B2B newsletters have long been a staple of email marketing strategies, but they often spark debate about whether they are truly effective.
When people think of a newsletter, they think of an email from a company that only talks about itself, is bland and dry, and honestly, is not worth your time. Those are the newsletters you delete before ever opening them, or worse, unsubscribe from. And who could blame you? How in the world are they helping you and your goals? They aren't!
But those are newsletters of the past. Good, successful newsletters rethink what the "news" in newsletter means and use this platform to provide value and create real connections with their clientele.
The key to a successful B2B newsletter is to focus less on selling and more on delivering value to the reader. It’s not about you; it’s about how you can help your audience solve their problems or meet their goals.
What Should a Great B2B Newsletter Include?
Valuable Insights: Industry trends, tips, or thought leadership pieces.
Actionable Content: How-tos, checklists, or resources that solve a pain point.
News & Updates: Relevant company or industry news, but keep it brief and fun!
Engaging Visuals: Infographics, charts, or videos to break up the text.
Clear CTAs: A subtle, helpful call-to-action that guides readers to explore further resources or solutions.
*Occasionally include customer stories. Though this shouldn't be a big part of your newsletter, it is okay to include a new case study or testimonial to help build trust with prospective clients.
What Should Newsletters Focus On?
Your Audience’s Needs: Content must be tailored to their challenges and interests. A great way to figure out what your audience is looking for is by talking to the sales team. They have one on one interaction with customers and potential customers daily. Find out what questions they get often or what topics are often discussed. Additionally, use the analytics you get from your blog, other emails, and social media to find topics to cover.
Educational Value: Teach rather than sell. Solve problems or provide insights. But do it in a no-jargon, easy-to-understand way. It's always recommended to write at a 7th-grade level (I know, that sounds crazy, but it's true). And if you can, make the educational parts entertaining. No one wants to sit in a lecture hall so don't make your newsletter feel like one.
Authenticity: A conversational tone that reflects your brand’s personality. We have worked with many B2Bs that feel they have to be very professional and corporate. But what really connects with an audience is one-on-one connections. Make it feel like you are talking to them and only them, no one else. Loosen up a bit (we know it can feel scary) and let your personality shine through - within reason, of course! An added benefit to this approach is that with email platforms now sorting emails into primary, promotional, and other tabs, a conversational tone can help you land in the primary tab!
How Newsletters Benefit Your Company
Strengthens Relationships: By regularly offering value, you become a trusted partner.
Boosts Brand Awareness: Frequent, high-quality touchpoints reinforce your expertise.
Generates Leads: Non-sales content can nudge readers to explore your offerings without beating them over the head with a sales pitch.
Establishes Thought Leadership: Showcasing expertise positions you as a leader in your field.
Step-by-Step Guide to Developing a Great B2B Newsletter
Step 1: Define Your Goals
Ask yourself:
What do you want to achieve? (nurture leads, increase engagement, drive traffic). Think past "What does my company want to achieve?" and consider, "What does my audience want to accomplish?" Though this overlaps a bit with step 2, it's still good to keep in mind when considering your goals.
How will you measure success? (click-through rates, open rates, conversions).
Step 2: Understand Your Audience
Segment your audience by industry, job role, or pain points.
Conduct surveys or gather feedback to know what they value most.
Step 3: Create a Content Plan
Decide on your newsletter frequency (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly). We recommend monthly. It's more manageable and doesn't bombard your audience if you are sending out other eblasts and campaigns.
Plan content categories (industry insights, practical tips, events). Within this plan, include who will be contributing each piece. Will you have marketing putting it all together, or will you have people contributing insights?
Include a variety of formats (articles, videos, infographics). Make sure to keep your email at a respectable size. Email platforms, like Gmail, will clip messages if they are more than 102 kb. Also consider your email health. If you have a low score, some elements may tricker spam filters.
Step 4: Write with a Conversational Tone
Avoid jargon and keep the language reader-friendly (remember: 7th-grade reading level!).
Use headlines and subheadings to guide readers through the content and make it easier to navigate and skim.
Step 5: Design for Readability
Use a clean, mobile-friendly layout. Embrace whitespace! More is not better, readers need space for their eyes to rest.
Include compelling visuals that enhance the message. We aren't a fan of adding images just to add them. Make them count!
Limit the number of sections to keep it digestible.
Step 6: Add Personalization
Use the recipient’s name or personalize content based on their interests. This info comes from forms they've filled out or your linked CRM platform.
Recommend resources based on past behavior.
Step 7: Include a Call To Action (CTA)
Make it clear and actionable (“Read the full article,” “Download the guide”). Try A/B testing CTA buttons to see which perform best.
Ensure the CTA aligns with the content’s intent. Don't be misleading. Literally everyone hates that!
Step 8: Test and Refine
A/B test subject lines, content layouts, and CTAs. And don't forget that what works today or for the next 5 months may not work in 6 months. People's preferences change and you'll need to evolve with them.
Use analytics to track what’s working and iterate for improvement. Remember that marketing is a lot like science: you come up with an educated guess (hypothesis) on what will work, you test it, and adjust as needed.
Step 9: Stay Consistent
Stick to your schedule to build audience expectations. No, you don't need to send it on the same day every month. In fact, we recommend against it. You should email on the days that work best for your audience. How do you know what that is? EXPERIMENT! In general, Mondays and Tuesdays are good days. But it all depends on your audience. Also, you may need to adjust your strategy depending on holidays.
Continuity in tone and format reinforces your brand identity. As you progress and test out new elements, you may change some of your newsletter but we don't recommend doing major overhauls all at once. Changing one element at a time can help see what is really causing issues like low clicks.
Bonus Newsletter Tip
Resend your newsletter to those who haven't read it after a week. You put so much work into that email; don't let it die because it wasn't ready on the first try. Some email platforms will allow you to select a "resend to unopened." If you don't have that option, simply filter your list to those who didn't open and resend the newsletter to those contacts.
Offer exclusive content they can only get from your newsletter. This will give them an extra incentive to sign up for it and provide added value!
Make your email desktop and mobile-friendly. It should look great on either!
B2B Newsletter Template
While your newsletter should be personalized and true to your brand, here are some ideas for creating your own newsletter template, The Marketing Minute.
Final Thoughts
B2B newsletters aren’t going anywhere. They can provide a great connection to your audience and offer a great ROI. Start focusing on your readers’ needs, and you’ll find newsletters are worth the effort and a cornerstone of your marketing strategy. Need some help developing a newsletter? We've got you! Contact Emerald.
