Increase your open and response rates with this flexible, step-by-step email newsletter template (available in Word, Google Docs and as a PDF). Complete with advanced tips for boosting performance, you can use this free template to start a new email list or improve your existing one.

Why Use an Email Newsletter Template?

Email marketing generates higher ROI than any other marketing channel. An email list lets you reach out directly to your audience to build your brand, distribute your content, and sell products or services.

(And unlike most other marketing channels, an email list is an asset that you OWN. Facebook and Google can change their algorithms on a whim. And push your traffic down to zero. But with an email list, you’re in control).

That said, it’s not enough to simply build a list and send sales pitches a few times each year. You need to nurture your list. This email newsletter template provides an easy-to-follow structure to help you do just that.

What’s Included

Here’s what’s included in this email newsletter template:

1. My subject line trick: The tried-and-true technique I’ve used to significantly increase my open rates.
2. Two proven email body types: These are the two best ways I’ve found to structure a newsletter email.
3. How to include a CTA that increases your click-through rates or drives responses.

How to Use This Template

1. Download the free Email Newsletter Template on this page
2. Read through the tips included in this template for writing great subject lines, email body and CTAs.
3. Copy the template into a fresh email inside your email service provider (for example, ConvertKit)
4. Fill in the blanks
5. Send it out

How to Increase Your Open and Click-Through Rates

Emails aren’t worth much unless they get opened, read and clicked through. The more subscribers that do that stuff, the more valuable your list will be. Follow these tips to maximize your open and click-through rates.

• Be consistent. Get people into the habit of opening and clicking through your emails at a consistent frequency, whether that’s once a month or once a day.
• Optimize your subject lines: Personally, I’ve found that short subject lines get higher open rates. On mobile, longer subject lines get cut off after the first 30-40 characters. Short subject lines are also more effective as a “curiosity hook.”
• Use preview text to stand out in the inbox.
• Increase click-through rates by including a direct call-to-action, like “click here to read it” or “learn more”.
• If your goal is to get people to click, don’t include too much copy in your email. You want enough copy to make someone hungry enough to click. But not to completely satisfy them before they do. (For example, lots of images in an email usually leads to a lower CTR).
• Check out these additional email marketing resources: Get more subscribers with my guide to How to Build an Email List, and maximize your ROI with Email Marketing: The Definitive Guide.