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Crafting Connections: A Step-by-Step Guide on How to Create a Newsletter in HubSpot

Craft engaging newsletters effortlessly with our step-by-step guide on how to create a newsletter in HubSpot.

Summer Osborne
By Summer Osborne   |  

 Nov 27, 2023

Crafting Connections: A Step-by-Step Guide on How to Create a Newsletter in HubSpot

Ever feel like your emails are just disappearing into the digital void, leaving you to wonder if they’re truly making an impact? You're not alone. Crafting messages that resonate with your audience can be quite a challenge.

However, when businesses harness the power of newsletters effectively, they can reap the benefits of boosted engagement—some seeing increases of up to 23%! This article will unlock the secrets to crafting a captivating newsletter using HubSpot, ensuring that each email you send out is more than just words but a connection waiting to happen. Key Takeaways:

  • HubSpot offers user-friendly features for designing newsletters, advanced analytics, pre-made templates, easy visual platform integration, and hyper-trackable CTA buttons.
  • Defining the target audience and relevant content is crucial for creating engaging newsletters with the right frequency to maintain subscriber interest.
  • Setting up a mailing list, choosing appropriate templates that reflect brand identity, customizing designs for visual appeal, and adding compelling content are essential steps in crafting effective newsletters.

Why Use HubSpot for Your Newsletter?

HubSpot is ideal for creating newsletters due to its user-friendly design and features, advanced analytics, pre-made templates, easy integration with visual platforms, and hyper-trackable CTA buttons.

User-Friendly Design and Features

HubSpot makes designing newsletters a breeze. It's packed with helpful tools that let you drag and drop whatever you need right into your email. There is no need to know coding or design skills.

You can pick colors, fonts, and images that match your brand perfectly. Plus, the platform guides you through the process, ensuring everything looks great on all devices.

Another aspect that stands out is its clickable buttons—game changers for getting people to take action. Whether signing up for a webinar or checking out a new product, creating these call-to-action (CTA) buttons is a breeze in HubSpot.

They make your newsletter much more powerful as a marketing tool because you can see exactly what catches your audience's attention and drives them to click.

Advanced Analytics

HubSpot makes it easy to see how well your newsletter is doing. You get tools showing who's opening your emails, clicking links, and sharing them with friends. This information helps you understand what your readers like so you can make better newsletters.

It's like having a superpower for email marketing because you can see what works and fix what doesn't.

With HubSpot's analytics, you can track your email campaign performance in real-time. Find out which subjects are opened the most or if your call-to-action buttons are getting clicks. Using this data strengthens your future newsletters because you learn more about your audience's preferences with each send.

Pre-Made Templates Available

Thanks to their pre-made templates, we love how easy it is to jump right into designing newsletters in HubSpot. You don't have to start from scratch or be a pro at design. Just pick one of the ready-to-use layouts that fit your message best, and you're on your way.

These templates are designed with different goals in mind – whether it's lead generation, customer retention, or just keeping your audience up-to-date.

You can also tweak these templates until they match your brand perfectly. Change colors, fonts, and images to ensure everything looks right. This saves tons of time and lets you focus more on creating excellent content for your newsletter that will captivate your subscribers instead of worrying about layout issues.

Plus, a good-looking newsletter strengthens communication with customers and helps keep them engaged with what you’re saying.

Easy Integration with Visual Platforms

Integrating your newsletter with visual platforms can enhance engagement. HubSpot easily connects with popular visual tools like Canva and Giphy, allowing you to create captivating visuals that resonate with your audience.

By seamlessly incorporating these eye-catching elements, you can elevate the impact of your newsletter and effectively communicate your message. This integration empowers you to craft visually appealing newsletters that grab attention and drive meaningful connections with your subscribers, boosting the overall effectiveness of your marketing strategy.

HubSpot's seamless connection with visual platforms simplifies the process of adding rich media content to your newsletters. You can effortlessly leverage videos, infographics, and interactive images to convey information engagingly.

Hyper-Trackable CTA Buttons

Hyper-trackable CTA buttons in HubSpot allow you to monitor and analyze the performance of your newsletter. These buttons let you easily track which links are getting clicked, enabling you to understand what content resonates with your audience.

This data empowers you to make informed decisions about future content and improve the effectiveness of your newsletters.

With hyper-trackable CTA buttons, you can measure the success of your newsletter campaigns and optimize them for better engagement. You can identify the most popular content or offers, making it easier for you to tailor future newsletters based on what your audience finds most compelling.

Looking to optimize HubSpot for your business? Learn how to improve here

Setting a Goal for Your Newsletter

Defining Your Target Audience is crucial to determining the type of content and frequency for your newsletter.

Defining Your Target Audience

To define your target audience, start by understanding your ideal customers. Identify their demographics like age, gender, location, and income level. Also, consider their psychographics, such as interests, values, and behaviors that may influence their purchasing decisions.

This information helps create content that resonates with them and meets their needs.

Once you have a clear picture of your target audience, you can tailor your newsletter to address their specific pain points and provide valuable solutions. By defining your target audience effectively, you can ensure that your newsletter is engaging and relevant to the people who matter most to your business.

Choosing Relevant Content

When deciding on the content for your newsletter, it's essential to understand your target audience and what kind of information they find valuable. Tailoring your content to their interests and needs increases engagement.

Besides, regularly updating the newsletter with fresh and relevant content keeps subscribers interested in your updates and builds trust.

Determining the frequency of your newsletter should also be based on how often you can deliver high-quality, meaningful content. It's important not to overwhelm subscribers with too many newsletters or send them infrequently enough that they forget about you.

Determining Frequency

Deciding how often to send your newsletter is crucial. It depends on the type of content and your audience's preferences. Analyze your subscriber engagement while not overwhelming them with too many emails.

You can start with a monthly schedule and adjust based on feedback and open rates.

Tailor the frequency to match the relevance and value you provide in each newsletter, maintaining consistency for reader anticipation and attention retention. Tracking metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and unsubscribe rates will help refine your sending frequency for optimal engagement and impact without being intrusive or overlooked by subscribers.

A man with a beard is seated at a table, reading a newsletter on a tablet in his hand. A magazine is in the background and a coffee cup next to him.

Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Newsletter in HubSpot

Start by importing your contacts or creating a new list, then segment them based on relevant criteria.

Setting Up a Mailing List

First, navigate to the "Contacts" tab on HubSpot and select "Lists" from the dropdown menu.

Choosing a Template

When creating a newsletter in HubSpot, choosing the right template is crucial for capturing your audience’s attention and delivering your message effectively. Here are key points to consider when selecting a template:

  • Visual Appeal: Pick a template that aligns with your brand's aesthetic and reflects the tone of your content.
  • Responsiveness: Ensure the template is mobile-friendly and adapts well to various screen sizes for seamless viewing.
  • Customization Options: Look for templates that offer flexibility in layout, color schemes, and font styles to personalize them according to your brand identity.
  • Content Emphasis: Choose a template that emphasizes showcasing engaging content, such as images, headlines, and call-to-action buttons prominently.

Customizing the Design

Customizing the design is crucial to creating a visually appealing and on-brand newsletter. Here's how to do it in HubSpot:

  1. Choose a template that aligns with your brand identity and the overall theme of your newsletter. This will set the tone for your content and ensure consistency across all communications.
  2. Tailor the color scheme, fonts, and layout to reflect your brand's aesthetic. Consider using colors that resonate with your audience and make your content more engaging.
  3. Incorporate images, graphics, and multimedia elements to enhance visual appeal and break up large blocks of text. This can help capture readers' attention and increase engagement.
  4. Add your logo and any other branding elements to maintain brand recognition throughout the newsletter. Consistent branding helps build trust and credibility with your subscribers.
  5. Optimize the design for mobile responsiveness to ensure a seamless user experience across different devices. With more people accessing emails on their phones, this step is crucial for maximizing engagement.
  6. Preview and test the design to ensure everything looks as intended before sending it out to subscribers. This step helps catch any potential formatting or display issues before they reach your audience.
  7. Consider A/B testing different design elements to see which options resonate best with your audience. This data-driven approach can help refine your design strategy for future newsletters.

Adding Engaging Content

To create an engaging newsletter, use the following tips to add compelling content:

  • Compelling Headlines: Strive to create attention-grabbing headlines that entice readers to explore the newsletter further.
  • Visual Appeal: Incorporate eye-catching images and graphics to complement the written content and make the newsletter visually appealing.
  • Concise and Informative Writing: Focus on delivering valuable information clearly and concisely to keep readers engaged.
  • Personalization: Personalize the content by addressing specific interests or needs of your target audience.
  • Call-to-Action (CTA): Include clear and compelling CTAs that prompt readers to take action, such as visiting a website or making a purchase.
  • Interactive Elements: Integrate interactive elements like polls, quizzes, or surveys to encourage reader participation.

Testing and Sending the Newsletter

First, check the newsletter layout and content. Ensure all links and images are working properly before sending them out to subscribers. Then, schedule the newsletter for your target audience at the optimal time.

  • Review the newsletter on different devices to ensure it looks good on both mobile and desktop.
  • Use A/B testing to compare different subject lines, sender names, or content variations to determine which performs better.
  • Send a test email to yourself or a colleague to check for any errors and how the newsletter appears in an inbox.
  • Check that all call-to-action buttons lead to the correct landing pages and are easy to find within the newsletter.

Set a Clear Goal for Each Newsletter

When crafting a newsletter, it's crucial to have a clear goal in mind. Start by defining who your target audience is and what action you want them to take after reading the newsletter.

Choose relevant content that aligns with your audience's interests and needs. Determine how often you'll send the newsletter to maintain regular engagement with your subscribers. Setting a clear goal will guide your content creation and help you measure the success of each newsletter.

Utilize HubSpot's resources to analyze the results of each newsletter, enabling you to make informed decisions for future improvements. Personalize the content and include visuals or multimedia elements to enhance engagement.

Utilize Visuals and Multimedia

Incorporating visuals and multimedia in your newsletter can significantly enhance engagement with your audience. HubSpot allows you to easily embed videos, images, and infographics into your newsletters, making them more visually appealing and captivating for your subscribers.

Utilizing these visual elements can help convey information more effectively and leave a lasting impression on your audience. Additionally, incorporating multimedia content can increase the likelihood of social media shares and further expand your newsletter's reach across various digital platforms.

By leveraging visuals and multimedia in your newsletter design, you can create a compelling storytelling experience that resonates with your audience. Visual content has the power to evoke emotions, capture attention, and communicate messages quickly.

Personalize the Content

When personalizing your newsletter content, think about what matters to your audience. Use their names in the greeting and address their pain points. Segment your subscribers based on demographics or behavior to send them customized content that resonates with them.

Leverage personalization tokens and dynamic content features HubSpot provides to tailor your messages according to each reader's preferences and actions.

Incorporate personalized recommendations, tailored offers, or exclusive insights based on the recipient's previous interactions with your brand. By customizing the content for each subscriber, you can boost engagement and build stronger connections with your audience.

Utilize HubSpot's Resources and Features

We recommend using HubSpot's resources and features to enhance your newsletter. The platform offers a variety of tools for audience engagement, email distribution, subscriber management, and newsletter analytics.

You can utilize marketing automation, customer relationship management, inbound marketing strategies, and social media integration to create impactful newsletters that resonate with your audience.

HubSpot also provides blogging strategies and campaign management support. By leveraging these resources and features, you can streamline your communication channels and develop an effective communication strategy for your newsletters.

Analyze the Results for Future Improvement

After sending out your newsletters using HubSpot, we recommend analyzing the results to see what worked and what didn't. Look at open rates, click-through rates, and engagement metrics to understand how your audience responds to your content.

Use this data to refine your future newsletters and make them even more effective in reaching and engaging with your target audience.

Reviewing the analytics will help you understand which types of content resonate most with your readers. You can use A/B testing to experiment with different elements like subject lines or CTA buttons and see which ones drive better results.

Woman with curly hair and glasses is smiling while sitting at a desk looking at a computer monitor and holding open a notepad.

Conclusion

Crafting a newsletter in HubSpot can help you forge strong connections with your audience. You can create effective newsletters by setting clear goals, using pre-made templates, and analyzing results for improvement.

Engaging content, personalized touches, and utilizing visual features are key to crafting compelling newsletters. Take advantage of HubSpot's resources and features to make the most of your newsletter creation process.

Click here to learn more about optimizing your Inbound Marketing efforts with HubSpot.

FAQs

1. How do I create a newsletter in HubSpot, and where can I find the newsletter tool?

    • Navigate to Email: Go to the "Marketing" dashboard in your HubSpot account and select "Email" from the dropdown menu.
    • Choose "Create Email": Click on "Create email" and select the "Classic Email" or "Drag and Drop" template based on your preference.
    • Design Your Newsletter: Use the drag-and-drop editor or customize the classic template to design your newsletter with text, images, and CTAs.

2. Can I personalize and customize my newsletter content in HubSpot?

    • Personalization Tokens: HubSpot lets you personalize your newsletter content using contact properties. Insert personalization tokens for a dynamic and tailored approach.
    • Customization Features: Utilize customization features such as font styles, colors, and layout options to align your newsletter with your brand.

3. How can I add contact lists and segments to my newsletter distribution in HubSpot?

    • Select Recipients: In the email editor, navigate to the "Recipients" tab.
    • Choose Lists or Segments: Choose the contact lists or segments to which you want to send the newsletter.
    • Review and Confirm: HubSpot provides a preview of the number of recipients. Review and confirm before scheduling or sending the newsletter.

4. How can I track the performance of my newsletter in HubSpot?

    • Email Analytics: HubSpot's email analytics dashboard provides insights into key metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and engagement over time.
    • Individual Email Performance: Within the email editor, you can review individual email performance, including the number of opens, clicks, and other engagement metrics.
    • Integration with CRM: HubSpot seamlessly integrates email performance data with your CRM, allowing you to correlate email engagement with contact behavior and interactions.

Creating and sending newsletters in HubSpot is a straightforward process combining design flexibility and robust tracking capabilities, ensuring you can effectively engage your audience and measure the success of your email campaigns.

Summer Osborne

Summer Osborne

Inbound Marketing Expert - Summer contributes a wealth of expertise garnered from years of experience within the marketing agency domain. Her passion lies in the art of content creation, meticulous optimization, and empowering clients to effectively communicate their stories.

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