNN-original publications and curated news from other top reliable sources.

Source: Webby Awards

Best email marketing newsletter: Blog sharing

Content is king when it comes to marketing. Once you have your content created, you need to share it with readers. One of the best ways to do this is through your email newsletter. Your audience is following you for a reason—they see you as an authority. So, share original content and maybe even some of your favorite pieces from across the internet.

4. Sisters from AARP

“Sisters from AARP” is a weekly newsletter that caters to black women. They provide both original and curated content on the topics of style, health, relationships, careers, and more. The newsletter was also a 2019 Webby Awards nominee.

Source: Sisters From AARP

5. Kettle Obsessions

Another 2019 Webby Awards nominee was the “Obsessions Email” newsletter. What makes it so wonderful is its interactive nature. The user starts by clicking the first downward arrow, and then an entire list of “obsessions” appears. From there, the user can click on any arrow in each section and be taken to that specific obsession.

Source: Webby Awards

6. Core77

Originally under the name “Foxfuel Friday Emails”, “Core77” is a gathering place for designers and enthusiasts. They not only publish a variety of articles and discussions for their audience members but they also produce design competitions, lecture series, parties, and exhibits. “Core77” was also a 2019 Webby Awards nominee.

Source: Webby Awards

Best email marketing newsletter: Tips and tricks

Have content worth sharing, but it’s not in a traditional format? You can still design a well-crafted email marketing newsletter and send all your tips and tricks to readers. In fact, here are a few examples to help get your creativity flowing.

7. Spartan Life

The “Spartan Life” newsletter was another of the top honored website email newsletters of 2019. Not only does it provide readers with personal stories that they can relate to, but it also provides a mixture of:

Curated content
Consumer content
A note from the CEO and Founder
Product suggestions
Personalized stats

Source: Webby Awards

8. Phillips 66 Gas

Phillips 66 is an energy company that dedicated their newsletter to “fueling up” and living life to its fullest. That means these newsletters aren’t merely about gas, but “where it can take you.”

That said, this newsletter was another Webby Award nominee for 2019 thanks to its ability to cut through a cluttered inbox and provide subscribers with bite-sized, shareable content.

Source: Medium

Best email marketing newsletter: Guides

9. Rise and Shine

reBloom focuses their attention on the importance of sleep. In their “Rise and Shine” newsletter, they cover different sleep topics. In this example, they discuss the sleep stages—and instead of listing them, they give subscribers a taste of the topic and then invite them to read more.

Source: Milled

10. Figma

Figma is a brand that offers stellar design software. In their newsletter, they don’t focus on their own products—instead, they share featured news from their blog. In this example, they kick off their newsletter with a comprehensive guide. Much like the “Rise and Shine” example, this newsletter teases readers with a taste of the article, then invites them to read the full post to learn more.

Source: Really Good Emails

11. Barebones

Barebones goes about their holiday gift guide in a unique way. They use their newsletter to announce the arrival of their latest guide and promote a variety of other guides as well.

Source: Really Good Emails

Best email marketing newsletter: Designs that shine

If content is king, then design is queen. If you aren’t getting creative with your email marketing newsletter design, then you could be losing subscribers. Here are a few creative campaigns that stood out from the rest.

12. Penguin Random House

In this example from Penguin Random House, they capitalized on World Emoji Day to get their subscribers interacting with their messages.

Source: Really Good Emails

13. PizzaExpress

This newsletter from PizzaExpress includes promotional offers as incentives and has an interactive, Instagram-style poll at the beginning. The newsletter also has a history timeline, making it not only promotional but informative and fun.

Source: Really Good Emails

Email marketing newsletters: What’s to come

It’s 2020. That means it’s time to start planning out your next round of email marketing newsletters. So, with the new year, are there any practices that marketing teams should keep in mind moving forward?

Here’s what you need to know:

User-generated content is a must
Interactive designs are growing in popularity
Email automation is vital
Dynamic segmentation is becoming more accessible
Attention to subscriber data is critical

Wrap up

With so many options for email marketing newsletters, it can be easy to get overwhelmed when searching for new ideas. We hope those 13 examples got you inspired to create or revamp your own.

If you’re planning ahead, you’ll want to know what’s expected from email marketing newsletters moving forward: