It seemed that the marketers behind them were more interested in promoting articles and earning blog impressions than in creating an experience worth subscribing to. So we asked the people behind a few of those top newsletters: "What's your secret?" Be consistent Tallie Gabriel, writer and social media editor, Contently Contently is a content marketing software, and the team writes a blog for marketers called The Strategist, so writing well is their forte. Be brief Tyler Hakes, strategy director and principal, Optimist Optimist is a marketing agency that loves to bare all on its blog: successes, doubts, and failures. I only send out emails periodically, whenever we have new content," he says. Be entertaining Anand Sanwal, CEO and co-founder, CB Insights The CB Insights newsletter became famous doing everything different. Early on, CEO and Co-Founder Anand wrote them in abbreviated plain-speak, took idiosyncratic positions that inspired heated debates, and ended every newsletter with "I love you." "It took us almost 2.5 years to get to 10,000," says Anand. Most B2B newsletters forget that people reading their content want to be educated but also entertained." Whereas average newsletters tried to drive clicks, the top ones tried to create experiences, our study found.
Most B2B newsletters seem confused as to why they exist.
We studied 100 of them over three months, and the results weren’t heartening.
Most were difficult to read, visually confusing, and didn’t provide much utility to the reader. It seemed that the marketers behind them were more interested in promoting articles and earning blog impressions than in creating an experience worth subscribing to. But the top 10 percent were completely different.
The top 10% of newsletters were beautiful to look at and minimal in their design; they included funny, concise, and thought-provoking remarks; and they seemed determined to offer an elevated experience that a reader couldn’t get just by visiting their blog.
So we asked the people behind a few of those top newsletters: “What’s your secret?”
Be consistent
Tallie Gabriel, writer and social media editor, Contently
Contently is a content marketing software, and the team writes a blog for marketers called The Strategist, so writing well is their forte. But what sets them apart is their consistency: Contently’s newsletter uses the same cerulean blue header and sans-serif font as its website, and it features the site’s signature humorously skeptical tone.
The newsletter passes Ann Handley’s famous test: Even if you stripped away all the design, you could still tell from the writing alone that it was Contently.
We asked the newsletter editor, Tallie, how do you do it?
Beyond using an internal style guide, she said, “when building a newsletter, it’s important to keep your brand voice clear and recognizable. Don’t overwhelm your audience with text. Ask yourself, ‘How can I address my point as clearly and concisely as possible while keeping with my brand’s tone?’ If you can throw in some humor and exciting data to keep your audience engaged, even better. But above all, be consistent.”
Be brief
Tyler Hakes, strategy director and principal,…
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