How Long Should An Email Newsletter Be?

We've all done it.

We click on an email, see a bunch of blocky text, glance over it…and trash it.

In a world where people's attention is limited, your email newsletter needs to make a great first impression; otherwise, no one will bother to read it.

Emails with the highest CTR are short, snappy, and get right to the point.

But, how long should an email newsletter be?

Data shows your email newsletter should be anywhere from 50 to 400 words long, with 50-125 being "optimal."

So which one is it? Well, It depends.

It’s not a question that has a clearly defined answer. There’s no hard, fast rule for determining the optimal length of your newsletter. While we have data on the ideal length, it will also depend on your audience and the value you provide within your email.

So, the best answer is likely, as long as you need it to be to get your point across while providing your subscribers ample value.

I'll explain in detail below and provide some simple guidelines to follow to write the perfect newsletter.

Email Newsletter Length (Key Data)

In 2017, Litmus reported that people spend an average of 11 seconds reading an email newsletter, and 46% of people will open them on a mobile device.

That’s about 35 words!

Before you start mass deleting your email copy, take a closer look at what Boomerang discovered from analyzing over 40 million emails.

Emails that are 50-125 words long resulted in a response rate above 50%.

Response rates started to decline slowly from 50% for 125-word messages to about 44% for 500-word messages.

What Is the Ideal Length Of An Email Newsletter For You? (Potential Scenarios)

We know statistically that the ideal email length is somewhere between 50 - 400 words.

On top of that, you want to make sure you're adapting your designs and layouts so they are scannable.

How do you do this?

Get rid of the fat and write shorter, more impactful newsletters.

Below, you’ll find the ideal lengths of four basic email elements.

• Ideal subject line length: 28 - 50 Characters

• Ideal preheader text length: 40 - 50 Characters. You can stretch this to 100 if you have something very important to say

• Ideal email copy length: 50 - 200 words

• Ideal CTA length: 2 - 7 words

Basic Email Formula

When asking yourself, how long should my email newsletter be, answer the following questions:

• What are you offering? This will be your headline.

• Grab attention - Use a captivating image to hook the reader

• What are the benefits? This is your main body copy

• What should people do next? This is where you include your CTA

Call To Action Must-Do’s

If you're including a CTA in your email (you should be), include the following:

• Purpose of CTA

• When (include date and time)

• Where

• Costs

• Answer any questions you know the reader will have

How Long Does It Take To Create An Email Newsletter With beehiiv?

With beehiiv, users can create the perfect email newsletter in minutes. Here’s what Jacob Robinson from The Morning Huddle had to say.

“Thanks to beehiiv email templates, I saved 66 hours during the football season (6 months) when writing my email newsletters.”

beehiiv provides a suite of content tools all in one place that makes it very easy for anyone to create the perfect newsletter.

With access to tools that track your newsletter performance, give audience insights, and much more you’ll be able to scale your business in no time.

Sign up for free today if you're ready to crush your next email campaign with beehiiv.