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How To Write Powerful Newsletter Opening Messages
10 First Impressions That Last
Jacob Bear
July 8th, 2024
Most emails fail in the very first line.
If your reader doesn’t care about the very first sentence, they probably won’t care about the rest of your email.
We’re going to give you some newsletter opening message examples and explain why they work.
Key Takeaways
Your introduction to a newsletter can determine whether a subscriber will read the rest of it.
Newsletter opening messages often serve a secondary function besides merely saying “Hi” or “Welcome.”
The best newsletter opening message examples help build a sense of connection among your subscribers.
Table of Contents
A newsletter opening message is exactly that. It’s the first text your reader sees when they open your email, aside from the header.
Your newsletter’s opening message is one of the basic ways you can drive engagement for your newsletter.
Of course, there’s more to a newsletter introduction than just the opening message. It might include a header, embedded images, and even buttons or other non-written content, but we’re going to focus on the written message for now.
Here are 10 newsletter opening message examples to give you inspiration and ideas.
Welcoming New Subscribers
If you want to create a sense of belonging and community, this kind of newsletter introduction can help.
For example, “Welcome to the [YOUR BRAND} tribe. We’re excited to have you with us!”
If you want to sprinkle in a bit of social proof, you can mention the number of new subscribers.
For example, “First of all, a big warm welcome to our 147 new subscribers. We’re glad you’re here.”
If your email list is small and intimate, you may even consider mentioning your new subscribers by name.
Commemorating Achievements Together
Let’s continue with the theme of a newsletter opening message that builds a sense of community.
Whenever something big happens or your newsletter hits a major milestone, give your readers the credit.
For example, “I’ve got some amazing news to share this week. Thanks to your help, we’ve doubled the number of monthly downloads for our guide. Your support and enthusiasm is changing lives.”
In just a few sentences, you can make your well-deserved brag become another bond that ties you to your readers.
The words “I did it” might impress a few of your subscribers, but the words “we did it” turn your entire list into a loyal team.
Behind-the-Scenes Insights
The introduction to a newsletter isn’t enough space to reveal the inner workings of your organization.
However, your newsletter opening message could set the scene for a deeper dive into what goes on behind the scenes.
Example: “Today we’re going to show you how we produce fresh articles and videos every day. It won’t always be pretty, but I think you’ll learn from it. Are you in?”
Exclusive Deals and Discounts
Everyone likes an extra treat or the chance to save money on products they love.
You can tease a special deal in your newsletter introduction to give your readers extra motivation to read the entire thing.
Example: “Want to get 70% off your next order? This issue contains three code words. The code words are a fruit, an animal, and a sport. Each of them is a five-letter word. Reply to this email with the code words, and we’ll send you a coupon code for 70% off. Let’s begin!”
Upcoming Events and Webinars
Whether you’re announcing a new event or sending an event reminder, don’t miss an opportunity to engage your audience.
Of course, you’ll want to include the time and other details of your event, but the best way to grab your readers from the start is to include a newsletter opening message that jumps right into the pain and desires you’ll address in your event.
For example, Mindvalley immediately touts the benefit of attending their event in the first line, “How To Be a Masterful Speaker on Any Stage.”
Next, they point out the big problem that “public speaking is the world’s #1 phobia.”
This is a compelling message, even with the typo (can you spot it in the image?).
As we already mentioned, sharing your success stories can build community, especially when you give well-deserved credit to your readers.
But if you really want to inspire your readers, share their success stories instead of just yours. Whenever you give the spotlight to others, it shines back and makes you look good.
Here’s an example: “Let's start off this week with a big shout out to one of our readers who just got their first book deal. She's going to share a few lessons from her journey, and just you wait and see how much her life has changed because of this."
Latest Industry Insights
Readers often subscribe because of your expertise in some field or area.
Repay the favor by sharing insights and information that matter to your readers right at the beginning of the newsletter. It will remind them why they subscribed in the first place.
For example, look at how The Rundown AI does this. They tease a couple of headlines, so you almost have to read on. Notice how they also build a sense of community and identity in their initial greeting, “Welcome, AI enthusiasts.”
Personal Messages
One of the things that really makes your readers like you is that you and your teammates are genuine human beings.
It's a good idea to remind them of your humanity once in a while in your newsletter introduction.
Share something personal that happened to you in the past week or something about one of your teammates that will be endearing to your readers.
For example, Tim Denning often opens a newsletter with a few lines about his new daughter or his past struggles. A recent newsletter edition started with the line, “I used to think I was one of those people who never got sick.”
From there, Denning shares that, “both me and Lady Denning catch one of these god-awful daycare viruses every month.”
Of course, you can always pick a more healthy personal topic to share in the introduction to a newsletter. Maybe a team member is on vacation in Thailand or someone bought a house.
Feedback and Surveys
Asking for feedback is a win/win.
Your readers feel heard and become more loyal. You gain valuable insights around improving your newsletter.
Platforms such as beehiiv make it easy to embed surveys directly into your email, like this one from HealthHack:
Appreciating Loyalty and Support
We’re going to keep coming back to the community-building theme because email newsletters are such a powerful tool in this area.
Loyal subscribers who feel appreciated will remain loyal, so show some appreciation.
For example: “You know, we’re not producing these newsletters just to sneeze in the wind, but knowing that readers like you are paying attention warms our hearts and keeps us going. We can’t possibly say it enough, but thank you.”
Why Trust Us? All beehiiv writers are carefully vetted for their knowledge and experience. Jacob Bear has been writing email marketing campaigns for nearly a decade. He regularly applies these examples and best practices in his own newsletter. |
Now that we’ve shown you some of the best newsletter opening message examples, it’s time for you to give it a try. Here are some tips to get you started.
Be Concise
You’re competing with dozens of other emails for your readers’ time. Get straight to the point.
Use Images
The human brain processes visual information faster and better than written text. Give your readers a lot of images such as:
Diagrams that clarify the point you’re trying to make
Funny cartoons and memes that amuse your readers and make your newsletter memorable
Beautiful color photos that are relevant to your topic
Real-life pictures of you, your team, and your business
Drawings that break up the text and illustrate your subject
Use Personal Language
Most people are tired of formal corporate language and legalese. Write your newsletter in a conversational style. Make heavy use of the words “you” and “your.”
Using these pronouns will make your newsletter feel more personalized. Readers will feel like you’re having a conversation over a coffee.
Be Kind, But Direct
A conversational tone can create that face-to-face feeling, but in-person encounters tend to meander.
Always respect your readers’ time by keeping your message direct and unambiguous.
Your newsletter introduction is an important piece to a larger puzzle. In order to succeed, it’s critical that you work with a newsletter platform that’s built for growth.
We’ve seen too many creators squander their time and energy trying to copy and paste code or set up complex integrations.
That’s why we designed beehiiv to give creators everything you need to succeed on a single platform. In addition to newsletters and landing pages that are 100% customizable, we also do a lot of the heavy lifting to maximize deliverability.
Unlike most platforms, we won’t punish you for growing. You can have up to 10,000 subscribers before you’ll see a price increase. In fact, beehiiv offers you several ways to monetize as you grow your list of readers.
We could go on, but why not see for yourself. Build your audience and start a beehiiv newsletter today.
A strong newsletter opening message will determine how many subscribers will read your entire message. Here are the questions most people ask about the examples we shared above.
What Tone Should I Use in My Newsletter's Opening Message?
You’ve got to think about your audience. Who is reading your newsletter? When and why are they reading it? Having said that, it’s usually better to use a friendly, conversational tone.
How Long Should an Opening Message in a Newsletter Be?
Your opening message should be long enough to say what you want to say, but not one character longer. Brevity is essential.
The more you are able to personalize, the better. An opening message that mentions your reader by name will have ten times the impact as a more generic one.
If you’re actively segmenting your audience, you should be able to provide newsletter opening messages that appeal more specifically to each segment.
In general, you would not include a Call to Action (CTA) in your opening message. Usually, you want to set the scene and lay out the benefits of an action before you present your CTA.
However, there’s at least one important exception. Someone may have shared or forwarded your email, and it is possible that readers who haven’t yet subscribed are seeing it. For this reason, it could be helpful to include a Subscribe button (a clear CTA) at the beginning of your newsletter.
Under certain circumstances, emojis can improve the impact of your newsletter introduction.
However, there are a few things to consider:
Too many emojis take away from the impact of your message.
Don’t use emojis when they would be off-brand.
Emojis work best next to bullet points and at the start of a paragraph, where they can draw the eye to the next line.
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