Let’s be honest, most email newsletters end up in the trash bin. Here are 7 that we couldn’t resist opening and why we love them.

If you want to learn how to write amazing email newsletters that will increase website traffic–you’ve come to the right place. Email marketing is one of the most powerful ways to draw in potential buyers. For every $1 you spend on email marketing, you can expect an average return of $38. Here are 7 compelling examples of email newsletters, why we love them, and what you can learn from them.

1. Vox Sentences and the Importance of Timing

Vox’s Sentences is putting the “news” in newsletter

Vox is a news and opinion website that focuses on the facts and the importance of context. There are plenty of news based newsletters, but what makes Vox’s Sentences newsletter special is the fact that they send their newsletter nightly. Data shows that the best time to send newsletters are between 8 pm to midnight. But what about the best days to send an email? The number 1 day to send out an email newsletter is Tuesday with Thursday not too far behind. Thanks to websites like Boomerang Gmail and CoSchedule, you can now schedule when your emails are sent out so you won’t forget.

2. Goodreads is making it personal

Personalized emails are too good to not open

I love a good book recommendation. And if you're like me, you have more books in your to-read shelf than you can keep up with. That’s because I don’t hesitate buying a book that Goodreads recommends to me in their monthly newsletter. When you sign up at Goodreads.com you can make a list of all the books you've read. Then, every month, Goodreads will send you a list of book recommendations based on your profile. Goodreads is a perfect example of personalization done right. According to experts, emails that are personalized are 26% more likely to be opened. This is not unlike how Spotify recommends songs and Netflix recommends movies to their users.

3. Dave Pell’s Next Draft

Good humor and interesting writing keeps people coming back for more

Next Draft is an email newsletter that is a compilation of the most interesting news content found on the internet. Dave Pell, the writer and brain behind Next Draft, really puts his creative spin and unique writing style in Next Draft’s emails. It’s one of the reasons- if not the reason- Next Draft readers keep opening their email newsletter. It just goes to show you that good writing can go a long way.

4. Spotify’s Mobile Emails

Knowing your users and knowing what works

This next company needs no introduction, but in case you didn’t know, Spotify is one of the largest music streaming services in the world. Spotify’s promotional emails are designed specifically for smartphones. The reason? 52% of Spotify’s music is listened on a smartphone. Designing your emails around the platform your users are using is the most effective thing you will ever do. Here’s another useful tip for smartphone based emails: a font size of 13 or 14 pixels makes your email substantially more readable on a small screen.

5. Darby Smart and the powerful use of visuals

A picture is worth a thousand words

Of all the tips and tricks mentioned so far, this next one may be the most useful. Darby Smart is a beauty, cooking, and home decor website that strictly uses visuals in their newsletters. Not one word to be found! Visual content may receive 94% more views than text-only content. For users, visualizing data is easier than reading it. This makes readers more likely to open up an all-visual email since it will take less time deciding whether to continue reading.  

6. Buzzfeed’s catchy subject lines

Why your subject line is the most important thing, ever

Buzzfeed is the epitome of catchy titles and subject lines. In fact, you probably associate the name Buzzfeed with the term “clickbait”. Clickbait is when the title is so juicy and interesting you can’t help but to click on the email or article inside. That’s what you want- a subject line so captivating that people will fear they’ll miss out on something great. Here are some tips about creating an alluring subject line. Titles with the word "who" generated a 22% higher click through rate than headlines without it. Titles eight words long had a 21% higher click through rate than the average title.

7. Sidebar’s design focused newsletter

Using good design while teaching good design

What I personally love about this newsletter is the minimalist look it has. Including just 5 simple links about design in the tech world, Sidebar’s email newsletter is the cleanest looking newsletter you will ever lay your eyes upon. This newsletter is a great example of less-is-more. Creators often get too carried away with all the bells and whistles, distracting the reader from doing what we want them to do. Just remember K.I.S.S; the key design acronym that asks us to keep it simple, stupid.      Email marketing is not only a powerful and effective way of reminding customers what you have to offer, but it is also a great way to bring new users to your website. Email is- and will always be- the main way of communicating between buyers and sellers. Writing and designing email newsletters is truly an artform. If you're looking to create beautiful newsletters like the ones above, Responsival can help you with all your content creation needs. Let’s hope these creative and unique examples inspire the next Van Gogh of email newslettering!