July 27th, 2020

18 Newsletter Examples to Get You Inspired

These newsletter examples get it. They're personal, detailed, and filled with great, original content. đź’Ś

newsletter-examples

The best newsletter emails engage readers, share industry trends, and focus on informing an audience with a personable approach.

Grab some coffee or tea and check out these really good newsletter examples.

1) Airbnb

discover-your-new-favorite-singer-on-airbnb

Discover your new favorite singer, on Airbnb

From
Airbnb

Airbnb’s email design delivers every time. This newsletter example gives us all the details on what we can find in Melbourne, what we can do, and what animals we’ll run into. The email is consistent with Airbnb’s branding, and the first image immediately draws us in, putting the reader right in the middle of a smokey club with a pianist.

Why it’s really good

  • Interesting layout
  • Engaging photos
  • Informative
  • Newsletter fits with brand
  • Optimized for mobile

2) Tattly

diy-tattly-eggs

DIY Tattly Eggs

From
Tattly

Remember those temporary tattoos you used to find in cereal boxes or spend your coins on in prize machines? Well, Tattly shows readers how to get creative with their high-quality temp tattoos in their newsletters, like this one: how to decorate an egg.

Tattly’s email breaks down the creative idea step-by-step and uses a good mix of crisp photos and text to walk them through how to use the product. The company ties in prints and colors in this email that they don’t usually associate with their brand, but it works because the design is consistent throughout the email.

Why it’s really good

  • Creative use of product
  • Crisp product photos
  • Interesting layout
  • Goes further than advertising a product; provides the reader with value

3) Smashing Magazine

smashing-newsletter-238-email-design-teams-regex-and-compression

Smashing Newsletter #238: Email, Design Teams, Regex and Compression

Smashing Magazine is one of the go-to newsletters for web developer news, events, workshops, and resources. They send this newsletter four times a month to more than 230,000 subscribers.

With a good variety of content, Smashing Magazine updates readers on company news, conferences, finding their next job, and improving their coding skills. They even include a handy Table of Contents in their emails. Smashing Magazine includes a healthy mix of text, images, links, and formatting to make this extensive newsletter easy to read.

Why it’s really good

  • Nice layout
  • Informative
  • Personable content
  • Email table of contents
  • Optimized for Mobile

4) Grammarly

5-steps-of-the-writing-process-you-can-master

5 steps of the writing process you can master

Grammarly’s newsletter gives me some summer email vibes with their bright colors and popsicles (No? Just me?). While Grammarly offers free and paid versions of its uber-editing tool, the company expands its message outside of making suggestions in your content. This newsletter provides readers with quick tips for a concept related to writing, organically tying in their writing assistant while providing value in their newsletter, a free resource.

Why it’s really good

  • Interesting layout
  • GIFs
  • Informative content
  • Colorful

5) Asana

we-love-marketing-and-creative-teams

We ❤️ marketing and creative teams

From
Asana

In this meta newsletter email, Asana shares how it uses its own application to plan events and manage content. ­­The email showcases consistent layout patterns, pastel images aligning with Asana’s brand, mobile optimization, and clear CTAs to engage readers.

Why it’s really good

  • Interesting design, on-brand
  • Provides value to the audience
  • Clear CTAs
  • Subject line emoji
  • Interesting concept: how company uses its own product
  • Optimized for mobile

6) Calm

fall-asleep-with-sam-smith

Fall asleep with Sam Smith.

From
Calm

I can already hear Sam Smith singing “How Do You Sleep” as soon as I see this email (and I might have listened to the original version a few times while writing this). Calm cross-promotes its meditation and sleep app with Sam Smith, a member of the Calm app.

Promoting the two together can be a great selling point with triple the advertisements, presented in an organic way (Calm app, Sam Smith’s album, and being a Calm member). The photos also include stunning, attention-grabbing lighting while maintaining Calm’s branding in the CTA buttons.

Why it’s really good

  • Great colors
  • Cross-promotion
  • Eye-catching images
  • On-brand
  • Clear CTAs
  • Includes a different way of engaging with the product (music and meditation inside the app)

7) Peloton

parenting-workout-hacks-restarting-your-routine-and-how-peloton-can-help-you-train-for-a-100-mile-race

Parenting Workout Hacks, Restarting Your Routine, and How Peloton Can Help You Train For a 100 Mile Race

Peloton opens the email by asking a question and offering solutions to its readers. The email includes a good mix of blog post previews and how the Peloton Bike can help, as well as straightforward information (trial, free pickup, full refund). The newsletter is informative while promoting Peloton’s product in a natural way.

Why it’s really good

  • Engaging content
  • On-brand
  • Photos show the perspective of the reader
  • Clear CTAs

8) Abstract

4-ways-to-scale-design-from-leaders-of-lyft-salesforce-zendesk-and-yelp

4 ways to scale design from leaders of Lyft, Salesforce, Zendesk, and Yelp

Here’s another email that opens with a question, and dives into answers in a personable tone. Abstract includes a lot of links, resources, and clear CTAs throughout this newsletter example. The email circles back to its subject line, listing the 4 ways to scale design in an easy-to-read format. However, it could use plain text instead of images for headlines.

Why it’s really good

  • On-brand
  • Email copy opens with a question, getting the reader to think
  • Personable tone
  • Closes with a call for content pitches

9) Litmus

slim-down-your-gifs

Slim down your GIFs

From
Litmus

Litmus always delivers a jam-packed newsletter filled with the next best thing in email. They present their emails in a way that’s easily digestible for anyone from an email expert to Smiles Davis who’s opening his or her email for the first time ever. Readers can breeze through the different email sections to find the information they need while interacting with the email. Although Litmus includes a lot of CTAs in this newsletter, these are well-thought out. Each CTA and each section demonstrates its purpose.

Why it’s really good

  • Interesting layout
  • Interactive elements
  • Use of GIFs
  • Optimized for mobile

10) MailNinja

five-email-marketing-trends-leading-in-2020

Five email marketing trends leading in 2020

MailNinja keeps it short and sweet in this newsletter example. The tone is conversational, engaging readers with a single call-to-action. They keep the design simple with check marks as bullet points and two images: their logo and the newsletter curator, helping readers focus on the content. The simplicity makes it easy for readers to skim and jump right to the key takeaways.

Why it’s really good

  • Short and sweet
  • Easy to read or skim
  • Conversational content
  • Clear CTA

11) allplants

new-dish-alert-tempeh-rendang-curry-

New Dish Alert! Tempeh Rendang Curry 🌱

This newsletter example from allplants looks great from top to bottom. They included engaging content, clear CTAs, and the design is on-brand. The company dives into the ingredients and flavors that make up this tempeh rendang curry, complementing the descriptions with high-quality food photography.

Why it’s really good

  • Subject line emoji
  • Interesting layout
  • Delicious photos
  • Easy to skim
  • Optimized for mobile
  • Clear CTAs

12) Food52

-the-italian-pasta-trick-no-one-talks-about

🍝 The Italian pasta trick no one talks about.

From
Food52

This newsletter already has my heart, growing up Italian. Food52 delivers a fun, creative email with a clear focus: pasta. Kristen’s signature at the end of the first section gives the email a personal touch. The email continues to tell a story and provide the reader with a lot of options to take action on – checking out a pasta trick, watching a video, and browsing recipes.

Why it’s really good

  • Interesting layout
  • Engaging content
  • Personable
  • Easy to skim
  • Clear CTAs

13) Greatist

welcome-to-greatist

Welcome to Greatist

Greatist engages readers in this part newsletter, part welcome email with bright colors, trending blog posts, and clean, consistent branding. The company puts the focus on the content by encouraging readers to explore Greatist’s blog posts, providing clear CTAs throughout the email. Would love to see a bit more personalization in the message.

Why it’s really good

  • Interesting layout
  • Bright and colorful
  • Engaging photos
  • Blog post roundup
  • Optimized for mobile
  • Clear CTAs

14) Switch Weekly

Just as its name implies, Switch Weekly sends a weekly email on Sundays, rounding up Nintendo news for the most dedicated fans. Email Geek Chris Brandrick curates the newsletter, including a healthy mix of upcoming releases, Nintendo game news, and links to game resources. Switch Weekly gives readers a fun and conversational read filled with emojis, easy-to-read tidbits, and plenty of links to click through.

Why it’s really good

  • Fun layout
  • Specific audience
  • Easy to read and skim through
  • On-brand
  • Good use of links
  • Accessibility
  • Emojis break up the text and act as bullet points
  • Informative with release dates, video game news, and quick links

15) Kat Boogaard

Freelance writer Kat Boogaard sends this weekly plain text email on Friday mornings, giving freelancers and entrepreneurs actionable tips. She writes on a range of topics and informs her audience on how to raise their rates, how to deal with difficult clients, how to send better pitches, and updates on her own freelancing career.

Kat’s longread newsletters always include a great subject line to draw in the readers, and then she keeps readers engaged with humor and wit throughout the email. At the end of the newsletter, readers can find a list of additional blog posts resources, her 1, 2…Freelance Facebook Group, and available freelance jobs.

Why it’s really good

  • Personable content
  • Suits the target audience
  • Funny
  • Good subject line
  • Fits with Kat’s branding
  • Easy to skim layout
  • Optimized for mobile
  • Helpful content with a tip of the day, blog resources, and jobs for freelancers

16) Pulptown

Pulptown delivers freshly squeezed Orlando news three days a week. The hyperlocal newsletter covers a wide range of topics, including small business news, sports, politics, community, a list of weekly events (now virtual), and a series such as “What we love about the library.”

Their motto “Live Like You Live Here” encourages Orlandoans to not just live in the City Beautiful but get to know the city and the people in it! Pulptown Founder and Orlando curates a fun yet informative newsletter filled with emojis, reader quotes, community business ads, user-generated content, and polls, all presented in an easy-to-read format.

Why it’s really good

  • Accessible
  • Easy to skim
  • Consistent branding
  • Includes user-generated content
  • Nice layout
  • Personable content

17) Colin Wright

Speaker, writer, and podcaster Colin Wright left behind his six-figure business at age 24 to explore the world. He got rid of the material things he felt weren’t serving him in his life, and he's now visited 60 countries and all 48 contiguous U.S. states. Colin shares his travels, thoughts, and projects in these personal essays.

These essays, delivered in a newsletter at least once a week, are lengthy, but make it easy for the reader to skim through. Colin also includes links to quirky best-kept secrets, like Shared Piano and a Short Trip.

Why it’s really good

  • Personable content
  • Accessible
  • Fit’s with Colin’s minimalist branding and lifestyle
  • Optimized for mobile
  • Easy to skim through sections
  • Good mix of personal photos and check-ins
  • Encourages reader engagement by asking questions

18) The Freelancers Union

The national nonprofit organization sends emails to more than 500,000 freelancers, entrepreneurs, and small business owners at least once a week. Their newsletters focus on updates in the freelancing world, including helpful blog posts written by freelancers, when new laws get passed, like the Freelance Isn’t Free Law, Freelancers Hub events (their partner), and insurance resources.

Why it’s really good

  • Fun design
  • Consistent branding
  • Speaks directly to its targeted audience
  • Provides a good mix of resources (funding, blog posts, and virtual events)
  •  Accessible

BONUS: Newsletter Example Collections

What are Email Collections?

Email Collections are a group of emails created by Really Good Email users. Think of it as a custom inspiration board with your favorite emails from a specific category all in one place. You can browse Category Collections, such as “Newsletters,” you can create your own Email Collection, and you can browse other users’ Collections.

How can you browse Email Collections?

  1. Type in our search bar what emails you’re looking for, or browse Emails and Categories at the top.
  2. Click “Collections.”
  3. Click on a Collection.
  4. Browse and collect emails!

How can you create an Email Collection?

First, make sure you have an account with Really Good Emails. 

If you’re not already signed up, follow these steps:

  1. Go to the Really Good Emails homepage.
  2. Click “Sign up and smile.”
  3. Enter your information in the fields and click “Sign up with email.”

If you have a Really Good Emails account…

  1. Log in.
  2. Search for your favorite emails.
  3. Once you come across an email you love, you can “like” the email, and you can add that email to a Collection.
  4. Hover over the email you love, click the smiley face to “like” the email.
  5. Click “+ Collect” new Email Collection, then click “Create New Collection.”
  6. Name your Collection and add a description. The Collection name and description are both visible to anyone browsing Really Good Emails.
  7. To add an email to an existing Collection, navigate to the email, click “+ Collect” and then click the plus sign to the right of the Collection you want to add the email to.

In the meantime, check out these Newsletter Email Collections!

Toph's Newsletters Collection includes a mix of some of our favorite brand emails: Airbnb, Headspace, Invision. Clean layouts with clear CTAs.

Newsletters

44 emails. Curated by @toph

View Collection

 

Justine's Newsletter Collection favors brands like Litmus, emma, DoorDash, and more with a mix of blog post resources and news.

Newsletter

22 emails. Curated by @justinekim

View Collection

 

Sara’s Newsletters Collection shows some more love for Airbnb, Oscar, and Mailchimp with a mix of illustrations and photos of people.

Newsletters

24 emails. Curated by @saratrosky

View Collection

 

Ifran's Newsletter Collection contains bright, bold examples from Litmus Offscreen, Vimeo, and more.

Newsletters

24 emails. Curated by @iamiq

View Collection

 

Kelly's Newsletter Collection includes crisp photos of people, products, bright colors and clear CTAs (hey, that’s my collection!).

Newsletters

32 emails. Curated by @kellylamano

View Collection

Did we miss your favorite newsletter?

81% of B2B marketers consider newsletters to be their most used form of content marketing. While these are just 18 really good newsletters examples, we know there are a TON of other newsletter examples out there that are a joy to open. Got a newsletter worth sharing? Send it to us.

Categories:

Inspiration

Author

@kellylamano

💌 Creative storyteller ✍️📸

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