How To Design and Code Your Perfect Email Newsletter

Email newsletters remain one of the most effective tools in a marketer's arsenal. Businesses can use them to directly engage subscribers, build relationships, drive traffic, and increase conversions. 

But people's inboxes are pretty saturated these days. To truly stand out, many businesses are turning to custom-coded email newsletters to offer personalization and brand alignment that pre-made templates often can't match.

Whether you're a marketer wanting more control over your emails or a designer aiming to create responsive and visually engaging newsletters, understanding the coding process is key. 

By coding your newsletter, you'll have the flexibility to craft layouts, optimize performance, and ensure compatibility across all email clients. This hands-on approach allows you to go beyond the limitations of traditional drag-and-drop builders like Mailchimp or Canva.

This guide will cover everything from the basics of email coding, essential tools and software, and how to design, code, and test your newsletter. You'll also learn advanced strategies for optimizing content, segmentation, and improving deliverability.

Understanding the Basics of Email Newsletters

Before diving into the technical aspects of coding an email newsletter, it's important to understand the fundamentals. 

Email newsletters are periodic emails sent to a list of subscribers, usually featuring company updates, product launches, promotions, or valuable content such as blog posts.

Email newsletters are critical in maintaining customer engagement, building trust over time, and driving conversions alongside other customer touchpoints (often calls and social media).

From a design perspective, newsletters typically include a header, body, and footer.

Each of these elements serves a unique purpose:

• The header introduces the newsletter and sets the tone.

• The body contains the primary content, including images, text, and calls-to-action (CTAs).

• The footer usually provides links for unsubscribing, contact information, and social media icons.

Email newsletters are structurally built using Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) for content and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) for styling.

Choosing the Right Tools and Software

Coding an email newsletter requires the right combination of tools and software to streamline the process and ensure that the final product functions across all email clients. 

The first tool you'll need is a code editor that offers syntax highlighting and code validation features, which help you write clean HTML and CSS. Here are some popular code editors: 

• Visual Studio Code

• Sublime Text

• Brackets

Next, consider using a template builder that allows for manual code input if you're not ready to start from scratch. 

Platforms like Mailchimp, Brevo, and beehiiv offer a hybrid approach where you can use drag-and-drop builders while still coding custom elements. They also provide analytics, allowing you to track opens, clicks, and other performance metrics.

Email testing platforms like Litmus or Email on Acid are invaluable for testing your newsletters. These tools preview your emails across a wide range of clients, such as Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail, and help you spot any rendering issues before hitting send.

It's critical to choose the right tools out of the gate. If you pick something that doesn't suit your needs, you could end up with software that hinders your growth! 

No one wants to change email providers once they have 100,000 subscribers. Make sure you pick a tool that suits your needs from day one. 

Planning Your Newsletter Design

Good email design begins with a plan. Before you start coding, you should have a clear vision of what your email newsletter will look like, what content it will include, and how you want it to engage your audience.

Start by sketching out a wireframe of your newsletter layout. This should include major sections like the header, body, and footer. 

Also, identify where images, CTAs, and text blocks will go. You can do this on paper or with graphic design software like Canva.

When planning the design, you should also consider the visual hierarchy. Place your most important content at the top and use headings, subheadings, and images to break up text.

Ensure that your CTAs are visible and easy to click, especially on mobile devices. Keep the overall design simple, clean, and consistent with your brand guidelines.

Another critical element of email design is making all emails mobile-responsive. With over half of emails now opened on mobile devices, your design must be ready to adapt seamlessly across screen sizes.

Design for mobile first, ensuring that text remains readable and buttons are large enough to tap on smaller screens. 

Defining Your Audience and Goals

A successful email newsletter begins with a clear understanding of your audience and what you want to achieve by emailing them. 

Beware—if you don't have a plan, you'll create another long stream-of-consciousness email about cats and travel that no one reads. The internet doesn't need another one!

Take a look at some of the most popular email newsletters out there:

• Tim Ferriss's 5-Bullet Friday

• Justin Welsh's Saturday Solopreneur

• James Clear's 3-2-1 Newsletter

The above newsletters are short, to the point, and helpful. They know precisely what they are and who they're for.

Your newsletter doesn't have to be militantly brief, but it does need to serve a purpose for someone.

Are you sending newsletters to potential customers, existing clients, or a mix of both? Why would someone want to read your newsletter in the first place? What are they going to get from it?

Defining your audience will help shape the content and tone of your newsletter.

Next, set specific goals for your newsletter. Are you looking to drive traffic to your website, increase product sales, promote a new service, or simply share valuable content with your subscribers?

Your goals will determine the type of content you include, such as promotional offers, educational articles, or customer testimonials. 

If your goal is conversions, your CTAs should be prominent and persuasive. If it's engagement, you might want to include interactive elements like polls or surveys.

Having a well-defined audience and set of goals allows you to craft a more targeted newsletter, increasing its relevance and effectiveness. It also enables you to measure success by tracking the metrics that matter to you. 

Segmentation Strategies for Personalization

Personalization is one of the most powerful tools in email marketing, and segmentation is the key to doing it in a way that works.

Instead of sending the same generic email to your entire list, segmentation means dividing your audience into smaller groups based on specific criteria like demographics, behaviors, or interests. This lets you send more relevant and personalized content to each group, improving engagement and conversion rates.

Start by segmenting your audience based on basic demographics like age, location, or gender. This is particularly handy for tailoring promotions or offers to a specific geographic region or age group down the road.

You can also segment based on engagement levels, directing exclusive content to frequent openers and re-engaging less active subscribers with special incentives, ensuring that you make the most of your resources. 

For even more personalization, consider using behavioral data. For example, if a subscriber has previously purchased a product, you can send them related recommendations or upsell opportunities.

Segmentation strategies will help your email newsletters feel more personal and relevant, leading to better performance and stronger customer relationships.

Writing Compelling Content for Your Newsletter

Once you've defined your audience and set clear goals for your email newsletter, the next step is to focus on the content. 

Writing a successful newsletter depends on delivering valuable, engaging content that resonates with your readers and keeps them coming back for more.

Start by organizing your content around a central theme or message. Don't worry about being too niche—you'd be surprised how many people are obsessed with sourdough bread or juggling. If you create the go-to newsletter on a topic with a passionate fandom, you'll have avid readers forever. 

Keep the information concise but actionable for newsletters aimed at educating the audience. Your readers should always feel like they've gained something from the email, whether it's new knowledge or a helpful tip.

Additionally, ensure that your writing style matches your brand's voice and tone. A casual, conversational yet funny tone may work for a lifestyle brand, while a more formal tone may be appropriate for a B2B audience. 

Consistency is vital, so ensure that your tone reflects your brand identity in every newsletter.

Break up the text with subheadings, bullet points, and short paragraphs to make the content easy to scan. Remember that most people will be scanning your newsletter, so clarity and brevity are essential.

Finally, don't forget to include a clear call-to-action (CTA) in your content. 

Whether you want readers to visit your website, sign up for an event, or purchase, your CTA should be direct and easy to follow. Wherever you put it, make it visually distinct, so it's impossible to miss.

Crafting Effective Subject Lines

Your subject line is the first thing your audience will see, and it plays a critical role in determining whether or not they open your email. 

A strong subject line can significantly boost your open rates, while a weak or unclear one can lead to your email being ignored—or worse, marked as spam.

When crafting subject lines, aim to be clear, concise, and attention-grabbing. 

Avoid vague or overly promotional language like "free _____" or "act now," as these are common triggers for spam filters. Instead, focus on delivering value right from the start.

Subject lines that promise helpful insights or solve a problem your audience faces tend to perform well.

Here are some best practices for writing great subject lines:

• Be clear and concise: Avoid vague or overly promotional subject lines. Focus on delivering value upfront to grab attention.

• A/B test different styles: Experiment with questions, numbers, or humor to see which approach resonates with your audience. Personalization, like using a recipient's name, can also boost engagement.

• Optimize for length: Subject lines should be short enough to display fully on desktop and mobile devices. Aim for 40-60 characters to ensure readability.

Why Listen to Me? 

I’ve ghost-written newsletters for major brands for the last five years and grown my newsletter past 2000 subscribers with no ad spend. You can connect with me on LinkedIn here.

Incorporating Visual Elements

Visual elements are an essential part of any email newsletter, helping to enhance the overall design and make your content more engaging. 

A well-placed image or graphic can break up large blocks of text, draw attention to critical points, and reinforce your message.

Best practices for newsletter visuals:

• Choose high-quality, relevant images: Avoid generic stock photos. Instead, use original graphics, product photos, or branded images that add value and align with your content.

• Use infographics or charts for complex info: Present data visually when appropriate to make it easier to understand and more engaging.

• Always include alt text: Ensure that your email still delivers value even if images don’t load by adding descriptive alt text for each visual element.

• Optimize for mobile: Ensure that images are responsive and compress them to reduce file sizes, improving loading times for both desktop and mobile devices.

Coding Your Email Newsletter: Best Practices

Unlike web design, coding for email comes with unique challenges, as various email platforms handle HTML and CSS differently.

However, you can ensure that your email is functional and visually appealing with a few key strategies.

Start by sticking to simple HTML and inline CSS. Email clients like Gmail or Outlook don't support advanced features that modern websites rely on, so keeping the code clean and functional is essential. 

Table-based layouts are also crucial for email design, as they provide the most reliable structure across all platforms.

Here are some essential practices to keep in mind when coding your newsletter:

• Use tables for layout: While web design has moved away from table-based layouts, emails still rely on them for consistent rendering. Ensure that your layout uses tables to maintain structural integrity across various clients.

• Inline all CSS: Avoid external stylesheets or embedded CSS in the head of your HTML file, as many email clients strip out these styles. Instead, ensure that all styling is done in line, so your design stays consistent across platforms.

• Minimize the use of JavaScript: Since most email clients don't support JavaScript, avoid relying on it for any critical features or functionality. Stick to static HTML and CSS to ensure that your content is delivered as designed.

Customizing Templates for Brand Consistency

Using pre-made templates can save time, but customizing them is crucial to maintaining your brand's identity and consistency across all marketing channels.

Replace any stock images with branded visuals like your logo, product photos, or team images. This gives the newsletter a more personalized feel and strengthens your brand's visual identity. 

You should also ensure that the fonts and colors align with your brand guidelines, making the email instantly recognizable to your audience.

Below are some key strategies for customization:

• Update brand colors and fonts: Ensure that your email template features the same colors and typography as your website and marketing materials.

• Replace stock images with original visuals: Use branded visuals instead of generic stock photos to enhance credibility and create a more authentic feel. This could include product images, team photos, or graphics that align with your brand's message.

• Modify the layout to reflect brand guidelines: If your brand uses a minimalistic design with ample white space, replicate that in your emails. If your brand is more playful, infuse that energy into the layout and style of your newsletter.

• Consistent CTA design: Make sure your calls-to-action (CTAs) are styled consistently with other touchpoints. Use the same button styles, colors, and messaging to reinforce familiarity and trust.

Responsive Design Techniques

With over half of all emails being opened on mobile devices, designing for responsiveness is essential. 

Responsive design allows your emails to adapt to various screen sizes, ensuring that your content looks great whether viewed on a desktop or a smartphone.

To achieve responsiveness, the first step is designing with mobile in mind. This means creating flexible layouts that can scale based on the device.

It's also important to consider how different elements, like text and buttons, will adjust on smaller screens to maintain readability and usability.

Here's how you can ensure that your email newsletter is responsive:

• Start with a mobile-first approach: First, design your email for mobile screens, ensuring that the layout and content are easy to read on smaller devices. Once the mobile version is solid, scale it up for larger screens.

• Use fluid layouts: Instead of fixed pixel widths, design your email with percentages. This allows the layout to automatically adjust to different screen sizes without breaking or distorting the content.

• Optimize text and CTA buttons: Text should be large enough to read comfortably on a phone screen, typically 14-16px for body text. Buttons should be at least 44px in height to make them easy to tap on mobile devices.

• Stack content on mobile: Ensure that images, text blocks, and other elements stack vertically on smaller screens. This prevents your email from looking cluttered and ensures a smooth user experience.

• Test responsiveness across devices: Use tools like Litmus or Email on Acid to test how your emails look on various devices. This ensures that your design holds up on both desktop and mobile, regardless of the platform.

Designing for Accessibility

Designing accessible emails is not only crucial in making sure those with disabilities can consume your content—email softwares love it when emails are designed for responsiveness.

With inclusivity becoming a more important trend in digital marketing, ensuring that your emails are accessible demonstrates a commitment to providing equal access to all your subscribers.

Use clear, legible designs. Ensure that there's enough contrast between text and background colors to make the content accessible for visually impaired users.

Additionally, avoid relying solely on color to convey critical information, as colorblind users may be unable to distinguish between certain hues.

Here are some best practices for designing accessible email newsletters:

• Ensure strong color contrast: Check to make sure there's sufficient contrast between your text and background colors to make content readable. Use tools like WebAIM's contrast checker to ensure that your design meets accessibility standards.

• Use descriptive alt text for images: If images don't load, or for visually impaired users who are using screen readers, the alt text will provide context. Be sure to write meaningful descriptions that explain the image's purpose in the email.

• Don't rely on color alone for CTAs: Colorblind users may not see your CTA buttons if they rely solely on color differentiation. Instead, use text cues (like underlined links) or icons in addition to color to indicate actions.

• Semantic HTML for screen readers: Proper use of headings (e.g., <h1>, <h2>) and lists ensure that screen readers can easily navigate through the email. This makes it easier for users with disabilities to comprehend your content.

• Accessible font choices: Choose simple, legible fonts like Arial or Verdana, and avoid script or highly decorative fonts that are difficult to read. Also, use standard and larger font sizes (12px and above) for easy reading.

Testing and Optimizing Your Email Newsletter

Once you've designed and coded your email newsletter, the next crucial step is testing. Testing ensures that your email displays correctly across various platforms, functions as intended, and resonates with your audience.

Without proper testing, you risk sending out broken emails, getting marked as spam, or failing to engage your subscribers.

Begin by previewing your newsletter across different devices and email clients. This helps you catch formatting issues caused by inconsistent rendering between platforms like Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail.

Testing tools like Litmus and Email on Acid allow you to preview your email across dozens of clients and devices, ensuring that your newsletter looks great no matter where it's opened.

Here are the key areas to focus on when testing your email:

• Cross-platform compatibility: Different email clients render HTML and CSS differently. Use testing tools to preview how your email appears in Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo on mobile and desktop.

• Check for broken links: Ensure that all the links in your newsletter (CTAs, buttons, images, etc.) are functioning correctly. Broken links can frustrate users and damage your credibility.

• Test image loading: Some email clients block images by default, so test how your email appears without images. Ensure that your email is still readable and meaningful by using alt text and relying on text-based elements where necessary.

• Load times and file sizes: Large images or heavy coding can increase load times, leading to a poor user experience. Test how long your email takes to load, especially on mobile devices, and optimize image sizes to reduce load times.

• Spam testing: Check your email for spam triggers like excessive punctuation, all caps, or overly promotional language. This helps reduce the chances of your newsletter ending up in the spam folder.

Optimizing Email Deliverability

Even the most well-crafted email newsletter is useless if it doesn't reach your subscribers' inboxes. Email deliverability—the likelihood that your email will successfully land in the inbox rather than the spam folder—is critical to deciding if your campaign succeeds or flops.

You can take several steps to optimize deliverability and ensure that your newsletters consistently reach your audience.

The first step is to authenticate your domain by setting up DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) and SPF (Sender Policy Framework). These protocols validate your email and signal to email providers that you're a legitimate sender.

Failing to implement these can lead to deliverability issues and even blacklisting by email clients.

Here are some best practices to optimize email deliverability:

• Authenticate your email domain: Ensure that you have set up SPF, DKIM, and Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC) records. These email authentication protocols prove to ISPs (internet service providers) that you're a legitimate sender, reducing the risk of being flagged as spam.

• Clean your email list regularly: Remove inactive subscribers or email addresses that bounce frequently. A clean email list improves your sender reputation and ensures that you're only sending to engaged subscribers.

• Avoid spammy language: Words and phrases like "free," "buy now," and "limited time offer" can trigger spam filters. Be mindful of your language and avoid excessive punctuation or all caps, which are red flags for spam algorithms.

• Use a double opt-in process: By requiring subscribers to confirm their subscription via email, you reduce the likelihood of adding spam traps or unengaged users to your list. This leads to better engagement and higher deliverability rates.

• Monitor your sender reputation: Tools like SenderScore help you keep track of your sender reputation, a critical factor in determining deliverability. A high score indicates that ISPs are more likely to deliver your emails to the inbox.

• Maintain a consistent sending schedule: Sending too many emails in a short period can overwhelm subscribers, leading to increased unsubscribe rates and spam complaints. Stick to a consistent sending schedule that aligns with your audience's preferences.

A/B Testing Strategies

A/B testing, or split testing, involves sending two versions of your email (with one variable changed) to different segments of your audience to determine which performs better.

A/B testing allows you to experiment with elements like subject lines, email content, and CTAs, ultimately helping refine your email strategy.

To run a successful A/B test, identify the element you want to test. This could be something as simple as a subject line or more complex, like the layout of your email.

Only test one variable at a time, so you can accurately measure the impact of that change. 

Once you've selected the variable, split your email list into two segments and send one version of the email to one group and the other version to the second group.

Here are some A/B testing strategies to consider:

• Test subject lines: Your subject line is the first thing subscribers see, so testing different variations can significantly impact open rates. Try variations like personalizing with the recipient's name, asking a question, or adding urgency.

• Experiment with CTA placement: Your call-to-action (CTA) placement can influence whether or not subscribers click. Test whether placing it at your email's top, middle, or bottom generates more clicks.

• Test different email formats: You can experiment with sending plain-text emails versus highly designed HTML emails to see which format resonates more with your audience. Sometimes, a more straightforward email can feel more personal and yield better results.

• Send time testing: Experiment with different send times and days of the week to determine when your audience will most likely open and engage with your emails.

• Optimize email length: Some audiences prefer short, punchy emails, while others engage better with detailed, in-depth content. Test different lengths to find the optimal word count for your subscribers.

• Personalization variables: Test how personalized content (like using the subscriber's name, location, or previous purchase history) impacts engagement. Personalized emails tend to perform better, but it's worth testing what works best for your audience.

Launching and Monitoring Your Newsletter

Once you've coded, tested, and optimized your email newsletter, the next step is the launch. However, hitting "send" is only the beginning—now you need to monitor the performance of your newsletter and make adjustments.

After you send your first email, monitor how it performs. Here's what to focus on post-launch:

• Monitor open and click-through rates (CTR): Track open rates to see how well your subject line performed and analyze click-through rates to measure how effectively the content resonated with your subscribers.

• Watch for bounce rates: Soft bounces (temporary issues like a full inbox) and hard bounces (invalid email addresses) can hurt your sender reputation. Regularly monitor and clean up your email list to maintain good deliverability.

• Check unsubscribe rates: A sudden spike in unsubscribes after launching an email may signal that your content isn't relevant or is overwhelming to recipients. Pay attention to the feedback and adjust accordingly.

• Monitor deliverability and spam complaints: Use tools to track whether your email lands in subscribers' inboxes or is flagged as spam. A high spam rate could indicate an issue with your content, email list quality, or sender reputation.

• Respond to engagement signals: If certain links in your email are getting a lot of clicks, consider expanding on that content in future newsletters. Conversely, if engagement is low, reevaluate the relevance of the content.

Maintaining Subscriber Engagement

Keeping your subscribers engaged over time requires more than just delivering great content. You must continuously provide value, stay relevant, and ensure that your emails remain a part of their routine.

Engaged subscribers are more likely to open, read, and act on your emails, which can translate into higher conversion rates and brand loyalty.

To maintain subscriber engagement, deliver consistent value. Whether it's educational content, exclusive offers, or entertaining stories, ensure that your newsletters provide something valuable to your audience. 

If your emails consistently deliver value, subscribers will look forward to receiving them. You'll know what's worth expanding on based on what they're engaging with the most.

Personalized emails tend to see higher engagement rates. Use subscriber data such as name, location, or purchase history to tailor content specifically to them. 

You can also segment your list based on engagement levels and target high-value subscribers with unique content.

Be careful how many emails you send. Sending too many emails can lead to fatigue, while not sending enough can cause subscribers to forget about you. 

Test different frequencies (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly) to find the sweet spot that keeps your audience engaged without overwhelming them.

Polls, surveys, and quizzes are great ways to get subscribers to engage with your emails. Not only do they make your newsletter more dynamic, but they also provide insights into your audience's preferences.

Periodically, ask your subscribers for their input on the type of content they want to see. This will give you direction for future newsletters and make your subscribers feel more involved and valued.

Where To Go From Here 

If you’re thinking of starting an email newsletter and you’re ambitious enough to code it yourself, you deserve a platform that’s going to grow with you. 

beehiiv is perfect for those just starting out – code or no code. Our platform includes customizable templates that make it easy for anyone to create a newsletter, with hybrid options for anyone who wants to custom-code their elements. 

The world’s top newsletters are on beehiiv. Shouldn’t you be here, too?