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.

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

📬 No. 34 | Rules For Running a Great Newsletter

25 Rules For Running a Great Newsletter

In case you missed it...

From my reading list...

Older messages

📬 No. 33 | Tools to Make Your Newsletter Better

📬 No. 32 | Building a paid newsletter course

📬 No. 31 | One Newsletter I Always Read

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

📬 No. 29 | Getting authenticated

You Might Also Like

On the ground from Amazon HQ in Seattle: Small businesses ‘excited’ as 5-day policy kicks in

New York City's Chaotic Mayoral Race Has Begun

The 13 best Korean skin care products

Friday Briefing: F.B.I. said the New Orleans attacker acted alone

Seattle VCs make their predictions for 2025 | Amazon’s 5-day mandate goes into effect

☕ Say less

☕ Jersey, sure

More Lore

🍿 The Most Exciting TV Shows Of 2025

Final Chance to Secure Your New Year Savings