<!––>

How many newsletters do you think your customers receive on a weekly basis? And, even more importantly, how many do they actually open?

If they’re anything like the average consumer, they’re fielding over 100 emails every single day. Without checking any click-through rates, you probably already know that the majority of these messages — including your company newsletter — are landing face first into the internet’s very own Great Beyond: the spam box.

Fortunately, we have some good news. You’re about to learn how to climb your way out of that dreaded spam folder and straight to the top of your audience’s inbox. Without further ado, let’s break down the power of a well-written newsletter as well as 10 top email newsletter templates we can all draw inspiration from.

Top 10 Best Company Newsletters for 2022:

1. InVision
2. MOO
3. Litmus
4. The Washington Post
5. Lumi
6. Moz
7. Caterpillar
8. GetResponse
9. Goodreads
10. Brafton

The Importance of an Effective Company Newsletter

If your business doesn’t already have an email newsletter, you’ll probably want to start on it, like, yesterday.

At its most basic, a newsletter is a powerful tool used by businesses and organizations of all shapes and sizes. As you write your own, remember that the goal is always to share relevant and valuable information with your network of customers, prospects and subscribers. Think of a newsletter as a direct gateway to your audience: What would you like them to know?

We could go on for a while about all of the benefits associated with an effective newsletter, but for now we’ll cover the top three:

1. Three birds, one stone: Done right, your newsletter can be the ultimate example of successful multitasking. There’s hardly a better medium that allows you to share great content, promote sales and drive traffic to your website all at once.
2. Boost brand awareness: Circulating a regular newsletter will give your customers a better understanding of your organization and help you to stay top of mind.
   
3. Highlight your company culture: From wide reaching company news to individual employee spotlights, take this as an opportunity to show off your organization’s true colors beyond an advertisement.

Like we said, we could go on for a while here, but we’ll spare you to get to the good stuff — our favorite newsletter examples. To make a long story short, by developing a compelling newsletter that gets opened, read and inspires action, you’ll be well on your way to nailing your next mail marketing campaign.

Top 10 Best Company Newsletters for 2022

The big moment you were waiting for is finally here. Let’s take a look at some of the top company newsletters out there and see what separates the real deals from the mere pretenders:

Let’s take a look at some of the top company newsletters out there and see what separates the real deals from the mere pretenders:

1. InVision

InVision’s content is like the Ryu of email newsletters — it’s an all-around fantastic product with no discernable weaknesses. Clean, crisp imagery, excellent and varied content, clear and engaging CTAs, a mobile-friendly design — it does everything well.

The newsletter content ranges from helpful tips and tricks to thought leadership-based pieces with internal subject matter experts and even exclusive giveaways. There’s something for everyone here.

Since InVision creates digital product design platforms, the bar’s been set pretty high on the graphics front, but they’ve cleared it with ease. The newsletter’s design is simple, but eye-catching, all the same. The CTAs pop and the whole product screams “these people know what they’re talking about.”

If you’re not terribly familiar with InVision, this newsletter will pique your interest by showcasing its unique voice and viewpoint on digital design.

2. MOO

There’s a lot to say about this creative MOOsLETTER, but let’s skip to what makes it especially unique: the online printing and design firm’s incredible GIF game.

Just get a load of this:

Animating the newsletter’s imagery gives it that extra pop and immediately grabs your attention as you scroll through the email.

We can all learn from the MOOsLetter’s example and remember that company newsletters don’t have to be static or stodgy. They can find that happy medium between SME-driven thought leadership showcases and a barrage of cat GIFs.

Just adding a touch of movement — and let’s be honest, the example here is not the world’s most complex or smoothest animation — spices things up and guides your audience to the most important pieces of newsletter content.

3. Litmus

Your email newsletter should serve as an opportunity to showcase your company’s deep level of industry experience and expertise. Let prospective and current customers know that you’re constantly thinking about ways to improve your corner of the business world with insightful, thought-provoking pieces.

Email marketing solutions provider Litmus hits the mark in this regard, sharing with readers their thoughts on email design best practices. The design elements aren’t too hard on the eyes, either, which is always a prerequisite for effective and engaging newsletter content.

4. The Washington Post

It may be a bit of a cheat to call out a newspaper publication rather than a B2B or B2C company, but a good newsletter is a good newsletter. The Washington Post won a Webby Award for its 202 newsletter — and with good reason.

The layout and design elements are elegant, and the copy is clear and concise. Subscribers know they’re getting a carefully curated list of the most important news items from one of the most-trusted voices in journalism. The lesson to take away here is: Don’t make your readers work for the information they value most. Let your newsletter design facilitate their search for truly impactful insights.

5. Lumi

One of the biggest mistakes you can make when designing newsletter emails is to assume that the people reading them are sitting in front of a traditional desktop computer. It’s no secret that the world’s gone mobile, but to reinforce just how far the pendulum has swung away from PCs and even laptops, consider this: 55 percent of emails are opened on smartphones and other mobile devices. Things continue to trend in mobile’s favor too: The number of emails opened through non-mobile browsers has dropped 26 percent over the last five years.

You need to go where your audience is, and that increasingly means gearing your company newsletter to the mobile crowd. For many professionals, the first time they look at their business email in the morning isn’t necessarily when they get into the office, but during their commute.

Branded supplies manufacturer Lumi understands the importance of mobile as well as just about anyone. The design of their email newsletters is pretty straightforward — no custom imagery to be found here — but the layout is perfect for scrolling through on a smartphone.

6. Moz

We highlighted Moz’s work in last year’s rundown of the best company newsletters, and once again the SEO marketing software giant has earned itself a position on our annual list.

What’s interesting about Moz’s approach is that they don’t necessarily push their own content, but feature external articles they think their audience will find interesting, informative and valuable. That may seem like a curious angle to take, but it’s pure genius from a customer engagement and trust perspective.

They’re not selling you on anything, just presenting thought-provoking tidbits from around the web. Readers aren’t going to approach this content with skepticism, and over time, they’ll associate the Moz brand with unvarnished insights into topics that affect them most. 

That’s all without even mentioning the design work, which is as well-done as ever and always adheres to Moz’s strict branding guidelines.

7. Caterpillar

Hats off to the marketing team at Caterpillar — we didn’t know you had it in you. Who would have thought that a brand so closely associated with no-nonsense construction and engineering equipment could knock out a newsletter this engaging?

The layout’s great, the eye is easily drawn to the most important points of interest and the entire newsletter serves as an incredible use of Caterpillar’s iconic imagery, decked out in the company’s trademark yellow-and-black brand colors.

This just goes to show that you don’t need to be a digital marketing virtuoso to get it right. A good sense of what makes your brand unique and a clear understanding of how to best communicate with your intended audience will take you far.

8. GetResponse

One of the most powerful types of newsletters is also often one of the most commonly overlooked: an internal employee newsletter.

Email marketing is a powerful tool that can be used to connect with every stakeholder in your network, including your very own coworkers. Plus, it’s always important to remember that internal communications don’t have to be cut and dry — just take a look at this software company’s easy-going newsletter.

Not only does GetResponse reinforce their company culture by including its mascot in a short demonstration video, but a simplistic character also shows off all of the new functions employees can access through this new app. Rather than serving as interruption in the middle of the workday, GetResponse’s internal newsletter offers team members some added value and a solid chuckle along the way.

9. Goodreads

Goodreads knows exactly what its readers are after: good reads (go figure). In the ultimate example of less is more, the company keeps its monthly newsletter super simple, with only a handful of graphics highlighting some of the most talked-about books from the past year.

The second half of the Goodreads’ newsletter provides a breakdown of the books users can’t get enough of as well as a direct path to purchase through its parent company, Amazon. Plus, the very end of the email includes a punnily named section titled “Book Ends,” featuring a final roundup of new releases as well as a plug for the company’s growing author program.

This newsletter example shows just how important it is to keep your audience in mind as you build out your own content strategy. What are readers looking for from your brand? How can you help them get the information they want? And, maybe most importantly, how you can include a pun that expertly toes the line between cheesy and funny?

10. Brafton

Yeah, that’s right – we’re tooting our own horn. After all of this talk about email newsletters showcasing SME, thought leadership and company culture, it would be a bit of a letdown if we didn’t take our own medicine, wouldn’t it?

Brafton’s a lot of things – creative, boundary-pushing, diligent – but we’re not modest for the sake of modesty. Our email newsletter captures every quality discussed here and highlights industry best practices, employee profiles, tips and tricks on getting more out of your content marketing and so much more. On top of that, our design team continually whips up incredible imagery to go along with each piece of content, and our CTAs grab the reader’s attention.

Are we the absolute best at email newsletters? We’re probably a little biased, but we’ll say this: We’re right up there.

Main Takeaways

From boosting employee engagement to converting valuable leads, a newsletter can be a powerful tool. Just remember that every organization will look a little different, and for good reason. No matter which direction you decide to go, it’s important to always keep your company values at the forefront of your campaign. Just have fun with it, and stay true to your brand.

Looking for some additional marketing inspiration? We heard there’s a team of some well-versed content marketing experts who have put together their very own newsletter to keep pros like yourself in the loop:

Subscribe to The Content Marketer

Editor’s Note: Updated January 2022.