Ecommerce Newsletter Ideas to Help You Sell More

• An ecommerce newsletter is a targeted email campaign sent to subscribers with the primary goal of driving sales and promoting products.
• You can create a successful ecommerce newsletter by showcasing new arrivals, best-sellers, and special promotions with clear, compelling calls-to-action.
• By regularly sending newsletters with valuable content, you build customer loyalty and drive repeat purchases for your online store.
• Automating your newsletters with abandoned cart reminders and welcome series is an effective strategy to recover lost sales and nurture new leads.

Newsletters are everywhere. Whether it’s a round-up of weekly news from your favorite news site or monthly updates from your favorite podcast, you probably have several of them sitting in your inbox right now. But for ecommerce businesses, creating an email newsletter looks a little different. How do you make an ecommerce newsletter something that your audience will enjoy reading while also selling to them?

The key is knowing your customer well. Once you understand their preferences, you can toe the line between informational and sales-focused to create an engaging newsletter.

Below, we’ll go through what an ecommerce newsletter is, why it’s unique, and how to write interesting newsletters that sell. We’ll also throw in examples of ecommerce brands that do a superb job with their newsletters to give you a little inspiration.

What is an ecommerce newsletter?

An ecommerce newsletter is a form of content marketing that doesn’t have sales as its primary purpose. Newsletters are mainly a way to stay in touch with customers or potential leads (people considering buying from you).

For example, if you sell sponges, you could send newsletters that give cleaning tips. You can share third-party content or address any current events. Did the TV show Top Chef just have a season finale? Share how the crew cleans those kitchens until the equipment feels new again.
Newsletters are opportunities to connect with your readers beyond your product.

What makes ecommerce newsletters unique?

Any newsletter from a content site is full of information and links to their online content. They want you to read a snippet, find it interesting, and click through to their site. This improves their traffic. Ideally, you’ll enjoy and share it.

For ecommerce, that’s not the whole picture. Ecommerce newsletters are trying to inform and entertain while also bringing in sales. If you push the sales part too strongly, your readers will feel alienated and could unsubscribe. But if you focus only on content, your newsletters might never sell anything.

How can you turn newsletter readers into loyal customers?

How do newsletters change the way leads and customers feel about you? These emails can do a lot. With engaging newsletters, you can:

• Give customers reasons to be proud of having your product
• Open opportunities to buy
• Show your leads how well-versed you are in industry topics
• Stand out among your competitors

How do you create a great ecommerce newsletter?

What if an ecommerce newsletter seems like a great content marketing opportunity but you don’t know where to start when it comes to creating one? Let’s go through the basics of what you need to know.

Start and grow an email list 

Choose an email provider like Constant Contact and set up a sign-up page on your website. It can be a pop-up, a sidebar, or a footer. Next, grow your email list to get quality leads that are interested in what you offer. These will be both people who bought from you and those who might in the future.

Design your newsletter

Your newsletter’s design is more than just a snazzy-looking layout. Think of it as a roadmap that guides your reader from opening the email to clicking “buy.” A successful ecommerce newsletter will include all these key elements:

Subject line + preview text: This is your digital handshake and your first (and only!) chance to convince someone to open your email. Make it intriguing, clear, and give a hint of the value waiting inside.

Value block: Before you ask for a sale, give them something useful. This is your spot to share a helpful tip, link to a new blog post, or offer a piece of expert advice. It shows you’re there to help, not just to sell.

Merch block: This is your digital storefront. Showcase your products with high-quality images, brief and enticing descriptions, and direct links to each product page. Make it visual and easy to shop.

Social proof: Let your happy customers do the talking for you. Include a glowing testimonial, a five-star review, or a photo of a customer using your product. This builds instant credibility and helps new shoppers trust your brand.

Offer (optional): If you have a special promotion, this is where you showcase it. A clear, compelling offer like “15% Off This Weekend Only” can create urgency and give readers a great reason to click.

Primary CTA: This is the primary action you want readers to take. Use a bold, action-oriented button that’s impossible to miss, like “Shop Now” or “Explore the New Collection.” Stick to one CTA per email for best results.

Footer trust builders: A footer might seem like an afterthought, but it contains crucial components for your newsletter. Your footer should include links for your recipients to manage preferences and unsubscribe, and by law — at least within the U.S. — it should also include your business’s mailing address.

Create content that resonates with your readers

Think about your ideal customers and what they like. Use their vocabulary and interests as your guide. The goal is to write your content to make it feel like they’re coming back to a familiar newsletter every week.

• Establish a common style. If you’re the owner of that theoretical sponge business we mentioned, maybe your newsletters can tackle a new type of surface or stain every week. You can include a new fun fact about your sponges at the bottom.
• Connect with your audience. Use your newsletter to shed insights on industry trends, tell stories about your product, and share your company’s recent achievements. Don’t be afraid to connect with them as you would on a lunch outing with a friend.
• Hone in on topics that will interest your reader. Here are some topics you might consider using for your newsletters:
  • Create surveys and ask for feedback
  • Tease your new product launch
  • Tell the story of a staff member or customer case study
  • Share your expertise about relevant topics via blog posts

Balance your content and your “buy” buttons

One key to a well-performing ecommerce newsletter is striking a balance between piquing your reader’s interest and nudging them to buy. Remember that the primary goal of your newsletter isn’t to sell.

Carefully sprinkle in your creative calls to action (CTAs). These are requests for readers to do something, like buying a product. If you have a newsletter that takes four to five minutes to read, add three “buy” CTAs at most. You can place them at the top and bottom of your email. These CTAs should entice the reader to do the desired action. Use action words like “get limited offer” or “get relief now” — anything that speaks to your reader’s motivations.

The rest of your email should focus on their interests and benefits. Ask yourself these questions to know for sure that you’re offering great content:

• Does this content make them feel empowered or defeated?
• How will this information help my reader? 
• Which problem does this content solve?
• Would they share this with a friend or loved one?

Ecommerce newsletter ideas

Feeling stuck on what to send next? Here are some proven ideas tied to specific business goals.

1. Sell now

When your goal is to drive immediate sales, get straight to the point. These newsletters are all about showcasing your products in a way that makes people want to click “buy now.” The key is to create excitement and highlight what’s popular.

• What’s popular: Feature your best-sellers to show shoppers what everyone else is loving.
• What’s new: Announce new arrivals to give your loyal fans the first look.
• What’s available: Create urgency with a back-in-stock alert for an in-demand item.

2. Increase AOV (average order value)

Sometimes the goal isn’t just to make a sale, but to encourage customers to add a little more to their cart. These emails are designed to increase the total value of each purchase by showing how your products work even better together.

• Create a package: Offer product bundles that provide a complete solution (and a better deal).
• Show them what’s next: Suggest smart pairings, like a phone case to go with their new phone.
• Inspire a bigger vision: Style a full outfit to help them “complete the look.”

3. Retain your best customers

The sale is just the beginning of the relationship. To turn first-time buyers into lifelong fans, you need to provide value that goes beyond the transaction. These newsletters focus on helping your customers get the most out of their purchase and feel like part of a community.

• Help them out: Send care tips or tutorials showing them how to use their new product.
• Make them the hero: Feature a customer in a community spotlight to celebrate how they’re using your products.

4. Build trust and connection

People buy from brands they know, like, and trust. Use your newsletter to pull back the curtain and show the human side of your business. This is your chance to build a personal connection that a big-box retailer can’t replicate.

• Show your work: Take them behind the scenes of your workshop or design process.
• Get personal: Share a heartfelt founder note about why you started your business.

5. Grow your email list

A healthy business needs a steady stream of new leads. You can use your newsletter as a tool to encourage your existing subscribers to help you grow. By offering something valuable, you can motivate your audience to share and invite others to join your community. For more tips, check out our guide to email list management.

• Engage and segment: Create a fun quiz that helps subscribers learn something about themselves (and uses click segmentation to help you send more targeted emails).
• Empower your fans: Set up a referral program that rewards them for spreading the word.
• Generate buzz: Host a giveaway with a great prize to encourage sign-ups.
• Offer value: Provide a helpful lead magnet, like a style guide or a DIY tutorial, in exchange for an email address.

6. Run a seasonal playbook

Don’t just send the same kind of emails all year round. The most effective newsletters tap into what’s on your customers’ minds right now to maximize your sales year-round. Try creating holiday-specific campaigns with themed products, gift guides, and special offers.

What are some excellent ecommerce newsletter examples?

Let’s go through some examples of companies that nail their ecommerce newsletters.

MyFitnessPal

MyFitnessPal is a popular app that helps people interested in fitness track their healthy habits, from calorie counting to workout tracking. The MyFitnessPal newsletter focuses on topics that users of the app might have about health and fitness.

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Skillshare

Skillshare offers creative online courses. Their newsletters are always inspiring, making readers feel like they’re creators. Take the Skillshare newsletter below, for example, which draws the reader to engage fully in a quiz.

After you click through the answers that speak to you in the Skillshare quiz, there’s a call to action that takes you to a landing page. There, you’ll not only see what kind of creative you are but also all the courses they offer that are perfect for you.

If you don’t have a premium account with Skillshare, you’ll certainly feel called to buy a course or sign up for a paid membership. Quiz content is just one of the many creative ideas for newsletters that can make your sales messaging feel more user-centric and benefit-focused. This reminds readers why they’re subscribed in the first place.

Trello

The example from Trello below uses fragments of their blog content in their newsletter, with invites for readers to read further on the topics on their website. 

As readers scroll and look for a headline that calls out to them, Trello drops some news about new features — and adds that readers can try these features for free. Their newsletter readers are most likely using Trello already, so new features should make their experience better. That subtle call to action can easily turn into a sale once that free trial ends.

If the reader enjoys the free trial, they’ll usually have no problem continuing to pay for it. Don’t underestimate the power of free samples paired with a good newsletter CTA.

Ready to kick off your ecommerce newsletter?

Every ecommerce brand will have a different approach to a newsletter. Many companies even have more than one to keep different segments of users engaged with their brand. But you just need one to start — and now that you’ve got some best practices and inspiration under your belt, you can forge ahead and start building your first ecommerce newsletter.

‌Ready to give it a go? Sign up for a free trial of Constant Contact, the all-in-one marketing platform that gives you everything you need to create professional-looking email newsletters — and so much more — in one powerful, easy-to-use tool.