Most email newsletter examples worth studying have a shape readers recognize before they read a word. James Clear's 3-2-1 sends three short ideas, two quotes and one question every Thursday, and Morning Brew pitches business news as a five-minute read. Below are ten real newsletters to borrow from, then ten sample issues written for this guide that you can adapt.
For the method behind them (the promise, subject lines, cadence and a step-by-step process), see how to write a newsletter. This page is the shelf of examples. Find the row closest to what you send:
| If you're writing… | Real ones to study | Sample issue |
|---|---|---|
| If you're writing…A personal newsletter of links | Real ones to study5-Bullet Friday, Austin Kleon, Hacker Newsletter | Sample issueLink roundup |
| If you're writing…Essays or letters | Real ones to studyThe Marginalian, Letters from an American | Sample issuePersonal essay |
| If you're writing…Advice in your field | Real ones to study3-2-1, Lenny's Newsletter, Brain Food | Sample issueOne-lesson issue |
| If you're writing…A paid newsletter | Real ones to studyStratechery | Sample issueFree issue with a paid preview |
| If you're writing…News for a town or an industry | Real ones to studyMorning Brew | Sample issueLocal news briefing |
| If you're writing…The first email a subscriber gets | Real ones to studyAny of the above | Sample issueWelcome email |
| If you're writing…Product news for customers | Real ones to studyProducts you already pay for | Sample issueProduct update |
| If you're writing…A shop or small business | Real ones to studyShops you buy from | Sample issueSmall business newsletter |
| If you're writing…A nonprofit | Real ones to studyCharities you give to | Sample issueDonor update |
| If you're writing…Your own colleagues | Real ones to studyYour company's last five issues | Sample issueEmployee newsletter |
Writing to parents instead? The classroom newsletter template has a full weekly update for a class.
Ten real newsletters worth studying
Each of these is described from its own signup or about page, checked in November 2026. Subscribe to two or three that are close to your idea and read five issues in a row: the structure shows up faster than it does in any one issue.
- 3-2-1, James Clear — Every Thursday: three short ideas from Clear, two quotes from other people and one question for the reader. Borrow the numbered structure, which tells readers how long the issue is before they open it.
- 5-Bullet Friday, Tim Ferriss — Every Friday, a very short email of “the five coolest things I've found that week”: books, gadgets, articles, tricks. The issues aren't posted on his blog. Borrow the fixed count, and give people a reason to subscribe rather than read it on the web.
- Austin Kleon's newsletter — “A weekly list of 10 things worth sharing,” from the author of Steal Like an Artist, with the latest issue linked from the signup page. Borrow the list as the whole format, and let undecided readers see an issue first.
- The Marginalian, Maria Popova — A Sunday digest of the week's new essays, plus a separate Wednesday edition that reaches into the archive to “resurface one piece worth resavoring.” Borrow the second, lighter edition built from work you have already done.
- Letters from an American, Heather Cox Richardson — “A newsletter about the history behind today's politics,” written by a professor of American history. Borrow the single lens: one expert reading the news through what they know best.
- Morning Brew — Business news “from Wall St. to Silicon Valley,” with a promise on its homepage that reading it takes five minutes. Borrow the reading-time promise, and keep it in every issue.
- Stratechery, Ben Thompson — Analysis of the strategy and business side of technology and media. The weekly articles are free; three Daily Updates a week are for subscribers only. Borrow a free tier that shows the quality of the paid one.
- Hacker Newsletter, Kale Davis — A weekly roundup of the best articles on startups, technology and programming from the Hacker News site, hand-curated since 2010. Borrow curation from one busy source that readers can't keep up with themselves.
- Lenny's Newsletter, Lenny Rachitsky — A “deeply researched advice column” about building product, growth and careers; paid subscribers get every issue and the archive. The about page even links a template email for asking a manager to expense it. Borrow that: if readers could pay from a work budget, write the email for them.
- Brain Food, Farnam Street — A Sunday newsletter that says it takes only a few minutes to read, with ideas to use in work and life. Borrow the cadence and the reading time stated together, so the signup form answers both questions at once.
Look at what is missing from that list: none of them is "news and updates from us." Each one names a reader, a fixed shape and a reason to open it this week. The samples below try to do the same for the kinds of newsletters most people actually have to write.
If you draft in Strokes, save one issue from the list as a file, attach it to a chat with the Strokes Assistant and ask it to list the issue's sections in order. That list is the skeleton for your own.
Newsletters from one writer
Personal newsletters live on voice and taste. The format has to be light enough to fill every week and specific enough that a stranger knows what they are signing up for.
Link roundup example
From: Priya Raman, Footnotes
Subject: Five links for food writers, and the recipe test I now use
Preview: Plus a reader's box of 1950s church cookbooks, scanned page by page
Hi, it's Friday. Five things worth your time if you write about food.
1. How a cookbook editor tests a recipe. A twelve-point checklist from someone who has tested thousands. I've started using point 7: cook it from the page, never from memory. [Link]
2. An oral history of a diner. Twenty regulars on the last week of a counter that closed after 40 years. Read it for the interviewing. [Link]
3. Grams or cups? Two editors argue it out. Neither wins, and the comments are the best part. [Link]
4. Restaurant slang, A to Z. Useful if your characters work a line. [Link]
5. Church cookbooks, scanned. A reader sent me her grandmother's box of them. Lose an evening. [Link]
Your turn: what's the best food sentence you read this month? Reply and I'll share three next Friday.
Priya
You signed up at footnotes.example. Unsubscribe · [Postal address]
Why it works. The recurring promise is five things worth a food writer's time, every Friday. What Priya actually sends is five links, each with a sentence on why it's worth the click, some with her own verdict, and one question for readers. That sentence per link is the difference between a roundup and a bookmarks folder. The bold labels let a reader scan the five in seconds. The ask is a question a reader can answer from memory, and the answers become next week's material.
Personal essay newsletter example
From: Dana Whitfield, The 6:15
Subject: The man who reads the same book every morning
Preview: Eleven weeks, one paperback, and what I finally asked him
For eleven weeks, the man in the third seat of the 6:15 has read the same paperback. Not the same kind of book. The same copy, its spine white with creases, its cover gone soft as cloth.
On Tuesday I asked him what it was. He turned it over: a field guide to North American birds, a 1966 edition. “My wife's,” he said. “She checked off every bird she saw.” He is reading her checkmarks, one page a morning, and he has 200 pages left.
Most of what I write here is about the work of noticing. He has been doing it at 6:15 every morning, more carefully than I ever have.
Next week: the woman who knits on the 7:40 and never finishes anything.
Dana
You signed up at the615.example. Unsubscribe · [Postal address]
Why it works. The recurring promise is one person from the morning commute each week, watched closely, in a letter about the work of noticing. What Dana actually sends is a short essay with one scene and one turn, and a line naming next week's person. It opens in that scene, with one image (the white spine) instead of a paragraph of greeting. The essay has one turn and says what it means in one sentence, then stops. The last line before the sign-off promises the next issue, so the reader knows what they are waiting for. A letter like this lives on its tone of voice, so the subject line sounds like the writer, too.
One-lesson newsletter example
From: Ruth Adeyemi, Line Item
Subject: One sentence that fixes a vague grant budget
Preview: A before and after from a real application, shared with permission
This week's fix takes one sentence.
The problem. Budget narratives that describe categories instead of costs: “Funds will support program supplies and materials.”
The fix. Give the item, the quantity, the unit price and the reason in one sentence: “$1,440 buys 120 workbooks at $12 each, one per student across two cohorts.”
Why it works. A reviewer can check the math without emailing you, and the reason ties the cost to your objectives.
Try it. Rewrite one line of your current budget this way and reply with it. I'll fix three in next week's issue.
Ruth
You signed up at lineitem.example. Unsubscribe · [Postal address]
Why it works. One technique, one before and one after: a reader can use it the same day. The labels are the same every week, so regulars know where to look. The homework doubles as the writer's source of next week's examples, which solves the hardest part of a lesson newsletter, the backlog of topics.
Free issue with a paid preview
From: Sam Ortiz, Rate Card
Subject: What 212 freelancers charged in October
Preview: The free summary, and what paid readers get on Thursday
Every month I ask Rate Card readers what they charged and what they were paid. In October, 212 of you answered. The short version, free for everyone:
- The median rate readers reported for a 1,000-word article was $600, up from $550 in September.
- About a third raised a rate this month, mostly with new clients rather than existing ones.
- Late payment was again the top complaint.
For paid subscribers on Thursday: the full table by field and country, the three emails readers used to raise their rates, and a version you can copy.
[Button: Get Thursday's issue, $7 a month]
Sam
You signed up at ratecard.example. Unsubscribe · [Postal address]
Why it works. The free issue is worth reading on its own, which gives free readers a reason to stay long enough to consider paying. The paid part is described as three specific things on a named day, not as "exclusive content," and the button carries the price, so nobody clicks to find out. Both Substack and Beehiiv let a post show a preview above a paywall; if you are choosing between them, see Substack vs Beehiiv.
News and local briefings
A briefing is judged on speed and trust. The reader wants to know what happened, what it means for them and what to do, in the time it takes to drink a coffee.
Local news briefing example
From: The Ashby Morning
Subject: School board votes on bus cuts tonight
Preview: Also: the Main Street detour ends Friday, and a 14-year-old's chess title
Good morning. It's Tuesday, Oct. 12. Here's Ashby in four minutes.
The big one. The school board votes at 7 p.m. on cutting three bus routes to close a $410,000 budget gap. About 260 students ride them. Public comment starts at 6:30 at the district office, 18 Pine St. [Read the proposal]
Also today. The Main Street detour ends Friday, two weeks early, the city says. The library's book sale runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; everything is $1.
Weather. Clear, high of 61. Frost possible tonight.
One good thing. Ava Kowalski, 14, won the state junior chess title on Sunday. She learned at the library's Thursday club.
Know someone who'd want this? Forward it. Got a tip? Reply to this email.
Joe and Carmen
The Ashby Morning is free and supported by the local businesses named in each issue. Unsubscribe · [Postal address]
Why it works. The date and the reading time set the promise in the first line. The lead item says what is happening, why it matters in two numbers and what a reader can do about it tonight; that second sentence is the nut graf. Fixed labels make the issue skimmable, and the attribution (“the city says”) is there even in a one-line item.
Welcome email example
From: The Ashby Morning
Subject: Welcome to The Ashby Morning: here's how it works
Thanks for signing up. Starting tomorrow, Ashby's news arrives by 6 a.m., Monday to Friday, in about four minutes.
Every issue has the same parts: The big one, the story that matters most today; Also today; Weather; and One good thing.
Three things to know. It's free, paid for by local businesses we name in every issue. We correct mistakes at the top of the next issue. And a reply to any email reaches Joe or Carmen, who read every one.
So tomorrow's issue lands where you'll see it, move this email to your main inbox.
See you at 6.
Why it works. It answers the three questions a new subscriber has: when it comes, what is in it and why to trust it. The section names appear before the first issue does, so that issue feels familiar. The one ask is practical. For a creator's version on Substack, with the welcome email settings, see how to start a Substack.
Business newsletter examples
A business newsletter competes with the reader's own work. It earns its place by telling customers something that changes what they do next: a feature to try, an event to book, a book to hold.
Product update newsletter example
From: Grace at Fernway
Subject: Fernway now splits invoices into payments (plus 3 fixes)
Preview: Turn it on in Settings > Invoices. Included in every plan.
Hi Jordan,
New: split an invoice into payments. Clients can now pay a large invoice in up to four installments on dates you set, and Fernway reminds them before each one. Turn it on in Settings > Invoices. It's included in every plan at no extra cost. [Watch the two-minute video]
Also fixed this month. Exported PDFs keep your logo at full resolution. Searching by client name now finds archived invoices. The mobile app no longer signs you out after an update.
Coming in December: reports by project. Want early access? Reply “projects” and we'll add you.
Grace Liu, Product, Fernway
You're getting this because you have a Fernway account. Email preferences · Unsubscribe · [Postal address]
Why it works. One feature leads, with what it does, where to find it and what it costs, the three things a customer checks. Smaller fixes are a short paragraph, not a changelog. The ask is a one-word reply that also tells the team who wants the next feature. The full detail belongs in your release notes; the newsletter links to them.
Small business newsletter example
From: Hollis Street Books
Subject: November at Hollis Street: two readings, and the pie cookbook is back
Preview: Plus the staff pick Marcus has handed to nine people this week
Hi from the shop,
Readings. Thursday, Nov. 4, at 7 p.m.: Lena Ford reads from her debut, a novel set on a Maine ferry. Free; reserve a seat. [Reserve] Saturday, Nov. 20, at 11 a.m.: story time with the author of Gus Gets Lost, for ages 3 to 6.
Back in stock. The pie cookbook that sold out twice last fall. We have 14 signed copies. [Hold one]
Staff pick. A quiet novel about a lighthouse keeper's daughter, which Marcus has handed to nine customers in a week. [Read his note]
Come in out of the cold. The coffee's on.
Ana, Marcus and Lee
You signed up at the counter or on our website. Unsubscribe · [Postal address]
Why it works. A shop newsletter is closer to a noticeboard than a letter, so each item gets its own link, and the order sets the priority. Every event line carries the day, the date, the time, the price and who it is for. The scarcity is real and counted (14 copies), and the staff names make it sound like the shop rather than a brand.
Nonprofit and internal newsletters
These two have captive readers, donors and staff, which makes it easy to write them carelessly. Both work best when they report results and changes rather than activity.
Nonprofit donor update example
From: Carla Ruiz, Westside Literacy Project
Subject: What your gifts did in October: 41 adults, 312 tutoring hours
Preview: And the student who read her lease out loud
Dear friends,
In October, 41 adults met their volunteer tutors for a total of 312 hours. Six finished level one, which means they can now read a bus schedule, a prescription label and a lease.
One of them is Rosa, who is 58 and cleans offices at night. She came to us in May because she was tired of signing papers she couldn't read. Last week she read her new lease aloud to her tutor, start to finish, asked about one clause, and signed it. (Rosa asked us to share her story.)
What a gift does: $25 buys a month of workbooks for one learner. $150 trains a new tutor.
[Button: Give $25]
Thank you for being part of this,
Carla Ruiz, Executive Director
You're receiving this as a supporter of Westside Literacy Project. Unsubscribe · [Postal address]
Why it works. The subject line and the first paragraph report results in numbers, not activities. One person's story, told with her consent, shows what the numbers mean. The gift amounts are tied to things a donor can picture, and there is one button.
Employee newsletter example
From: People team
Subject: Friday Five: 16 weeks of parental leave, holiday dates and the espresso machine
Preview: Two minutes, five items, one form due Dec. 1
Happy Friday. Five things, two minutes.
1. Parental leave goes to 16 weeks for every employee, starting Jan. 1. The details and an FAQ are on the intranet; questions to Dana in People.
2. Benefits enrollment closes Wednesday, Dec. 1. If you do nothing, your current plan carries over. [The form]
3. Office closed Thursday and Friday, Nov. 25 and 26, and from Dec. 24 through Jan. 1.
4. Welcome to Kofi (Support), Inés (Engineering) and Pat (Finance). Say hello in the kitchen.
5. Hero of the week: Lou from Facilities, who took the espresso machine apart and put it back together. It works.
Have a good weekend. The People team
Why it works. The item that changes pay or time off comes first, and the deadline has a day and a date. The count and the reading time are in the subject and the preview, and the issue keeps both. The welcome and the espresso machine give people a reason to open it on the weeks when nothing big has changed.
What the best examples share
What the strong examples do
- A fixed shape and count: three ideas, five bullets, ten things
- The most useful item first, where readers who stop early still see it
- A sentence on why every link or item matters
- One ask, or one link per item when the issue is a noticeboard
- A named person in the From line or the sign-off
- A subject line that says what is inside, and an issue that delivers it
What makes an issue easy to skip
- “News and updates,” with a different shape every time
- A paragraph about how busy the month was, before anything useful
- A list of bare links
- Three competing buttons: donate, follow, shop
- “Team” or “no-reply” as the sender
- A clever subject line the issue doesn't pay off
The subject line is the part most worth rewriting; the headline examples include a set of email subject lines. If you haven't named your newsletter yet, the newsletter name ideas sort 200 of them by niche.
Frequently asked questions
What should be included in an email newsletter?
A recognizable From name, a subject line that says what is inside, preview text, the most useful item first, a few shorter items under the same labels each time, one clear ask and a footer. For commercial email in the US, the footer needs an opt-out link and a valid postal address.
How many items should a newsletter have?
Enough to fill the shape you promised, and the same number every time. Fixed counts work well: 3-2-1 has six items, 5-Bullet Friday has five and Austin Kleon's newsletter has ten. A briefing can run a lead and a few short items; a letter can be one piece.
Can I copy another newsletter's format?
Borrowing a structure, such as a fixed number of items or a Sunday edition built from the archive, is a normal way to find a shape. Copying another writer's words, name or design is a different matter. Make the sections, labels and voice your own, and credit any idea you lift directly.
