Most company newsletters are garbage.
Sorry. But it's true. Fix yours with our newsletter best practices and these newsletter templates that get 40%+ open rates.
They're these lifeless walls of text about quarterly earnings and "exciting new initiatives" that nobody asked for. Then companies wonder why their open rates are in the toilet.
Here's what actually works: companies newsletter ideas that give people something they want to read. Not what you want to tell them. What they want to hear.
I'm going to break down 10 newsletter formats that work for real businesses. Tech companies. Online stores. Coaches. Agencies. Whatever. (And see our newsletter sign-up examples for how to get people on the list in the first place.)
Pick one that fits. Run with it.
1. Employee Spotlight Newsletter
This one's simple. Feature the people behind the company.
Not in a boring "meet the team" way. In a "here's Sarah, she builds our product and also runs ultramarathons for fun" way.
Why does this work? Because people like people. Shocking, I know.
Why It Works
Employees feel seen. Readers get to know the humans behind your brand. Win-win.
Basecamp does this really well. They'll feature someone from their team, talk about their work, then casually mention they're also a competitive pinball player or whatever. It makes the company feel real.
How to Do It
Create a simple Google Form. Ask three questions:
- What do you work on?
- What's a win you're proud of?
- What do you do when you're not working?
That's it. You now have content.
Send it monthly. Rotate through departments so everyone gets a turn. Include a good photo, not a stiff headshot. Something that shows personality.
2. Industry Insights Newsletter
This makes you look smart without being annoying about it.
You read the news, summarize what matters, and tell your audience what it means for them. They get to stay informed without doing all the work.
The Morning Brew built a billion-dollar company doing exactly this.
Why It Works
Your audience is busy. They don't have time to read 47 articles a week about their industry.
But they do want to know what's happening. So you become their shortcut.
A recruiting software company could break down new labor laws. A marketing tool could explain what Google's latest update means. You're not selling anything, you're just being helpful.
Helpful builds trust. Trust builds customers.
How to Do It
Set up Google Alerts for your industry keywords. Follow the big players on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Every week or two, pick the 3-5 most important things that happened. Don't just report them, explain them. "Here's what happened. Here's why it matters. Here's what you should do about it."
End each insight with a clear takeaway. Make it actionable.
3. Product Update Newsletter
If you have a software product, you need this.
Every time you ship something new, tell your users about it. Not in a boring changelog way. In a "look at this cool thing you can do now" way.
Notion does this perfectly. Their updates feel exciting, not corporate.
Why It Works
People forget about features they're not using. A quick email reminds them.
Plus, it shows you're actively improving the product. That's reassuring. Nobody wants to use software that feels abandoned.
When you ship something your users actually requested, make a big deal about it. "You asked. We built it." That creates loyalty.
How to Do It
Focus on benefits, not features.
Wrong: "We added a new filter system."
Right: "Find your projects 50% faster with our new search filters."
See the difference? One is a fact. The other is a reason to care.
Include screenshots or quick GIFs showing the feature in action. Link directly to it so people can try it immediately.
Segment your list so different users get updates relevant to them. A developer doesn't care about the same things as a marketing manager.
4. Educational Newsletter
Teach something useful. That's it.
Not a sales pitch disguised as education. Actual, practical knowledge your audience can use today.
Ahrefs does this with their blog and email. They teach SEO so well that people buy their tool to do what they learned. Smart.
Why It Works
You're solving problems for free. That builds massive goodwill.
A project management tool can teach productivity techniques. A financial app can explain investing basics. A design tool can share composition tips.
When people learn from you, they trust you. When they trust you, they buy from you.
How to Do It
Look at your customer support tickets. What questions keep coming up?
Turn those answers into newsletter content. Step-by-step guides. Quick tips. Common mistakes to avoid.
Keep it practical. Checklists work great. Templates work even better.
If you can include video, do it. Some things are just easier to show than explain.
5. Company News Newsletter
This is for big announcements only.
New funding round? Send it. Major partnership? Send it. New leadership? Send it.
Don't use this for small stuff. Nobody needs an email every time you update your office plants.
Why It Works
People want to know the company behind the product is doing well. It's reassuring.
Investors want updates. Potential hires want to see momentum. Customers want to know you'll be around next year.
But here's the key: you have to give context. Don't just announce things. Explain what they mean.
How to Do It
Lead with the news, then explain why it matters.
"We just raised $10M in Series A funding. Here's what that means for you: we're doubling our engineering team to ship features twice as fast."
See? It's not just about you. It's about what it does for them.
Include a quote from leadership, but make it human. Skip the corporate jargon. If your CEO wouldn't say it in a normal conversation, don't put it in the email.
Only send these when you have real news. No schedule needed.
6. Customer Success Stories
This is your best sales content, delivered as a newsletter.
Feature a customer. Show what they were struggling with. Show how they fixed it with your product. Include real numbers.
Case studies, but not boring.
Why It Works
Social proof is powerful. People trust other people way more than they trust you.
A potential customer reads about someone just like them who solved the exact problem they're dealing with. That's compelling.
Specific numbers make it real. "Saved 10 hours a week" beats "improved efficiency" every time.
How to Do It
Interview happy customers. Ask them three things:
- What was life like before?
- What changed after using your product?
- Can you put numbers on the results?
Structure it like a story. Problem, solution, result.
Segment your sends so people get case studies from their industry. A SaaS founder relates to other SaaS founders, not to enterprise retail chains.
7. CEO Letter
This is personal communication from the top.
Your CEO (or founder, or leader) writes directly to the audience. Their thoughts, their perspective, their vision.
It feels different than regular marketing. It feels like a conversation.
Why It Works
Satya Nadella at Microsoft does this. So does the Buffer team. It humanizes the company.
When decisions come from a real person instead of a faceless brand, people pay more attention. They feel like insiders.
It's also a chance to share things that don't fit anywhere else. Industry opinions. Lessons learned. Even mistakes and what you learned from them.
How to Do It
Keep it authentic. If your CEO talks casually, the letter should read casually. Don't have a PR team sanitize it into corporate mush.
Share real thoughts. What's exciting about the industry right now? What challenges is the company facing? What's the plan?
Honesty goes a long way here. Acknowledge setbacks. Explain reasoning behind controversial decisions. That transparency builds serious trust.
Monthly or quarterly works well. You don't want to overdo it.
8. Weekly Digest
Curate the best content from around the web, add your take, and send it out.
You become the filter. You save people time. They start depending on you for what's worth reading.
This is the Morning Brew model, but you can do it in any niche.
Why It Works
Information overload is real. Everyone's drowning in content.
If you can be the person who says "here are the 5 things you need to know this week," people will love you for it.
You don't even need to create that much original content. You're curating, not creating.
How to Do It
Use tools like Feedly or just follow the right people on Twitter. Save good stuff throughout the week.
Pick 5-7 items. For each one, include a brief summary and your take. Don't just drop links, add value.
Organize by category if it helps. "Industry News" then "Tools" then "Worth Reading."
Be consistent with timing. Same day, same time, every week. People start to expect it.
For improving your email open rates, consistency matters more than perfection.
9. Community Newsletter
If you have an active user community, this is gold.
Feature user-generated content. Highlight interesting projects. Share tips from power users. Let your audience create the content.
Why It Works
Peer recommendations beat brand marketing every time.
When users see what other users are building, they get inspired. They want to be featured too. It creates a positive loop.
Plus, you're getting content without having to create it all yourself. Your community does the heavy lifting.
Figma does this really well. They showcase what designers build with their tool, and it's way more compelling than anything Figma could say about themselves.
How to Do It
Create a simple way for people to submit content. A form, a hashtag, an email address.
Feature diverse voices. New users and power users. Different industries. Different use cases.
Always credit the creator. Tag their social profiles. Link to their work. Make them feel appreciated.
Run occasional challenges to generate more submissions. "Show us your workflow" or "Share your best template."
10. Data & Insights Report
Original research. Your own data. Insights nobody else has.
This is harder than the other ideas, but it positions you as a real authority. It gets shared. It gets cited. It generates leads.
HubSpot's "State of Marketing" report is the gold standard here.
Why It Works
Everyone else is regurgitating the same stats. You're creating new ones.
Journalists cite you. Competitors link to you. Your audience sees you as the expert.
If you have interesting user data (anonymized, obviously), that's content gold. What trends are you seeing? What patterns are emerging?
How to Do It
Run an annual survey. Partner with other companies to expand reach. Analyze your own usage data for trends.
Present it clearly. Executive summary at the top. Key findings with charts. Downloadable PDF for people who want the full thing.
Promote it everywhere. The newsletter is just the announcement. Push it on social, pitch it to industry publications, turn it into blog posts and webinars.
Track the right metrics to see how it performs. Downloads, shares, and leads generated.
Company Newsletter Ideas Comparison
| Newsletter Type | Difficulty | Best For | Main Benefit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employee Spotlight | Low | Culture building | Humanizes the brand |
| Industry Insights | Medium-High | B2B authority | Positions you as expert |
| Product Updates | Medium | SaaS companies | Increases feature adoption |
| Educational Content | Medium | Lead nurturing | Builds trust through value |
| Company News | Medium | Stakeholder updates | Creates transparency |
| Customer Stories | Medium-High | Sales enablement | Provides social proof |
| CEO Letter | Medium | Brand building | Creates personal connection |
| Weekly Digest | Low | Audience retention | Saves readers time |
| Community Content | Medium | Engaged user bases | Builds loyalty |
| Data Reports | High | Thought leadership | Generates authority and links |
Pick One and Start
Don't try to do all ten.
Seriously. Pick the one that fits your business best. Do it well. Then add another if you have capacity.
The businesses with great newsletters aren't great because they do everything. They're great because they do one thing consistently and really well.
Start there.
Need help figuring out which format fits your business? The team at Inbox Connect helps companies build newsletters that actually get read. Book a free 30-minute email audit and we'll give you a plan.