📬 No. 34 | Rules For Running a Great Newsletter

͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­ ͏ ‌     ­
I’m still buzzing over the first-ever edition of The Newsletter Conference. A few thank yous are in order!

To Ryan, Jesse, and Bella for putting together such an incredible lineup of speakers and sponsors, and most of all, for trusting me to keynote and emcee the day.

To all the panelists who joined us on stage to share their learnings.

And to all the attendees who took a chance to come to a first-time conference. It was incredible to meet so many of you IRL — thanks for making the trip to New York!

A lot of you have been asking if we recorded the sessions. We did not — but I’ve turned my keynote into the article I’m featuring today in the newsletter. (And next year, hopefully you’ll be able to join us in NYC!)

—Dan (say 👋 via email or LinkedIn)

25 Rules For Running a Great Newsletter


In 2012, I became BuzzFeed’s first newsletter editor. There were no rules or best practices to follow. I was building an email program pretty much from scratch, and I had to figure things out as I went.

But a dozen years later, I’ve developed a set of rules for creating a great newsletter based on my observations and trial and error. They’ve evolved over the years, but even as technology and tastes change, I maintain these guidelines apply to just about every type of newsletter. 

If you want to create a great newsletter of any kind, these are the rules to keep in mind.
Follow these 25 rules →

In case you missed it...


I’ve tested hundreds of email tools. These are the ones I actually recommend to my clients.

With open rates becoming less reliable, the Financial Times needed a way to better measure the success of their email strategy. They found it through surveys.

Burnt Toast allowed Virginia Sole-Smith to quit her day job. Here’s how she did it.

From my reading list...


10 email pros explained how they make money off their email list. (ZeroBounce)

I’d never heard of the The Car Dealership Guy before, but the story of how he built his audience is pretty wild. (Growth in Reverse)

I love a good pop-up newsletter, and really love the idea of events tied to a pop-up newsletter. (The New York Times)

Here are a few ideas for writing a compelling newsletter intro. (Maybe the bottom of a newsletter isn’t the best place for a story about an intro, but 🤷‍♂️.) (Indiegraf)
💌 Did a friend forward you this newsletter? Sign up for Inbox Collective’s weekly newsletter here.

📬 Want to work with Inbox Collective? Here’s how I can help you.

🎯 Want to reach an audience of 10,000+ people in the email space? Here’s how to become an advertising partner.

🍝 Interested in attending Dine & Deliver, a dinner series presented by Omeda and Sparkloop? Apply here.
 

 
Copyright © 2024 Inbox Collective LLC.

Having trouble viewing this email? You can see an HTML version of this newsletter here.

No longer want to receive our newsletters? That’s OK! You can unsubscribe here

Inbox Collective LLC
400 E 55th St
New York, NY 10022-5156

Add us to your address book

Older messages

📬 No. 33 | Tools to Make Your Newsletter Better

Wednesday, May 1, 2024

A giant list of tools I love to help you build, grow, analyze, and monetize a successful newsletter. ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌

📬 No. 32 | Building a paid newsletter course

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

How Poynter adapted its Work-Life Chemistry workshop into a six-part email series. ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏

📬 No. 31 | One Newsletter I Always Read

Wednesday, April 17, 2024

There are a lot of great newsletters out there. These are the ones your favorite newsletter writers never miss. ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏

📬 No. 30 | “Everybody’s journey is different”

Saturday, April 13, 2024

Lessons from BackScoop's Amanda Cua. Plus: new details about bots clicking on links in your newsletter. ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏

📬 No. 29 | Getting authenticated

Wednesday, April 3, 2024

Plus: Events coming up in Chicago, Cleveland, LA, and New York City. ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌

You Might Also Like

First-ever UEFI bootkit for Linux in the works, experts say [Thu Nov 28 2024]

Thursday, November 28, 2024

Hi The Register Subscriber | Log in The Register Daily Headlines 28 November 2024 KITTY LOOKS AT SCREEN AI GENERATED First-ever UEFI bootkit for Linux in the works, experts say Bootkitty doesn't

On My Mind: Fig Ornaments and Striped Bath Mats

Thursday, November 28, 2024

Plus: Eensy-weensy, teeny-tiny gifts. The Strategist Every product is independently selected by editors. If you buy something through our links, New York may earn an affiliate commission. November 27,

What It’s Like to Be on Trump’s Enemies List

Wednesday, November 27, 2024

Columns and commentary on news, politics, business, and technology from the Intelligencer team. Intelligencer power What It's Like to Be on Trump's Enemies List “Revenge does take time.” Photo-

GeekWire Mid-Week Update

Wednesday, November 27, 2024

Read the top tech stories so far this week from GeekWire Top stories so far this week Microsoft credited with spotting sophisticated Chinese hack that hit telecoms including T-Mobile US officials say a

Thursday Briefing: A fragile cease-fire in Lebanon

Wednesday, November 27, 2024

Plus, a post-election Thanksgiving. View in browser|nytimes.com Ad Morning Briefing: Asia Pacific Edition November 28, 2024 Author Headshot By Gaya Gupta Good morning. We're covering the first day

Turn your ideas into reality at AWS re:Invent 2024

Wednesday, November 27, 2024

Join in person or the free livestream and learn all things AWS and generative AI GeekWire is pleased to present this special sponsored message to our Pacific NW readers. Don't miss your chance to

SIROTA’S SIGNALS: A New MAGA Plot To Kill Anti-Corruption Laws

Wednesday, November 27, 2024

Plus, new data on Liz Cheney's election effect, the connection between real estate and your insurance premium, and a hidden city discovered under the ice. A New MAGA Plot To Kill Anti-Corruption

Erik Prince sued The Intercept

Wednesday, November 27, 2024

There is an increasingly common strategy by billionaires to weaponize libel law against journalism — and in the Donald Trump era, we can expect the legal attacks on the free press to rise. In 2020, The

AI stops raccoons from invading house

Wednesday, November 27, 2024

Should AI be regulated like drugs and airplanes? | 5 reasons to attend the GeekWire Gala ADVERTISEMENT GeekWire SPONSOR MESSAGE: Get your ticket for AWS re:Invent, happening Dec. 2–6 in Las Vegas:

☕ Call me, beep me

Wednesday, November 27, 2024

How brands can make the most of their BFCM and holiday texts. November 27, 2024 Marketing Brew Presented By Frontify It's Wednesday. Walmart is rolling back investments in some DE&I programs,