1. Home
  2. Discover
  3. News
  4. Not a Newsletter

📬 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

What A Day: Florida Yes Men

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Donald Trump's cabinet picks are wild, but he's also chosen a few normies to lead his foreign policy. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

This soft-sided luggage is very cute

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

But is it a good suitcase? View in browser The Recommendation We tested Away's new soft-sided carry-on A photo of someone holding the handle of a soft-sided suitcase, next to a photo of someone

Bigotry Is Not the Answer to Donald Trump

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Columns and commentary on news, politics, business, and technology from the Intelligencer team. Intelligencer 2024 election Bigotry Is Not the Answer to Donald Trump Post-election, liberals scramble

Wednesday Briefing: Trump’s team of loyalists

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Plus, the new series “Say Nothing.” View in browser|nytimes.com Ad Morning Briefing: Asia Pacific Edition November 13, 2024 Author Headshot By Gaya Gupta Good morning. We're covering the latest on

Another cable news star goes the independent route

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

PLUS: Will the media experience another "Trump bump"? ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

We Were Built For This Moment

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Here's how The Lever's team will be holding the powerful accountable in this new era of corruption — and what you can do to help. We Were Built For This Moment By The Lever • 12 Nov 2024 View

Let There Be Light

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

The Important Stuff, Western Sieve ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

☕ Gift guides, unwrapped

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

A PR expert's guide to landing brands on a gift guide. November 12, 2024 Marketing Brew presented by Amazon Ads It's Tuesday. After presumably consulting the Grinch, Saks Fifth Avenue is

Trump’s victory is a green light for genocide in Gaza

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

The slaughter we've witnessed over the past 13 months has been shocking to the conscience. But what comes next could be unimaginably worse. The founding charter of Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud

Amperity names new CEO | Starform raises $6M | Apple sets smart cam sights on Ring and Wyze 

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

We tried the 'Tomb Raider' escape room in Seattle ADVERTISEMENT GeekWire SPONSOR MESSAGE: Get your ticket for AWS re:Invent, happening Dec. 2–6 in Las Vegas: Register now for AWS re:Invent.