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Hi there friend,

I don’t have a creative bone in my body. So when I first started creating newsletters, I would always second guess myself, which usually left me just giving up and going with a plain white background, black text newsletter.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to start writing only to quickly get discouraged that my newsletter doesn’t look all that great. It looks plain. It looks average. I am not afraid to admit - It would look boring and I wouldn’t read it myself.

So I made it my mission to find out what makes a great looking newsletter that people could not wait to read. After countless hours of research I’ve listed the sections that appear most often in the most popular newsletters. 

I then took that information and designed each one as its own block. Now, putting together my newsletter is as easy as assembling these blocks in the right order, adding content, and viola - I’m done.

I’m going to use my newsletter RuhRoh to show you how I’ve pre-designed the following sections that you too should include in your own newsletter.

• A memorable banner
• Your primary story and images
• A promotion your reader’s won’t miss
• Recent content
• Requesting questions and ideas

A memorable banner

I’ve subscribed to so many newsletters that I often lose track of things. What I’ve started noticing is that some authors forget to remind me who they are, what they offer, and why I signed up in the first place.

Let’s not assume people remember us from our catchy email address. You need to begin every email by re-establishing your brand, identifying who you are and why it matters.

A memorable branded banner can be quite simple. I recommend to include your logo, brand colors, and most importantly, a statement as to why your newsletter exists and matters to your subscribers.

Check out the banner I created for the RuhRoh newsletter:

As you can see my brand header section is strong with a dark background. My logo and newsletter name are on the left. And the thing that catches the eye is a reminder that I’m here to help people avoid common problems of owning a new puppy.

Here’s how you can create a banner for your newsletters:

1 - Pull the image element into the top of your email.

2 - Select “Design on Canva” and select “Banner” (this will open up your Canva account. You may need to log in or sign up for a free account).

3 - Use the drag-and-drop elements to create your banner or you can start with a pre-designed template.

4 - When you’re done, select “Save to AWeber”. It’s that easy.

Your primary story and images

Once your subscriber has opened the email and recognized your brand and purpose, it’s important to jump right into the topic of the day. Your subject line likely prompted the reader to open the message, so they’re looking for an immediate connection to the information you’ve promised. Let’s not make them hunt around to find what they’re looking for.

The primary story will be simply introduced by a title that helps the user recognize it’s the story they’re looking for. Include an image that illustrates the topic and appeals emotionally to your reader. 

How to design this section:

1 - In the body of your email type “ / “, select “Heading 2”, then type your headline.

2 - Hit enter or return on your keyboard, now type your content.

3 - On the next line drag the Image element into your email body.

4 - You can upload your own image, choose from the Image Gallery, or design something on Canva. 

Check out my section below, I explain how to have a successful trail walk with your dog. The image is aspirational in nature, helping the reader to imagine him or herself out on the trails with their pup.

Now my newsletter’s starting to look like something I would enjoy reading.

A promotion your readers won’t miss

Let’s face it, your audience, large or small, trusts you. They read your newsletter for the information you provide and they see you as a valuable advisor on a topic they care about. Don’t miss the opportunity to share and promote offers, courses, and products to them. 

For me, I tend to over research my purchases. But my buying decisions are made so much easier when an expert recommends the exact thing that works for them.

In your newsletter, make sure you promote other services you might offer, like a course, a 1-on-1 video coaching session, an e-book, or even just links to other creators you follow and want to help promote. If you’re an affiliate, you can easily include links to products you recommend and earn a few bucks when your readers buy.

I always try to include at least one thing to promote in each newsletter. Here’s how to design your promotional section:

1 - Let’s make this section stand out with a different color background. To do this select the Row element and drag it into your email.

2 - Set the padding so the image and copy has some breathing room. I like to set my padding at 20px.

3 - Let’s soften the look of this section by rounding the corners.

4 - Choose a soft color background to make this section pop.

5 - Pull the Feed element into your new section, then add the URL of the product you’d like to promote.

6 - Repeat the process for 1-2 more products.

In today’s example, I’m writing about trail hiking with my dog. So I’m going to promote a few essential products. 

Here’s the result:

Recent content

As a newsletter author, it’s a trap to assume every reader opened each email you’ve sent let alone read everything. In reality, it helps to re-send links to content you shared in previous newsletters. Make sure you always have a spot to re-invite the user to click through and access that content.

Here’s how to automatically pull your most recent blog posts into your newsletter:

1 - Drag the Feed element into your email.

2 - Enter the RSS feed URL (here’s where to find it) into the "Feed URL" box.

3 - Set your preferences such as the layout style, text color, and the number of items you want to appear.

Here’s how mine turned out. I choose to show the four most recent blog posts. The awesome part is content and images where automatically pulled into the email. 

Requesting questions and ideas

Email newsletters often feel like a 1-way street. You write. The audience reads. Consider having a relationship with your audience, instead. Invite them to reply to your email, ask questions, and yes, have them recommend topics you should cover next. 

Here’s how I make sure to ask the readers to engage with me. I prompt for replies by asking if anyone has more questions about my primary topic of hiking with puppies. Then, I also link to our Facebook group where people can join the community and get more involved.

An amazing looking newsletter 

Creating a newsletter that looks like a work of art can be accomplished in no time. Plus, once you’ve designed your new newsletter you can save it as a Template and use it over and over again.

What did you think of this email?

❤️❤️❤️ Loved it. Can't wait to get the next one.

💔 I didn't really care for it.

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With AWeber's new theme settings, you can change fonts, colors, buttons, and more from a single settings panel and everything throughout your email will be updated. 

Want rounded corners on your buttons? Set it once and they’ll all match. 

Want a different headline font throughout? Just a couple of clicks will do it. 

Now you can create more beautifully consistent emails in seconds, not minutes. Check out how to use universal theme settings in your account.
 

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As always, thanks for reading!

- Dave S. and the rest of the AWeber team