Newsletters

What Should You Include in a Newsletter?

The most successful newsletters provide value—not just sales pitches. A good balance keeps readers engaged and looking forward to your emails.

Consider including:

• Business updates and announcements
• Special offers and promotions
• Helpful tips or how-to content related to your services
• Customer stories or testimonials
• Upcoming events or seasonal reminders

Consistency and relevance are key. Your goal is to be helpful, not overwhelming.

Choosing the Right Platform

There are many tools available for creating and sending newsletters, each with different features and pricing. Popular options include:

• Mailchimp (North Country Website Design’s Weekly Newsletter comes from Mailchimp)
• Constant Contact
• MailerLite

These platforms allow you to design emails, manage contact lists, and track performance. Choosing the right one depends on your business size, goals, and budget.

Why You Shouldn’t Send Newsletters from Your Regular Email

It might seem easy to send your newsletter directly from your everyday email program like Outlook or Gmail, but this approach can quickly create problems for your business. Sending bulk emails this way increases the chances of your messages being marked as spam, can violate email sending limits, and provides no way to track performance.

Using a professional email marketing platform like Mailchimp ensures your emails are delivered properly, formatted correctly across all devices, and compliant with email regulations. These platforms also allow you to manage subscriber lists, automate campaigns, and track important metrics like open rates and clicks—giving you the tools you need to improve and grow your newsletter over time.

Building Your Email List

Your newsletter is only as strong as your contact list. Focus on growing a list of people who genuinely want to hear from you.

Ways to build your list:

• Add sign-up forms to your website
• Offer a discount or free resource for subscribing
• Collect emails at checkout or during service appointments
• Promote your newsletter on social media

Always make sure your subscribers have opted in—this builds trust and keeps you compliant with email regulations.

Designing an Effective Newsletter

Your newsletter should be easy to read, visually appealing, and aligned with your brand.

Best practices:

• Use a clean, mobile-friendly layout
• Keep content short and scannable
• Include clear headings and calls-to-action
• Use high-quality images sparingly
• Stay consistent with your branding (colors, fonts, logo)

A professional design helps build credibility and keeps readers engaged.

How Often Should You Send It?

Consistency matters more than frequency. Whether you send weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly, choose a schedule you can maintain.

For most small businesses, a monthly newsletter is a great place to start. As you grow, you can increase frequency based on engagement and content availability.

Tracking Your Success

Email marketing platforms provide valuable insights to help you improve over time.

Key metrics to watch:

• Open rates
• Click-through rates
• Subscriber growth
• Unsubscribe rates

These metrics show what’s working and where you can improve your content.

Coordinate Your Blog and Newsletter for Better Results

Your newsletter and blog should work together—not separately. When you publish a new blog post, your newsletter is the perfect way to share it with your audience and drive traffic back to your website. Instead of trying to create entirely new content for every email, you can highlight recent blog posts, summarize key points, and link readers to the full article.

This approach not only saves time but also reinforces your expertise and keeps your website active. It also improves your SEO by increasing site visits and encouraging engagement. By consistently tying your blog content to your newsletters, you create a strong, connected marketing strategy that keeps your audience informed and coming back for more.

How We Can Help

Starting a newsletter can feel overwhelming, but you don’t have to do it alone. At North Country Website Design, we help businesses create professional, effective newsletters that connect with their audience and drive results.

We can assist with:

• Platform setup and integration
• Custom newsletter design
• Content creation and strategy
• List building and automation
• Ongoing management and optimization

Ready to Get Started?

A well-planned newsletter can turn occasional customers into loyal clients. If you’re ready to start reaching your audience more effectively, we’re here to help. See the list below of our clients’ newsletters!

Contact us today to get your business newsletter up and running.