Design That Clicks

How to Design Newsletters Optimized for Engagement & Conversion

AuthorAuthorAuthor

EJ White, Tony Varghese & Kristina Volchek
November 20th, 2024

Description: Learn how you can use beehiiv's built-in design tools to create visually stunning, engaging newsletters. From our rich text editor to our AI assistant, we'll cover all the creative tools available on the beehiiv platform.

Table of Contents

Crafting engaging newsletters is essential for businesses and content creators. 

In a recent beehiiv webinar, EJ White, Head of Growth at beehiiv, and Kristina Volchek, a freelance designer with expertise in digital marketing, discussed how effective newsletter design can boost reader engagement and drive conversions.

Kristina transitioned from digital marketing to product design, focusing on helping solopreneurs and content creators. Since then, she has launched her newsletter, 'Designer Coffee', and offers assistance in newsletter design for others.

Psychological Principles of Design

The effectiveness of newsletter design hinges on four psychological principles: 

  • Visual hierarchy 

  • Color psychology

  • Pattern recognition 

  • Cognitive load. 

Visual hierarchy 

Guides readers' attention, ensuring they notice the most critical information first. For example, larger text tends to capture attention before the smaller text, establishing a clear reading order.

Color Psychology

Color plays a pivotal role in evoking emotions and encouraging actions. Consistent use of colors for clickable elements trains users to recognize interactive components. 

For instance, a standard color for links enhances user experience by indicating what is clickable. Just like the image below. 

Moreover, colors evoke specific feelings; vibrant colors in CTAs may convey urgency, while muted tones can signal professionalism and reduce visual distractions.

Utilize tools like Coolers and Adobe Color to generate complementary color options based on a chosen hue.

Experiment with color harmonies and variations to enhance the overall aesthetic of your brand's design.

Pattern Recognition

Establishing consistent layouts across newsletters helps readers know what to expect, reducing confusion and enhancing comprehension. 

Readers will easily navigate the material without mental fatigue by repeating structural patterns—such as introducing a main story followed by secondary content.

Cognitive Load Management

Reducing cognitive load is vital for maintaining reader interest. When content is presented as a large block of text, readers may feel overwhelmed. 

Breaking up text with headings, bullet points, and images simplifies information processing, making reading more enjoyable. Just like this:

Consistent layout across newsletters also minimizes cognitive load, allowing readers to easily navigate the content.

Typography and Readability

Choosing the right typography contributes significantly to readability. Larger, bolder fonts are suitable for headings, while body text should be clear and accessible, ideally above 16 pixels for most readers. 

The pairing of serif and sans-serif fonts can enhance visual appeal while maintaining clarity.

Another thing to note is that clipping in Gmail will occur if the email exceeds around 100 kilobytes, which will impact design integrity.

Pair different font styles and weights to create a complementary look that improves readability and visual appeal.

Utilize heading levels (H1 to H6) to establish a clear content hierarchy, using varying sizes and weights for emphasis.

Effective Layout and Composition

Using grid systems, rule of thirds, and whitespace effectively ensures proper newsletter content structuring. 

Proximity—placing related items close together—helps readers understand connections between elements. 

At the same time, adequate spacing between sections prevents clutter, allowing content to breathe, and enhancing overall design quality.

Incorporating blank space reduces mental clutter, allowing readers to process information more effectively.

Modular design techniques, like sections and templates, facilitate consistent layout without tedious repetition.

Incorporate reading patterns like F and Z formats to align with user psychology for seamless content consumption.

Utilizing Visual Content

Implementing visuals such as images, illustrations, and infographics can elevate your newsletters. 

Custom illustrations just like the ones used in this summary add personality to your emails, while data visualizations make complex information digestible. 

User-generated content, like testimonials, can further engage readers and build trust in your content.

Design trends are evolving, with minimalist and maximalist styles gaining popularity. Additionally, considerations for dark mode are increasingly relevant as more users access content on mobile devices. 

Staying informed about design trends ensures that your newsletter remains contemporary and appealing.

Upcoming beehiiv Features for Newsletter Management:

  • A shared dashboard that will help manage multiple newsletters by displaying all content and performance metrics in one place, is expected in 2025.

  • A/B testing for newsletter content and design elements is anticipated to be added in 2025, with current recommendations to use manual testing methods for user feedback.

Conclusion

Effective newsletter design is a diverse process that blends psychological principles, visual elements, and user experience considerations. 

When focusing on these aspects, creators can craft newsletters that not only engage but also convert readers into loyal subscribers.

Next Steps

  • Sign up to beehiiv if you haven't already.

  • Set up your newsletter using this walk-through guide.

  • Follow the steps in this summary to design emails that increase clicks, and conversions and drive engagement for your newsletter.

Resources

Coolers: https://coolors.co/ 

Adobe Color: https://color.adobe.com/ 

Kristina’s Website: https://kristi.digital/ 

Kristina’s Newsletter: https://kristi.digital/newsletter 

Timestamps

Getting Started👇

00:00:00 - Introducing Our Guest Kristina

00:02:16 - What We'll Cover

Understanding the Psychology of Newsletter Design ✍️

00:05:07 - Key Principles of Newsletter Design

00:06:33 - Visual Hierarchy

00:10:36 - The Role of Motion in Design

00:14:48 - Mastering Typography: Choosing the Right Fonts

00:23:20 - Color Theory and Its Impact

00:28:52 - Layout and Composition Techniques

00:37:08 - Visual Content Creation and Curation

00:38:49 - Web Design Elements for Newsletters

00:41:11 - Advanced Techniques and Trends

00:47:00 - Playbooks

Q&A 🙋 

00:50:34 - Differences Between Website and Newsletter Styling

00:54:46 - Sharing Media Assets Between Multiple Publications

00:55:44 - A/B Testing Design and Copy

00:56:36 - Templates and Typedream Integration

00:57:59 - Support for CSS Media Queries

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