Newsletters remain the most direct and resilient line of communication between you and your audience. But navigating the modern inbox requires more than just high-quality journalism; it requires a sophisticated balance of technical deliverability, algorithmic precision, and user-centric design.
In this guide, we’ll go through the process of setting up your newsletter step-by-step, revealing the dos and don’ts that we’ve gleaned from publishers all around the world.
Step 1: Sign-ups — building a healthy foundation
Before you send a single email, you need to focus on the quality of your list. A large list may seem like a win, but it can be a liability if it’s filled with inactive or invalid addresses. In email, quality not quantity is the thing.
It’s best to clean your list before sending with a new ESP. Echobox will stop sending to addresses that hardbounce, but cleaning your list either by engagement data or filtering out spam addresses will help you avoid a spike in bounces when you first start sending.
Use Strategically placed sign-up forms
Visibility is key. Embed sign-up forms in relevant campaigns directly within articles rather than hiding them in the footer. Using multiple forms across your site increases the chances of capturing readers at the moment they find your content most valuable.
The power of double opt-in
Implement a process where new subscribers must click a confirmation button in their inbox (this can be easily enabled with Echobox sign-up forms). While this adds a small amount of friction to the sign-up process it’s the single best way to protect your sender score (like a credit score to show mailbox providers how trustworthy you are). It ensures your list is free of bot-generated addresses and typos that lead to hard bounces, which ultimately protects your deliverability.
Don’t forget the opt-out
We’d all like to think that every subscriber is completely engaged by our emails. But in reality, some subscribers will drift away over time. An unsubscribe link is required by European law through GDPR. But making it easy to unsubscribe is doubly beneficial: first, it naturally keeps your list quality high rather than incentivizing unengaged subscribers to simply ignore your emails or, worse, mark them as spam. And second, parting on good terms makes it more likely that people sign back up to your newsletter when the time’s right.
Step 2: Design and layout — constructing the template
You’ve got your list ready. Now it’s time to set up your template. A well-designed template doesn't just look good; it bypasses technical filters and drives action. Producing a good-looking newsletter is simpler than ever with Echobox’s beautiful templates, but here are a few things to keep in mind.
Use buttons for your CTA
Data shows that button-based CTAs improve click-through rates by up to 127% compared to standard text links. Buttons provide the visual prominence and physical ease-of-use that scrolling users require. It’s a simple tweak, but very effective indeed.
Don’t overload your newsletter
Gmail and other providers will clip your email if the HTML file size exceeds 102KB. This is a major deliverability risk; if your "Unsubscribe" link is clipped at the bottom, frustrated users may mark your email as spam instead, damaging your reputation. As a rule, it’s best to:
- Aim for a maximum of 10–12 articles per newsletter.
- Use list-based designs for "More News" sections to include more content without significantly increasing the HTML weight.
Mobile-first refinement
About half of your subscribers will open your newsletter on their phones. Echobox scales templates automatically, but manual optimization is still necessary for a polished experience.
- Menu blocks: Limit these to 1–4 options. Excessive menu items lead to "fat-finger" errors where users accidentally click the wrong link.
- Image sizing: Specify mobile-specific image sizes within the Echobox image blocks to ensure visuals remain crisp and don't slow down load times on cellular data.
You can see what your newsletter looks like on mobile by clicking on the mobile icon on the top left of your preview.
Test your templates
Your new email template probably looks amazing, but it’s best to use a testing tool to check it renders correctly across different inbox providers. Gmail, Apple Mail, Live, each uses different tech, so make sure that no matter which provider your newsletter is sent to, it looks just as good as intended.
Step 3: AI optimization — deploying with intelligence
You’ve got your list. You’ve put together an incredible template. Now it’s time to populate it and send. Echobox's AI lets you move beyond "one-size-fits-all" newsletters with a range of personalizations that tailors each outgoing newsletter to the preferences of each individual subscriber.
Personalization: selection vs. ordering
- Content selection: The AI chooses specific articles for each user based on their unique interests. This is ideal for niche retention and high-relevance sends.
- Content ordering: Every subscriber receives the same set of stories, but the AI reorders them to lead with what each individual is most likely to click. This is the "gold standard" for publishers who want to maintain editorial control over the news agenda while still benefiting from algorithmic efficiency.
Use the first article in subject lines
If using personalization, set your subject line to pull from the "First Article." This ensures the subject line matches the unique content each user sees at the top of their feed. Remember, subject line is a key driver of open rates, so make sure it’s reflective of content that is tailored to each recipient
You can't get clicks, without opens!
Send time personalization
The "best time to send" is a myth because your audience lives on different schedules. Send time personalization helps avoid your emails being buried in subscribers’ inboxes by delivering the email at the exact moment a specific recipient is historically most active. This ensures you land at the top of the inbox, bypassing competitors who sent their emails while the user was away.
Step 4: Journeys — automating the lifecycle
Journeys allow you to create automated sequences triggered by subscriber behavior. The first 48 hours of a subscription are the most important — a new subscriber is never more interested in your brand than the moment they sign up. So make the most of it!
Produce a welcome series
A welcome series takes advantage of that time when subscribers are most receptive to your offer. Whether you want to build rapport, show off some of your other newsletter campaigns, or even collect some valuable first-party data, a welcome series is really valuable. And with journeys, once you create it you can forget about it.
Don’t forget re-engagement
Sometimes, subscribers need a little prod. Automate "We miss you" sends to subscribers who haven't clicked in 90 days and you may be able to get them re-engaged. If they don't respond, they can be moved to a suppressed segment to protect your list hygiene and keep your deliverability high.
Step 5: Analytics — Evaluating and refining
You’ve done it! You’ve created and sent a great newsletter to a load of engaged subscribers. Now comes the refinement. Analytics gives you an accurate window into how your subscribers interact with your newsletter and lets you tweak things to deliver the best performance possible. Here’s a couple of tips to avoid some common pitfalls.
Navigating "inflated" open rates
Because Apple now pre-loads email images (effectively "opening" them even if the user doesn't), raw open rates are less reliable than they used to be. Instead, prioritize intent metrics:
- Click-through-rate (CTR): The purest measure of how many people found your content compelling.
- Click-to-open rate (CTOR): Measures how many people who actually opened the email (excluding Apple's auto-opens) engaged with the content.
The benchmarking rule
Never compare your CTR to a different publisher. Your audience, cadence, and content mix are unique. Instead, benchmark against your own historical performance. A sudden dip in your own average open rate is a much more valuable signal than how your stats compare to an industry average.