People still read nowadays — and they enjoy it. It might seem a bit strange to some, but it’s true. Imagine a scenario, probably familiar to many of you: you're sitting in a conference room trying to figure out how to attract potential customers, how to sell more products, or simply how to "stay on top and remain an authority" for your target audience. And then someone comes up with an idea that supposedly solves all these problems at once: an email newsletter, or eNewsletter. The best part? You’re the one who gets to create it, launch it, and make sure it brings more clicks, higher conversion rates, more website traffic, and new clients for the company.
For some, that sounds like a nightmare — but trust me, it’s not that bad. And the most important thing is: a newsletter isn't just some optional marketing trend that people create for the sake of it. No. You can actually find useful information in them.
In this article, we’ll look at the importance of eNewsletters for marketing and business. We’ll touch on design (just in general) and point out key elements that a good and effective newsletter must include. And, as always… we’ll throw in a little something extra.
To Be or Not to Be
Even at the planning stage of your overall online marketing strategy for building your brand’s presence, it’s worth asking yourself: does your business even need a newsletter? Some industries and project types simply don’t benefit from email campaigns — for example, restaurants or coffee shops. But for tourism and online retail, newsletters are crucial. It’s also important to understand the goal of your newsletter: is it for communication with partners or vendors, customer engagement, closing deals, or maybe for educational purposes?
And here's where many marketers go wrong — their newsletters end up being a chaotic mess. They try to cram everything into one email: product highlights, services, PR stories, blog updates, new articles, comments, weekly company events — and more. In short, a total overload.
Email itself is a great platform for delivering and organizing information. It works well when one brand sends different emails for different purposes — product updates in one, promotions in another, blog posts in a third. This gives users the option to subscribe to only what interests them.
On the other hand, some marketers go overboard, sending 3–4 emails a day with aggressive sales pitches like: “Hurry, today only, last chance, buy now!” Naturally, receiving yet another one of those makes you want to scream, mark it as spam, or unsubscribe altogether. But imagine if each promotional email also included educational content — how to use the product, how to pair those shoes with your wardrobe, and so on. That’s way more interesting. It might not result in an immediate purchase, but at least it’ll make readers think seriously about what you’re offering. Because let’s be honest — spam never convinced anyone to buy anything.
That’s why having a structured, purpose-driven newsletter strategy makes your brand look more polite, thoughtful, and respectful of your customers and online users.
If You Do It — Do It Right
Despite the rise of countless new communication tools, email remains a solid and dependable channel for marketers. Most people check their email at least once a day, and spam filters today are far more robust. Most “bad” emails don’t even reach inboxes anymore. What’s more, email newsletters have become part of everyday life — and if someone signed up for yours, that means they’re at least somewhat interested in what you’re offering.
That said, not everyone opens your eNewsletter — even if they like your brand. Life is busy, digital distractions are everywhere, and attention spans are short. If your email doesn’t immediately grab their attention, it’ll likely get deleted on the spot.
Like we said earlier, newsletters can easily feel cluttered and overwhelming. The trick for marketers is to do the opposite — and there are two main tactics for that: keep the messages brief and use plenty of white space in your layout. Short messages ensure that users don’t spend all day reading a single email. The goal of email marketing is to drive people to your site or blog — where they can explore full content. So the snippets in your newsletter just need to spark interest and motivate the click.
As for white space — if you’ve ever studied web design, you know how important it is. The same applies here. Most people read emails on mobile devices. Cramped layouts are hard to read, and tapping on links becomes difficult. So give your elements room to breathe — or use images instead of long blocks of text.
Also, stick to simple fonts like Times New Roman, Calibri, or Helvetica — they’re clean and won’t distract from your message. Choose clear, relevant images, and make sure the content aligns with your project’s theme and your audience’s interests.
Creating email segments and lists based on specific user interests is also a smart move — it leads to much higher click-through rates. Many online platforms offer these features, and some even include analytics so you can track who’s opening your emails, when, and how often. This helps you fine-tune your targeting over the long term.
All in all, your email design should follow the same core rules as a good website: clean, clear, and user-friendly.
Spam Is a Real Threat
We talk about how newsletters are important for various types of businesses in online marketing — but at the same time, you should never hide the unsubscribe link or bury it behind an image without text. Making unsubscribing easy helps ensure your email address doesn’t get flagged as SPAM before it even lands in your recipients’ inboxes. And nearly every legit email includes that link.
Also, include your physical mailing address in the email, and don’t forget copyright and legal obligations. You are responsible for all content, even if a third-party agency handles your email campaigns. Legally, you’re still accountable.
If you look at most company newsletters, you’ll see they take these rules seriously — and their emails almost never get filtered out as spam before reaching users.
The Power of a Combined Approach
When targeted correctly — including the time of day and relevant content — marketers can spark immediate actions and fast reactions from users. This is especially effective when social media buttons are included in the email. Since people often check both email and social apps on their phones, there’s a natural link between your newsletter and your broader online presence. People may follow your channels, share your content, or simply become more aware of how visible your brand is online.
The reason we marketers want more clicks in our newsletters is simple: we’re trying to improve conversions and ultimately boost sales. Ideally, every piece of content should support that strategic goal and truly engage your subscribers. At some point, you might be tempted to add more and more content to get more clicks — but too many choices can backfire. It creates confusion. People start thinking: “Where do I click? Why should I? Do I even need all this?”
Try simplifying your email layout. Test different content formats and designs to see what works best. Break things up by theme.
To sum it all up: for any online marketing strategy, launching and maintaining a quality newsletter is both important and necessary.
Final Thoughts
Maybe we didn’t cover every possible nuance, but we’ve highlighted the main points that matter for your email marketing strategy. When promoting your brand online, you shouldn’t rely solely on social media, good SEO, search engine indexing, or even great on-site content. There are tons of people out there who might be interested in your brand but don’t use social media often — or at all. Their attention matters too. They could be potential clients, not just passive observers. For them, a newsletter might be the most convenient and preferred way to receive updates, news, and materials.
Yes, news and updates are often shared both on social media and in newsletters, but sometimes companies create separate mailing lists specifically to attract even more clients.
One last tip: if you're not sure what a good newsletter should look like, try subscribing to a few from your favorite companies, brands, or even random shops unrelated to your life. Then observe for two or three months — see what lands in your inbox, what grabs your attention, what makes you want to click or share with friends. It’s a simple but super effective way to learn.