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Creating A Business Newsletter Template: A How-To Guide
Everything you need to create a newsletter template for your business
Nicola Vaughan
January 27th, 2025
Table of Contents
Sending regular newsletters is the best way of keeping your customers in the loop with your business, and a strong business newsletter template is a great place to start. And creating business newsletter templates is a time-consuming process, especially when you don’t know where to start - that’s where we can help.
With a range of plug-and-play solutions out there, you can create a powerful business newsletter template in no time at all. In this article, we’ll provide you with everything you need to create a great business newsletter template, from how to define your goals, to building the newsletter itself.
TL;DR
Define clear goals and understand your target audience to create a newsletter that resonates.
Plan a well-structured content layout that guides readers through your newsletter seamlessly.
Design a visually appealing template that aligns with your brand and captures your attention.
Code your template with email compatibility in mind, ensuring proper rendering across various clients.
Integrate your template with your chosen email service provider for a streamlined workflow.
Optimize your newsletter for maximum impact, leveraging strategies like A/B testing and personalization.
Ensure your newsletter complies with legal requirements and is accessible to all subscribers.
Draw inspiration from sample templates that showcase different design approaches and styles.
Leverage beehiiv's powerful features to create, launch, and grow your newsletter with ease.
1. The Art of Crafting Irresistible Business Newsletter Templates
The first step in creating an irresistible business newsletter template is choosing an email platform to use. There are a range of tools out there to help you create your ideal newsletter, each with different strengths depending on the goals you’re looking to achieve.
beehiiv is a comprehensive email newsletter platform that allows you to create a beautiful email template without needing to be a coding expert. Our “no-code” template editor allows you to drop in different content sections to build out your newsletter, creating content elements that will keep your subscribers engaged.
Over 4.5 billion emails were sent using the beehiiv system in 2023. Take a look at our blog for tips on creating a newsletter in beehiiv, plus our top newsletter design tips to get the most from your newsletters.
Establishing your newsletter goals and target audience is key to achieving the best results for your email marketing.
If you don’t know what you’re setting out to do, and who you’re communicating with, your email will never reach its full potential.
Before talking about your newsletter design, it's crucial to establish clear goals. Ask yourself: What do you want to achieve?
Common objectives may include:
Improving brand awareness
Driving website traffic
Increasing product sales
Enhancing customer engagement
Your goals will shape your newsletter's content, design, and strategy. Take a moment to write down your specific objectives – this clarity will guide your entire newsletter process and help measure its success.
Next, let's look at how to choose the right template to support these goals.
Understanding Your Target Audience
Your target audience will inform the content and strategy of your newsletter, so understanding who you’re targeting is crucial in building your newsletter template.
Understanding your audience will help you to choose which template design choices work for you, in terms of layout, color scheme, and tone of voice.
For example, if your audience are creatives, it would be best to choose a template that is vibrant and ensure your tone of voice reflects this too.
Think about the sort of people you’re looking to communicate with - are they male, female, or a certain age group? You can collect audience data by carrying out market research to find out typical attributes of your subscribers, such as polls and questionnaires. Analyze the demographics of your target audience to better understand how you should be setting up your newsletter.
3. Planning the Perfect Content Structure
Your newsletter should be visually appealing and easy to read. The perfect content structure can not only guide you when building your email but will also ensure it flows well so that your users enjoy reading your newsletters.
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Key Elements of an Effective Newsletter Content Structure
The best newsletters should include the following sections within their content structure:
Header: The email header is the first section your audience will see. It should include your logo so they know instantly who the email is from, and a simple headline indicating what your email is about.
Banner: A banner image should appear next. This should be visually appealing, catching the attention of your subscribers and indicating the purpose of the email. This could be a banner advertising your latest sale for example.
Photos: Use images or photos throughout your newsletter to break up content. You could alternate which sides images appear for example, with text next to the image explaining each section.
Content Blocks: Content blocks will form the main body of your email, telling subscribers about your brand and any information you want them to know. The content blocks shouldn’t be too text-heavy, break up sections and ensure sentences aren’t too long. Here are some email content ideas over on the beehiiv blog if you need some inspo.
Call To Action: Add a clear Call To Action (CTA) that helps you to achieve the goal of your newsletter. For example, if your goal is to drive more appointments for your business, a great CTA for your newsletter would be ‘Book An Appointment’ which takes users to a page on your website where they book one.
Footer: Last but not least is your newsletter footer. This section should include any legal information you need to include or quick links to other ways your audience can reach you. It’s also important to include a link where users can unsubscribe - while you want subscribers to stick around, you shouldn’t make it difficult for them to leave your mailing list if they choose to.
For more newsletter layout tips, check out the beehiiv blog!
Prioritizing Content and Calls-to-Action
Ultimately, your content and CTAs are the most important aspects of your newsletter template. Without these, it’s impossible to effectively communicate with your subscribers and achieve your goals.
4. Designing a Visually Stunning Newsletter Template
To design the best newsletter template, you’ll need to consider how your visual elements will look. This is where you can get creative!
Color Palette and Typography
A strong color palette will be the difference between an average-looking newsletter and one that knocks your subscriber’s socks off. You’ll also want to use the correct typography to give your newsletter a professional yet stand-out vibe.
Your brand guidelines will inform the colors and font of your newsletter, so it’s best to consult these if you’re unsure before starting your newsletter. Brand guidelines are a set of documents that explain how your brand should be presented in media form, including fonts, logos, colors, and typefaces.
Determining what your brand guidelines are involves creativity brainstorming your brand to decide which colors and logos best reflect your brand identity. For example, if your brand is professional and in a traditional market, your colors may be simple with a classic font case.
The visuals of your newsletter should parallel your branding - this may mean using colors from your logo, or it could be totally different. Whatever your company’s branding, make sure the design of your newsletter reflects these to ensure it looks its best.
Here are our top tips on livening up your brand voice - check out this beehiiv blog!
Layout and Structure
If your email doesn’t flow and has clear sections, it will probably be difficult to read and produce poor results.
Make sure your newsletter has key sections including a header and footer, with visuals and text laid out beautifully in between. The easier you make your newsletter to digest, the more likely subscribers will be to convert and return in the future.
5. Coding Your Template for Email Compatibility
While you don’t have to be a coding genius to use different newsletter platforms, if you plan to use code there are some best practices that you should stick to.
HTML tables and Inline CSS can help you create beautiful email templates, and a responsive template would be impossible without cross-client testing and debugging. More on this in the below sections.
HTML Tables and Inline CSS
HTML tables allow you to arrange the content of your newsletter into columns and rows. This allows you to present your email in various ways, making your template more visually appealing and interactive.
You can then apply inline CSS to customize your email further, adding styling to match your newsletter to your branding.
When used correctly, HTML tables and Inline CSS can give your newsletter an edge over plain-text emails.
Here are some tips on our blog on how to use CSS effectively in your emails.
Cross-Client Testing and Debugging
Coding an email newsletter can be highly successful in driving great results, but only if you’ve carried out thorough testing before sending.
When coded, emails in HTML can appear differently across devices/platforms. This is why cross-client testing is essential before scheduling an email, giving you time to carry out any necessary debugging.
Responsive email design can be one issue that is flagged up in the debugging process - read our blog on responsive email design to get the most out of your email testing.
6. Integrating with Email Service Providers
There are various email service providers out there to help you create the best newsletter template for your business. Integrating with the right platform helps build emails with ease that provide great results.
Setting Up Content Blocks and Sections
Whichever email service provider you choose, you can design your template with content blocks and sections to present your email in the best way.
Every platform differs, with some having features like drag-and-drop editors and others with templates. With beehiiv, you can add different sections such as content blocks, images, and polls at the click of a button.
If you’re stuck on choosing an email service provider, take a look at these ideas to help narrow down your search.
Configuring Automation Rules and Workflows
Another feature that email service providers help with is automation and workflows.
This means you can send emails automatically based on user behavior or preferences. Automation and workflows save you time by eliminating the need to set up emails manually, and they also allow you to segment user data and provide more personalized content for your audience.
For example, you could set up an automation to send users who have abandoned their shopping carts a follow-up email with a time-limited offer to incentivize them to complete their order.
Here are some other email automation strategies to get you started!
Why Listen to Me? I have been working in the digital marketing space for nearly 10 years, predominantly helping brands with their email marketing and online presence. I now specialize in creating great content for beehiiv to help people nail their email strategies!
7. Optimization Strategies for Maximum Impact
If you’ve created your newsletter template and think you’re done - think again. A template can always be refined to maximize impact, and there are some optimization strategies out there to help you fine-tune your newsletter.
A/B Testing for Continuous Improvement
A/B testing is a powerful tool for improving your newsletter by sending different versions to selected subscribers and measuring the results and seeing which template provides the best results. This process helps ensure that your newsletter achieves the best possible performance.
For example, you could compare two newsletter templates with different CTAs and measure metrics such as click-through and conversion rates to determine the most effective CTA.
8. Ensuring Legal Compliance and Accessibility
The legal bits of an email template may seem boring, but they’re important and shouldn't be overlooked.
While a good email design is crucial, it's just as important to ensure compliance with legal and accessibility requirements. Failure to do so can land you in hot water!
Legal Requirements and Regulations
Email compliance is a complex topic, but one of the most critical aspects is ensuring that you only email subscribers who have given their consent to receive your communications.
This may sound obvious, but if you’ve collected emails via cold-marketing marketing techniques it’s unlikely these users will want to hear from you, and you could be reported for doing this in line with GDPR.
When managing email lists, make sure you’re only emailing:
Users who have consented to receive emails from you
Users that have previously bought from your brand
Make sure that you’re also providing an easy route to unsubscribe at the end of your emails. This helps prevent any upset if subscribers are on a list by mistake.
Accessibility and Inclusive Design
Another important element when creating a business newsletter template is accessibility and inclusive design.
This will ensure that your newsletter can be received and understood by everyone, regardless of device or disability.
Here are some tips for creating an email template that is accessible and inclusive:
Test your template on multiple devices to ensure it is responsive and displays correctly for everybody.
Use legible typography and color contrast to make it easier for those with visual impairments to read.
Specify language attributes to enable users using screen readers to understand how content is pronounced.
Write alt text for images to explain what an image is about.
If you’re stuck for inspiration when it comes to designing your newsletter template, we’ve included below some sample templates to get your creative juices flowing.
You can adapt templates to align them with your brand’s identity, target audience, and specific goals.
Minimalist Template
If your branding is sleek and simple, a minimalist template may work best for your business newsletter template.
Minimalist templates tend to include the following:
Bold typography, vibrant colors, clean layout
Effective use of negative space and content hierarchy
Ideal for businesses seeking a modern, minimalist aesthetic
Check out the table below to see how a minimalist template should be laid out:
A minimalist template will create a modern, visually appealing aesthetic, allowing the content of your email to take center stage.
This template is perfect for businesses looking to achieve a clean, uncluttered design, helping to guide the reader’s eye through the content seamlessly without unnecessary distractions.
Classic Professional Template
For businesses that are seeking a sophisticated, professional look with their email marketing, you can’t go wrong with a classic professional template.
These templates include:
A traditional header with dropdown navigation
Prominently featured article section
Organized content layout with a dedicated sidebar
Check out the table below to see how a classic professional template should be laid out:
A classic, professional email template will exude a sense of refinement and expertise. This is ideal if your business is in an industry such as finance, law, or consulting.
With its organized content and welcome message, your newsletter will be both easy to digest and have a personal touch that your subscribers will love.
Interactive Multimedia Template:
If you want a business email template that truly stands out, an interactive multimedia template may be best for you.
Interactive templates usually contain:
Embedded video or interactive media in the hero section
Content blocks with visuals, GIFs, polls, and quizzes
Highly engaging and dynamic experience
Ideal for businesses looking to push boundaries and captivate audiences
Check out the table below to see how interactive multimedia templates should be laid out:
An interactive, multimedia-rich approach will create an immersive, engaging experience for your subscribers. This will make your newsletter stand out from the traditional, static emails your audience may be used to receiving.
This template will encourage your subscribers to engage with your brand and is ideal for businesses looking to captivate audiences by pushing the boundaries of email marketing.
10. Unleash the Power of beehiiv for Your Newsletter Success
Newsletter success is more than just a great template. To reach the ultimate newsletter success, beehiiv is the email provider for you.
Intuitive Template Building and Design Flexibility
beehiiv has been built to allow creators to intuitively build newsletter templates. By simply clicking the plus button at the side of the beehiiv editor, you can add a range of elements including the following:
Columns
Images
Bulleted Lists
Buttons
Tables
Headings
Embed Links
Social Links
AI Writers (Premium)
Referral Programs (Premium)
Polls (Premium)
HTML Snippets (Premium)
These elements allow you to design your newsletter flexibly, in any style/order you like.
Growth and Monetization Tools
beehiiv also has various tools to allow you to grow and monetize your newsletter, including the following:
Referral Programs: The beehiiv Referral Program allows creators to incentivize subscribers to refer a friend, helping to grow audiences and reward subscribers.
Premium Content Options: Creators can set up Premium Subscriptions for their newsletters, creating exclusive content that can be monetized.
Advertising Integrations: The beehiv Ad Network can be used to monetize a newsletter by featuring top brands subscribers know and love. Creators can also include ad space to monetize their email marketing further.
Analytics and Segmentation for Data-Driven Optimization
Known for its growth and analytics, beehiiv is passionate about data-driven optimization to help creators get the very best out of their email marketing.
With its comprehensive 3D Analytics and wealth of segmentation opportunities, creators can use these tools to inform strategic decisions about their content. They can analyze performance to understand KPIs such as engagement and click-through rates and use acquisition channels to understand where subscribers originate.
beehiiv also encourages its creators to segment their audiences to drive growth. This involves drilling down into the demographics of your audience to understand more about them and ultimately provide these users with more tailored content.
Final Thoughts
We hope that you now feel confident with creating a newsletter template for your business and can’t wait to get started!
Why not start a free 30-day trial with beehiiv to get the ball rolling on your next business newsletter template? You can benefit from a user-friendly newsletter builder, advanced analytics, and monetization options to take your email marketing to the next level.
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