How to send newsletters to customers

Want to build stronger customer relationships and boost repeat sales? Email newsletters are one of the most effective marketing tools available. With the right approach, they help you stay connected with your audience, share valuable content, and turn one-time buyers into loyal customers. But if you’ve never sent a newsletter before, knowing where to start can feel overwhelming.

This guide walks you through everything you need to know to send your first newsletter and keep sending great ones. Whether you’re a small business owner, consultant, or service provider, you’ll learn practical steps to create, send, and optimize newsletters that your customers actually want to read.

Why send newsletters to customers?

Before diving into the how-to, it’s worth understanding why newsletters are so valuable:

• Stay top of mind: Regular communication keeps your business in customers’ thoughts when they need your products or services
• Build relationships: Newsletters help you connect on a personal level beyond transactional emails
• Drive repeat business: Sharing news, offers, and helpful content encourages customers to buy again
• Increase customer lifetime value: Engaged newsletter subscribers spend more over time
• Cost-effective marketing: Email delivers one of the highest ROI of any marketing channel
• Own your audience: Unlike social media, you control your email list. No algorithm changes can take it away

Before you start: What you’ll need

To send newsletters successfully, make sure you have these basics in place:

1. An email list: You need subscribers who have given permission to receive emails from you. Never buy email lists, as it damages your reputation and violates privacy laws.

2. An email marketing platform: Services like Minutemailer make it easy to design, send, and track newsletters without technical skills.

3. Clear goals: Know what you want to achieve, whether it’s sales, website traffic, event signups, or building relationships.

4. Content to share: Plan what value you’ll provide such as tips, news, stories, offers, or updates your audience cares about.

5. Basic brand assets: Your logo, brand colors, and any images you want to include.

If you’re starting from scratch with your email list, read our guide on building an email list to get started.

Step 1: Choose the right email marketing platform

Your email marketing platform is your command center for creating and sending newsletters. The right choice makes the entire process easier.

What to look for in a platform:

• Easy-to-use editor: You should be able to create professional newsletters without coding or design skills
• Professional templates: Ready-made designs that you can customize save time and ensure quality
• AI-powered features: Modern platforms offer AI content generation to help with writer’s block
• List management: Tools to organize subscribers and send targeted campaigns
• Scheduling options: Ability to send immediately or schedule for optimal timing
• Analytics and statistics: Clear metrics to understand what works
• Compliance tools: Features to help you follow GDPR and other privacy laws

Minutemailer provides all these features in a user-friendly package designed for small businesses and service providers who want professional results without complexity.

Step 2: Prepare your email list

Your newsletter is only as effective as the list you send it to.

Best practices for list management:

• Use permission-based lists only: Every subscriber should have opted in to receive emails from you
• Keep your list clean: Remove bounced emails and inactive subscribers regularly
• Segment when relevant: Group subscribers by interest, purchase history, or engagement for more targeted content
• Make unsubscribing easy: Include a clear unsubscribe link in every email. It’s required by law and builds trust

Most platforms, including Minutemailer, handle list management with features like automatic bounce handling and easy segmentation tools. You can learn more about importing and organizing contacts to get your list in order.

Step 3: Plan your newsletter content

Great newsletters provide value, not just promotions. Before you start designing, plan what you’ll include.

Content ideas that work:

• Educational tips: Share expertise related to your industry
• Company updates: News about your business, new products, or team members
• Customer stories: Testimonials or case studies showing your impact
• Exclusive offers: Special deals for subscribers only
• Curated resources: Links to helpful articles, tools, or resources
• Behind-the-scenes: Personal stories that humanize your brand

Finding the right content mix:

A good rule of thumb is the 80/20 rule: make 80% of your content valuable and informative, and only 20% promotional. This keeps subscribers engaged without feeling like they’re just receiving sales pitches.

Pro tip: Keep a running list of content ideas throughout the month. When you overhear customer questions, find interesting articles, or have business updates, add them to your list. You’ll never struggle to fill your newsletter.

Step 4: Create your newsletter

Now comes the fun part: actually creating your newsletter.

Choose or create a template

Starting with a professional template saves time and ensures your newsletter looks polished. Most email platforms offer customizable templates for different types of newsletters.

Minutemailer provides ready-made templates that you can customize to match your brand. Simply choose a layout that fits your content, then adjust colors, fonts, and images to make it yours.

Write your content

When writing newsletter content:

• Start with a compelling subject line: This is what gets people to open your email. Learn how to write better subject lines.
• Use a conversational tone: Write like you’re talking to a friend, not delivering a corporate announcement
• Keep paragraphs short: Online readers scan content, so short paragraphs are easier to digest
• Include clear calls-to-action: Tell readers what you want them to do next
• Make it scannable: Use headings, bullet points, and bold text to highlight key information

Stuck on what to write? Many modern email platforms now include AI-powered content generation features. These tools can help you draft content, improve headlines, or overcome writer’s block while you maintain your unique voice and message.

Design for impact

Even if you’re not a designer, you can create professional-looking newsletters by following these principles:

• Keep it simple: Clean, uncluttered designs are easier to read and more professional
• Use images strategically: Include relevant images, but don’t overdo it. Too many images can slow loading and distract from your message
• Make it mobile-friendly: Over half of emails are opened on mobile devices, so test your design on different screen sizes
• Maintain brand consistency: Use your logo, brand colors, and fonts consistently
• Leave white space: Don’t cram too much into one email. White space improves readability

Minutemailer’s easy-to-use editor lets you drag and drop elements, adjust layouts, and customize designs without any coding knowledge. Templates are automatically responsive, meaning they’ll look good on any device.

Step 5: Choose when to send

Timing can significantly impact your newsletter’s success.

Factors to consider:

• Industry norms: B2B emails often perform better on weekdays, while consumer emails may do well on weekends
• Your audience’s habits: Consider when your customers are most likely to check email
• Time zones: If you have a global audience, consider scheduling for different regions
• Frequency: Be consistent, whether that’s weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly

Common sending times that work:

• Tuesday through Thursday mornings (10 AM local time)
• Early afternoon (1-2 PM) for lower competition in inboxes
• Avoid Monday mornings (inbox overload) and Friday afternoons (people checking out for the weekend)

Most email platforms offer scheduling features so you can create your newsletter in advance and have it send at the optimal time. This is especially helpful if you’re in a different time zone than your audience.

Step 6: Review and send

Before hitting send, always review your newsletter carefully.

Pre-send checklist:

• Subject line is clear and compelling
• Preview text is set (the text that appears after the subject line)
• All links work correctly
• Images load properly
• Personalization tokens (like first names) display correctly
• Mobile version looks good
• Unsubscribe link is present and working
• No typos or formatting errors
• Sender name and email address are correct

Pro tip: Send a test email to yourself and a colleague before sending to your full list. Check it on both desktop and mobile devices.

Step 7: Monitor your results

Once your newsletter is sent, pay attention to how it performs. This data helps you improve future campaigns.

Key metrics to track:

• Open rate: Percentage of recipients who opened your email. This indicates subject line effectiveness
• Click-through rate (CTR): Percentage who clicked links. This shows content relevance and engagement
• Unsubscribe rate: Percentage who opted out. High rates suggest content or frequency issues
• Bounce rate: Emails that couldn’t be delivered. This indicates list health

What good numbers look like:

• Open rates: 15-25% is average; above 25% is excellent
• Click-through rates: 2-5% is typical; above 5% is strong
• Unsubscribe rates: Under 0.5% is healthy

Minutemailer provides clear, easy-to-understand statistics so you can track these metrics and see what’s working. You can view detailed reports on opens, clicks, and engagement over time.

Using data to improve:

• If open rates are low, experiment with different subject lines
• If clicks are low, review your content and calls-to-action
• If unsubscribes spike, reconsider your frequency or content mix
• Compare different newsletters to identify patterns in what works

Best practices for ongoing newsletters

Sending one great newsletter is good, but building a consistent newsletter habit is even better.

Maintain quality and consistency:

• Establish a schedule: Choose a frequency you can maintain (weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly) and stick to it
• Build a content calendar: Plan topics in advance to avoid last-minute scrambling
• Repurpose content: Turn blog posts into newsletter sections, or newsletter content into social media posts
• Ask for feedback: Occasionally survey subscribers to learn what they want more (or less) of
• Keep improving: Review your analytics regularly and continuously test new approaches

Stay compliant with email laws:

Email marketing is regulated by laws like GDPR (Europe), CAN-SPAM (USA), and similar regulations worldwide. Key requirements include:

• Get explicit permission before adding anyone to your list
• Include your physical business address in every email
• Provide a clear, easy way to unsubscribe
• Honor unsubscribe requests promptly (within 10 days)
• Never buy or rent email lists

Read our guide to GDPR-compliant newsletters for more details on staying legal.

Common mistakes to avoid

1. Sending too frequently (or too rarely)

Overwhelming subscribers with daily emails leads to unsubscribes. But sending so infrequently that people forget about you isn’t helpful either. Find a sustainable frequency. Monthly is a good starting point for most businesses.

2. Making it all about sales

If every newsletter is just “Buy now!” subscribers will tune out. Balance promotional content with genuinely helpful information, tips, stories, and updates.

3. Ignoring mobile users

More than half of emails are opened on mobile devices. If your newsletter doesn’t look good on phones, you’re losing a huge portion of your audience.

4. Neglecting the subject line

Your subject line is the first (and sometimes only) thing people see. A weak subject line means low open rates, no matter how good your content is. Learn how to write compelling subject lines.

5. Not testing before sending

Broken links, formatting issues, and typos damage your credibility. Always send test emails and review them on multiple devices.

6. Buying email lists

Purchased lists are full of people who never asked to hear from you. They’ll ignore your emails, mark them as spam, or complain. All of these actions hurt your sender reputation and deliverability. Build your list organically instead.

7. Ignoring your analytics

Your email statistics tell you what’s working and what isn’t. Ignoring this data means missing opportunities to improve.

Next steps

You now have everything you need to create and send professional newsletters to your customers. Here’s how to get started:

1. Set up your platform: If you haven’t already, create an account with an email marketing service like Minutemailer
2. Prepare your first newsletter: Choose a template, write your content, and review it carefully
3. Send to a small segment first: Test your process with a portion of your list before sending to everyone
4. Review the results: Check your metrics to see what worked
5. Schedule your next newsletter: Consistency is key. Get your next one planned while the process is fresh in your mind

Remember, your first newsletter doesn’t have to be perfect. The most important thing is to start building the habit of regular communication with your customers. You’ll improve with each send as you learn what resonates with your audience.

Additional resources:

• How to write better emails: Improve your email writing and engagement
• Email subject lines that convert: Master the art of getting people to open your emails
• How to avoid the spam folder: Ensure your newsletters actually reach inboxes
• Email marketing for beginners: Complete overview of email marketing fundamentals

With the right tools and approach, sending newsletters becomes a powerful way to build customer relationships and grow your business. Minutemailer provides the AI-powered content generation, professional templates, intuitive editor, and detailed analytics you need to create newsletters that get results, all in one easy-to-use platform.

Ready to get started? Create your first newsletter today and discover how regular, valuable communication can transform your customer relationships and drive business growth.