How to Write an Email Newsletter in Under 20 Minutes (My Entire System)
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Let’s be real: there are a lot of things standing in the way of you and a successful email newsletter:
🤔 Knowing what to write
🤔 Emailing consistently
🤔 Having a way for people to opt in (freebie or no freebie?! The age-old question.)
…amongst others.
When you’re running a business, marketing tasks add up quickly. Even as a marketer myself, I struggle to market my own business at times!
That’s why, when it came to my email list, I had to find a way to be consistent and know what to write about.
And it couldn’t be for only one email; it had to be a system I could follow for the weeks and months to come.
After plenty of headaches, I was finally able to write an email newsletter to my list in 20 minutes or less without dreading it. A win!
The easiest way to write an email newsletter quickly is to choose one problem or goal your ideal customer has, connect it to a story or insight, bridge it to your offer, and finish with one clear CTA. With a reusable template, you can turn this into a 20-minute weekly system.
That’s exactly what I’m going to show you!
The Elements of Writing an Email Newsletter Fast
Removing the mental roadblocks I had when writing my email newsletter came down to:
Knowing my audience and their specific problems and desires that I can help with
Writing those down so I can write and repurpose emails catering to those problems and desires
Creating an email newsletter template that I could duplicate and use again
Once you have these elements in place, your newsletter becomes easy to write and batch out!
How to Write an Email Newsletter in Under 20 Minutes
This is how I made sure I never ghosted my email list again. 👻
I split this up into 2 sections: “Before You Write” and “Writing Your Newsletter”. I promise, a little front-loaded work will pay off!
Before You Write Your Newsletter
These steps only need to be done once (or periodically when you evaluate your business/offers)
Define Your Target Audience
This is usually your ideal client or customer, so that’s how I’ll reference it here.
If you’re already crystal clear on this in your business, great! Use your ideal customer as the audience for your email list too.
If not, consider these questions to start honing in on your ideal client.
(You could even name a person so that you can use them as a reference point in all your marketing activities. My client avatar’s name is Kai, lol)
👉 Demographics: age, sex, income, occupation
👉 Hobbies: what do they do for fun?
👉 Goals: what are their main goals? This could be in life or in a specific situation related to your offer.
👉 What do they dream is possible for them?
If you treat email like you’re emailing one person, your emails will come across as more personal and more relevant to them. Also, no matter what your future offers or services may evolve into, this system allows you to stay focused on your ideal client’s world.
Write a list of their problems, desires, and goals
First, answer this: how do YOU fit into your ideal customer’s world? What does your offer or service bring to the table for THEM?
This is where the magic happens.
You’re going to center your newsletter around the problems, desires, goals, and hopes of your ideal customer.
👉 Make a list of the problems, hopes, goals, and desires your ideal customer has that your offer fixes or makes better. I would aim for at least 10. Really think about what your ideal customer wishes were possible, what they’re missing, and what’s actually causing their pain.
👉 Each one of these becomes a potential theme for your newsletter and other content. You’ll revisit this list over and over with fresh angles.
👉 Keep this list somewhere you can easily reference it when you're writing a new newsletter. Work your way through the list over time, revisiting topics with new stories, examples, insights, and perspectives.
I have a Notion dashboard where I keep a list of the problems and desires my ideal customer has. I use this as my "idea bank" when I'm creating content. Sometimes I'll start with one of these problems and write an email from scratch. Other times, I'll use a blog post or another piece of content I've already created as my starting point.
The point is that I’m consistently signaling to my ideal client that I understand them, while also creating consistency for myself.
Create an email newsletter template
I couldn’t get consistent with email until I had a template that I could easily duplicate and fill in.
And don’t worry about not knowing how to “design” an email…I prefer mostly plain-text emails because they're easy to read, quick to create, and don't require a lot of design. If you can write an email to a colleague, you can write one to your list!
So, have your header image at the top, add an image or two in the text if you want, add some emojis…
And you have an easily repeatable, easily readable email newsletter template!
(You can download one from me for free!)
Writing Your Email Newsletter
Decide what the call-to-action will be
Your email should have one call-to-action button. Maybe it’s to view your services, read your blog, download your free resource…whatever it is, have this in mind before writing.
Write the email
Go back to the list of problems and goals. These are your “idea bank.”
You’ll come up with new examples, new angles, new stories, etc. around the same core problems and desires.
You don't necessarily have to start from scratch every week, either. If you're already creating other content for your business, you can use that content as a starting point for your newsletter.
But the beauty of this system is that you can come up with content from scratch pretty easily. You already have the frame of reference (problems and goals) in place to do so.
I like to repurpose blogs, but I also email fairly regularly right off the dome! Over time, it gets easier to come up with ideas.
An easy formula to follow for your newsletter is:
🧪 Hook - ask a question, start with a story, or a bold statement to expand upon
🧪 Relate your customer’s pain point or desire to whatever your story or hook is
🧪 Bridge the gap to your offer or CTA
🧪 Conclude/sign it off
Remember, your emails are about your ideal customer, not about you!
Let’s use my newsletter method as an example:
Storytelling Hook: "I used to spend more time deciding what to write than actually writing my newsletter."
Relate: Explain that they might be having this problem too (show them they’re not alone).
Bridge: Introduce the idea of keeping a list of their customers' problems and desires.
CTA: Invite them to download your newsletter template or learn more about your services.
Summing It Up…
When you set up a system and get clear on your audience, emailing consistently becomes less daunting.
Like anything else, emailing well takes practice. You’ll get better at it over time!
If you’re looking to outsource this altogether, view my services. You can also download my free Flodesk newsletter template!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How do I start an email newsletter?
All you need is an email service provider (ESP) and a way to collect emails (usually a landing page). Common ESPs include Mailchimp, Flodesk, and Kit (formerly ConvertKit).
I use Flodesk, and you can take 25% off your first year with my link!
How long should my email newsletter be?
There’s no set word count! They can be as short or as long as you like. Pay attention to what your audience responds well to and tweak as you go.
Should I write an email newsletter if my email list is small?
Yes :) I started writing emails when I had fewer than 10 people on my list! Everyone starts at zero, so work on growing your email list and write to the people you have.
If you’re looking for a way to grow your list that doesn’t involve content creation, I recommend Leticia Jadene’s Collaboration Directory. For only $9, you get access to an entire list of people looking to collaborate to grow their email list!
How often should I write a newsletter?
I recommend writing to your email list once a week. It seems like a lot, but over time, it won’t! When you reduce the creative burnout, things start feeling easier. But if every other week feels more manageable for you, go with that!
I don’t know how to design emails. Should I still write a newsletter?
ABSOLUTELY! In fact, I write mostly plain-text emails (with some images and buttons). Plain-text emails are easier to read, and complex email design is not necessary to have a profitable email list.
In case we haven’t met…
👋 I’m Dom—an email marketing strategist who believes email can be simple & profitable for your business!
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