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9 Best Newsletter Templates to Captivate Your Customers

Last updated: December 19 2024

Written and researched by experts at Avada Learn more about our methodology

Let's be honest, crafting a newsletter that truly captivates your audience requires more than just a few product images and a discount code. It's about creating an experience that's both visually appealing and informative, leaving your subscribers eager to open your emails and engage with your brand.

In this guide, we’ll take a look at 9 of the best newsletter templates to inspire your email marketing strategy. We'll explore their design elements, content strategies, and key takeaways so you have the inspiration and insights to transform your newsletters!

Let’s dive in!

What Makes a Great Newsletter Template For Ecommerce?

Here are the key elements that make a great newsletter template for eCommerce:

  • Visual Appeal: First impressions matter, right? Your newsletter needs to be visually appealing, with a clean layout, high-quality images, and a clear visual hierarchy. Think of it like your storefront window – it needs to be enticing enough to draw people in.
  • Engaging Content: Okay, you've got their attention, now what? Your newsletter content needs to be valuable and relevant to your audience. Share interesting stories, offer helpful tips, or showcase your products in a way that makes them irresistible. Don't just blast out promotions; provide content that your subscribers actually want to read.
  • Clear Call to Action: What do you want your subscribers to do after reading your newsletter? Make it crystal clear with a prominent call to action. Whether it's "Shop Now," "Learn More," or "Join Our Community," guide them towards the desired action.
  • Mobile Optimization: Let's be real; most people check their email on their phones these days. Make sure your newsletter looks fantastic and functions flawlessly on all devices, from desktops to smartphones.
  • Brand Consistency: Your newsletter is an extension of your brand. Make sure it reflects your brand's personality, colors, and overall aesthetic. Consistency builds trust and recognition.

9 Best Newsletter Templates For Ecommerce

New Product Announcements

New Product Announcements

This template is all about building excitement and creating a sense of urgency. It's like a virtual unveiling of your latest creations, highlighting their unique features and benefits. The goal is to capture attention, generate interest, and drive those initial sales.

You want to create an email that screams "new, new, new!" and makes your subscribers eager to check out your latest offerings.

Key elements of a new product announcements newsletter include:

  • Bold headlines: Grab attention and announce the new arrival with a clear and concise headline.
  • High-quality product images: Showcase your new product in its best light with stunning visuals. Multiple images from different angles can be even more effective.
  • Compelling product descriptions: Highlight the key features and benefits of the new product, using persuasive language to entice customers.
  • Clear call to action (CTA): Guide your subscribers towards the desired action with a prominent CTA button, such as "Shop Now" or "Learn More."
  • Social media integration: Include social media links to encourage sharing and amplify your reach.

Pro Tip: Consider segmenting your audience and sending slightly different versions of this email to different customer groups. For example, you could tailor the messaging or featured products based on past purchase history or preferences.

Product Spotlight

Product spotlight newsletters are an effective way to highlight specific products or features, capturing the attention of your audience. This email often showcases a specific product or a small collection of related items, allowing businesses to convey detailed information and benefits to entice customers to click that "Add to Cart" button.

Product Spotlight

What needs to be included in the email?

  • Hero Image: Start with a captivating hero image of your featured product that grabs attention and creates visual interest.
  • Compelling Headline: Craft a headline that highlights the product's key selling point or unique benefit.
  • Detailed Description: Go beyond the basic product description and provide more in-depth information, highlighting features, uses, or even customer testimonials.
  • Lifestyle Imagery: Show the product in action with lifestyle images that resonate with your target audience.
  • Clear Call to Action: Guide your subscribers towards a purchase with a prominent "Shop Now" or "Learn More" button.
  • Social Proof: Include customer reviews or ratings to build trust and credibility.

Event Invitation

This template is all about generating buzz and enticing your subscribers to attend your event. It's like sending a personalized invitation, highlighting the event's unique features and creating a sense of anticipation. The goal is to maximize attendance and create a memorable experience for your audience.

Event Invitation

Key elements of this email template include

  • Intriguing headline: Capture attention with a headline that sparks curiosity and clearly communicates the event's theme or purpose.
  • Event details: Provide essential information about the event, including the date, time, location (if applicable), and any special instructions or requirements.
  • Visuals: Use high-quality images or videos to showcase the event's atmosphere or highlight any special guests or activities.
  • Compelling copy: Craft engaging and persuasive copy that highlights the benefits of attending the event and creates a sense of exclusivity.
  • Clear call to action: Guide your subscribers towards the desired action with a prominent CTA button, such as "RSVP Now," "Register Here," or "Learn More."
  • Social sharing: Include social media buttons to encourage sharing and amplify your event's reach.

Company Update

Okay, let's shift gears and talk about those "behind-the-scenes" moments. In my experience, customers love getting a glimpse into the heart of your brand. It's like inviting them backstage at a concert or giving them a sneak peek into your creative process. That's where the "Company Updates" template comes in handy.

This template is all about sharing your brand's story, milestones, and exciting updates with your audience. It's like sending a personal update to your friends, keeping them in the loop and fostering a deeper connection. The goal is to build trust, transparency, and a sense of community around your brand.

Company Update

A great company update newsletter should have

  • Personal Tone: Use a conversational and relatable tone, as if you're sharing news with a friend.
  • Authentic Storytelling: Share genuine stories about your brand's journey, challenges, and successes.
  • Behind-the-Scenes Content: Offer a glimpse into your company culture, your team, or your creative process.
  • Visuals: Include images or videos that complement your stories and capture attention.
  • Call to Action (Optional): While the focus is on sharing updates, you can subtly include a call to action, such as inviting feedback or encouraging social media engagement.

Seasonal Promotions

Seasonal promotions should be closely tied to relevant holidays and events. By sending out these promotional announcements well in advance, you give your audience the opportunity to plan ahead. For example, if you're advertising a summer sale, sending the email a few weeks before summer begins will help keep your offer fresh in your customers' minds.

Seasonal Promotions

You should design your seasonal promotion newsletter with

  • Themed Design: Use visuals and colors that align with the specific season or holiday. Think snowflakes and red accents for Christmas or beach vibes and bright colors for summer.
  • Catchy Headline: Grab attention with a headline that clearly communicates the seasonal promotion and its value proposition.
  • Compelling Offer: Highlight the discount, special offer, or freebie associated with the promotion.
  • Featured Products: Showcase relevant products or collections that are part of the seasonal promotion.
  • Countdown Timer: Add a countdown timer to create urgency and emphasize the limited-time nature of the offer.
  • Clear Call to Action: Guide your subscribers towards a purchase with a prominent "Shop Now" or "View Sale" button.

Feedback and Surveys

Using feedback and survey templates allows businesses to gather direct feedback from subscribers; they can tailor their newsletters to better meet audience preferences. The data collected through surveys provides valuable insights that can inform future content strategies, helping businesses identify what works well and what needs improvement.

Feedback and Surveys

What to add to your survey:

  • Personalized approach: Address the recipient by name and express your appreciation for their feedback.
  • Clear and concise questions: Ask specific questions that are relevant to your business and easy to answer.
  • Variety of question types: Include a mix of multiple-choice, rating scale, and open-ended questions to gather diverse insights.
  • Incentive (optional): Offer a small incentive, such as a discount code or entry into a giveaway, to encourage participation.
  • Prominent call to action: Include a clear call to action, such as "Take the Survey" or "Share Your Feedback."
  • Mobile-friendly design: Ensure the survey is easy to complete on mobile devices.

Abandoned Cart Reminder Templates

This template is all about gently nudging those forgetful customers and reminding them about the awesome items they left behind. It's like a friendly tap on the shoulder, saying, "Hey, did you forget something?" The goal is to bring them back to your store and encourage them to complete their purchase.

Furthermore, you can use abandoned cart emails to suggest related products or complementary items based on what the customer left behind, enhancing cross-selling opportunities.

Abandoned Cart Reminder Templates

What should you add to your abandoned cart reminder emails?

  • Friendly and helpful tone: Avoid sounding pushy or demanding. Instead, use a helpful and encouraging tone, reminding the customer about their items and offering assistance if needed.
  • Clear subject line: Use a subject line that's clear, concise, and creates a sense of urgency or curiosity (e.g., "Did you forget something?", "Your cart is waiting!").
  • Product images: Include images of the abandoned products to visually remind the customer what they're missing out on.
  • Incentive (optional): Consider offering a small incentive, like a discount code or free shipping, to sweeten the deal and encourage them to complete the purchase.
  • Prominent call to action: Include a clear call to action, such as "Return to Cart" or "Complete Your Purchase."
  • Sense of urgency: You can subtly create a sense of urgency by mentioning limited stock or a time-sensitive offer.

Educational Templates

This template is all about providing valuable information and insights to your subscribers. It's like sharing your expertise and knowledge and establishing your brand as a trusted resource. The goal is to educate your audience, build credibility, and subtly promote your products or services in a helpful context.

Educational Templates

Your educational newsletter email should have

  • Clear and concise headline: Use a headline that accurately reflects the topic and grabs the reader's attention.
  • Informative and engaging content: Provide valuable information, tips, or insights related to your niche or industry.
  • Visuals: Include images, videos, or infographics to enhance understanding and engagement.
  • Step-by-step guides or tutorials: Break down complex topics into easy-to-follow steps or tutorials.
  • Product integration (subtle): Subtly weave in your products or services where relevant, highlighting their benefits or applications.
  • Call to action (optional): Include a call to action to encourage further engagement, such as visiting your blog, downloading a resource, or exploring related products.

Loyalty Program Newsletters

This is one of the best newsletter templates to notify customers about the launch of a new loyalty program, highlighting its benefits and encouraging sign-ups. These newsletters help to engage members, reward their loyalty, and drive repeat business.

Loyalty Program Newsletters

Here are what you should do with your loyalty program newsletter:

  • Personalized greeting: Address the recipient by name and acknowledge their loyalty status.
  • Points update: Clearly display their current points balance and progress towards rewards.
  • Reward highlights: Showcase the exciting rewards or perks they can redeem their points for.
  • Exclusive offers: Include special offers or discounts exclusively for loyalty members.
  • Early access announcements: If you have upcoming sales or new product launches, give your loyalty members early access as a perk.
  • Birthday or anniversary rewards: Celebrate their special days with personalized offers or bonus points.
  • Community spotlight: Feature customer testimonials or user-generated content to create a sense of community.
  • Clear call to action: Encourage engagement with a clear call to action, such as "Redeem Your Points," "Shop Now," or "Explore New Arrivals."

Top Platforms Offering the Best Newsletter Templates

Canva

Canva is a versatile graphic design platform that offers an extensive collection of customizable newsletter templates. It enables users to create visually appealing email newsletters effortlessly, even without prior design experience.

Canva

Features

  • Add and arrange design elements.
  • Edit colors, fonts, and layouts to align with the brand identity.

Best For: Bloggers, content creators, beginners and small businesses looking for visually appealing newsletters without design expertise.

Unique Selling Points:

  • Library of pre-designed templates: Canva boasts over 20,000 newsletters templates to ensure users can find designs tailored to their specific needs.
  • Collaboration features for teams: Canva supports real-time collaboration, enabling multiple team members to work on a design simultaneously

Adobe

With Adobe's intuitive interfaces, users can easily customize templates to create visually appealing newsletters that effectively communicate their messages. It provides users with a variety of pre-designed templates and advanced design features that cater to both professional designers and beginners.

Adobe

Features:

  • Quick and easy customization options
  • Ability to create both print and digital newsletters
  • Customizable templates for various newsletter formats

Best for

  • Organizations can craft visually appealing invitations and announcements for events or webinars.
  • Educators, who create informative newsletters for students and parents, sharing important updates.

Unique Selling Points

  • Comprehensive Creative Suite: Graphic design, video editing, web development, and photography.
  • Industry Standard: Adobe's software is widely recognized as the industry standard, used by professionals in various fields.

MailChimp

Designed for ease of use, Mailchimp’s templates cater to various industries and purposes, allowing users to create visually appealing and effective newsletters without needing extensive design skills. All templates are optimized for mobile devices, ensuring that newsletters look great on any screen size.

MailChimp

Features:

  • Choose from various pre-designed content blocks
  • Personalize newsletters based on audience segments
  • Drag-and-drop functionality
  • A/B testing options

Best for: Small to medium-sized businesses (SMEs), bloggers and content creators

Unique Selling Points

  • Mailchimp offers over 100 professional and customizable email templates designed for various marketing needs, including newsletters, promotions, and announcements.

Omnisend

Omnisend provides a library of professionally designed templates that can be easily customized to fit any brand's style and messaging.

Omnisend

Features:

  • Send emails based on customer actions, such as welcome series or cart abandonment reminders.
  • Easy to add personalized elements to newsletters
  • Drag-and-drop email builder
  • Customizable newsletter templates

Best for: Launch new products or promotions, and personalize customer experiences through targeted campaigns.

Unique Selling Points: 

  • Omnisend integrates email, SMS, and other marketing channels into a single dashboard.
  • Pre-built automation workflows for common eCommerce scenarios, such as cart abandonment recovery, welcome series, and post-purchase follow-ups.

Shopify Email

Shopify Email is a great free app for beginners or small businesses to create newsletter templates. You can choose from sales-oriented templates that highlight your products, prices, checkout links, and more.

Shopify Email

Features:

  • Create customized emails
  • AI-generated subject lines
  • Pre-built automation templates

Best for: Beginners, small businesses who want to create visually appealing emails without extensive design skills

Unique Selling Points:

  • Free for the first 10,000 emails sent each month
  • Built by Shopify
  • Supports multiple languages

Best Practices for Newsletter Design

The design of your newsletter is not just about aesthetics; it plays a vital role in how your content is perceived and whether it prompts readers to take action. This guide explores the best practices for newsletter design, emphasizing the importance of focusing on CTAs, color schemes, and typography:

  • Add your Brading: Ensure that your newsletter reflects your brand’s visual identity, including colors, fonts, and logos.
  • Readability: Use a clean and organized layout that allows readers to easily navigate through the content. Select legible fonts and appropriate sizes. Use larger fonts for headings to create a visual hierarchy, making it easier for readers to scan the content.
  • Divide your newsletter into digestible sections: Break your newsletter into clearly defined sections with headers, helps readers find information quickly and makes the content less overwhelming
  • Don’t overcrowd your newsletter with media: Use high-quality visuals that complement the text and enhance the overall message without distracting from it. Ensure that images are optimized for quick loading and display correctly across different devices.
  • Focus on your CTAs: Highlight your calls-to-action prominently within the newsletter. Use contrasting colors for buttons and concise, action-oriented language to encourage clicks.
  • Include links or buttons to your social media profiles: Add links or buttons to your social media profiles within the newsletter to encourage subscribers to connect with you on other platforms, fostering a broader community engagement.
  • Optimize for mobile devices: Ensure that your newsletter is optimized for mobile devices. A single-column layout is often more effective for mobile viewing, making scrolling easier. Also, test your design across various devices before sending it out to ensure compatibility.

Bottom Line

The 10 best newsletter templates highlighted in this discussion showcase a variety of styles and functionalities that cater to different needs. Remember that features such as customizable layouts, responsive designs, and integration with marketing tools ensure that your newsletters are not only aesthetically pleasing but also optimized for performance.

Thank you for reading!

FAQs

1. Can I customize these templates?

Yes, most platforms provide user-friendly editors (often drag-and-drop) that allow you to customize templates easily. You can change colors, fonts, images, and content to match your brand's style and messaging.

2. Are there free options available?

Many platforms offer free plans or free trial periods, allowing users to access a selection of templates without any cost. For example, Mailchimp and Shopify Email provides a free plan, while Canva offers numerous free newsletter designs.

3. How do I choose the right template for my needs?

  • The purpose of your newsletter (e.g., promotional, informational).
  • Your target audience and their preferences.
  • The design elements that resonate with your brand identity.
  • The features you need (e.g., mobile responsiveness, built-in CTAs).

4. What if I need help designing my newsletter?

These platforms offer support resources such as tutorials, guides, and customer service to assist you in designing and sending your newsletters. Additionally, some platforms have community forums where users share tips and best practices.

5. Can I track the performance of my newsletters?

Yes, most email marketing platforms include analytics tools that allow you to track key performance metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversions. 

Sam
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Sam Nguyen is the CEO and founder of Avada Commerce, an e-commerce solution provider headquartered in Singapore. He is an expert on the Shopify e-commerce platform for online stores and retail point-of-sale systems. Sam loves talking about e-commerce and he aims to help over a million online businesses grow and thrive.