Here’s a question: What does Gen Z have to do with your B2B newsletter?
Basically everything.
For all the values the younger generation fights for in TikTok reels — you know, ethical responsibility, authenticity, being treated like an actual human — they get a pretty unfair rap. The conceptual backbone woven through their generational identity is far from novel or new.
In fact, it’s practically all modern marketing talks about. So, let’s tune in to Gen Z warriors’ messages and see what their moral compass can teach us about the B2B newsletter glow-up.
Make Your B2B Newsletter “Lit”: Gen Z’s Teachings
If Gen Z could leave a single imprint on the world, it’d probably be “work smart, not hard.” Or, perhaps, “go digital — save the trees.”
This ethos translates to our B2B newsletters. In marketing speak, it may read as “keep it simple” and “everyone’s on email these days.” Here’s what else we can learn from the digital generation:
Cool: Keep It Visual
Most of us have short attention spans. And it turns out they’re getting shorter. In 2022, readers spent an average of 9 seconds skimming an email — a 33% decrease from the read time in 2018, according to a Litmus study.
So, bring out your favorite cat memes, infographics and other visual marketing assets to captivate during those precious seconds. If you do have more lengthy concepts to discuss, link a blog article or news release.
Cool: Make It About Them
Most of us are bombarded with emails every day. Competition for your readers’ attention is fierce. Hyperfocus your B2B newsletter on your audience, or in other words, tailor the messaging to what they seek from you.
71% of consumers expect a personalized brand experience, which might be your call to get on a first-name basis or segment your email subscribers. Fortunately, this doesn’t have to be hard, which brings me to the next point.
Cool: Be As Lazy as Reasonably Possible
Most of us want a light workload and now we’ve got AI tools to help automate our B2B marketing. If your newsletter subscribers are 100+, take advantage of automation tools to help manage your email list.
Want to send personalized newsletters at scale? AI can segment your subscribers into multiple lists, so your B2B newsletter brings content they’re more likely to engage with. Another example, consider your list of cold subscribers. If someone hasn’t engaged with your content in weeks or months, AI can automatically remove them. A solid list of engaged readers makes your newsletter metrics that much more meaningful.
Cool: Overthink Everything
Most of us don’t want to — but have a tendency to — overthink. And you should too, when it comes to your B2B newsletter. Computers do a lot of thinking for us, including measuring your newsletter’s marketing impact and engagement levels.
Apply this information. Focus on what’s working and optimize what’s not. Run A/B tests and polish your newsletter until it reflects your brand and B2B audience.
Cool: Yap — But Only When Appropriate
Most of us want to feel connected. Your audience is looking for personality to shine through. Ensure your copy reflects your brand values, tone of voice and style of connection. Should readers feel like they’re joking with a friend or devouring a high-level summary as they read?
Not Cool: Information Overload
Most of us love short emails. Make space for character in your newsletter, but keep the actual yapping to a minimum. There’s no one-size-fits-all “length” for an email, but B2B email marketing best practices suggest that aiming for 200-300 words should convey your message in sufficient detail.
Not Cool: Poor Mobile Optimization
Most of us are reading email newsletters on our phones. In 2024, it’s borderline sacrilegious to send an email that’s not optimized for mobile. Slow load times and unfriendly layouts are a surefire way to reduce read time and future open rates.
Not Cool: Ignoring The Subject Line
Speaking of open rates, your subject line is the glimmer of gold that makes your audience want to read more. Make it bolder, splashier and more poignant than the rest of the noise in their inbox. Steer clear of clickbait and look to subject line A/B testing if your open rates are low at first.
Not Cool: Failing To Address Pain Points
Every single subscriber has joined your newsletter circulation for a reason. Find out what that reason is, whether through analyzing metrics or just asking outright. Once you understand your audience’s pain points, hit them head-on in every issue.
B2B Newsletter Examples To Set the Tone
So, we’ve gone over the basics. Want to see the best B2B email newsletters nailing these practices? Here are some to draw inspiration from:
The Content Marketer
The Content Marketer is a weekly newsletter of curated content, sent out to a list of 235,000+ subscribers. It’s strategically filled with a ton of bright, engaging visuals that link back to social media, YouTube, our blog and other content marketing assets. Here’s what you’ll find inside:
- Brafton articles.
- Social media posts.
- Employee highlights.
- Good reads we found on the web.
- Content marketing eBooks and guides.
- Animated videos.
This works well for three reasons: First, there’s minimal text, making it highly scannable. Second, it’s visually engaging and shows personality. And third, everything is clickable. The newsletter has a job and that’s to provide value and funnel traffic back to the website.
Ahrefs Digest
Ahrefs also sends out a weekly newsletter to over 284,000 SEOs and marketers. Inside, you’ll find actionable tips, tools and best practices (plus the odd meme or giveaway) to help improve your SEO strategy.
Here are some of its key features:
- Industry updates: Stay informed of the latest news and developments in SEO and digital marketing.
- Educational content: Access articles and case studies that offer insights into effective SEO strategies and tactics.
- Ahrefs highlights: Learn about new features, tools and updates from Ahrefs.
This newsletter is jam-packed full of digital marketing mileage, which reflects Ahrefs’ brand: educating, supporting and helping us stay ahead of industry trends.
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The Daily Carnage
As the name suggests, this B2B email marketing newsletter is overflowing with personality. Pittsburgh-based marketing agency, Carney, is not afraid of emojis, frank colloquialisms and reminiscent ads from the past. These make the newsletter fun. You’re also getting marketing tactics, polls, tools and news, which screams value.
But here’s where it gets interesting: Rather than just nailing an email newsletter and calling it a day, Carney did the unthinkable and transformed The Daily Carnage into an annual strategy-driven marketing conference, called The Yearly Carnage. This event brings experts to the B2B marketing world stage to impart wisdom about brand voice, client relationships and — you guessed it — email marketing, among others.
Addressing Writers Block: What To Talk About
There’s no hard and fast rule about what you have to put in your B2B marketing newsletter, but common themes thread throughout the good ones. Dive into these creative newsletter ideas to see what resonates with your brand:
- Company milestones: Celebrate big wins and establish authority in your niche by boasting recent achievements.
- Industry updates and trends: Show your brand is built on thought leadership by keeping subscribers as up-to-date on industry trends as you are. (Bonus points if you add original insights.)
- Customer wins and testimonials: Your email newsletter is a great place to give clients a shout-out, leveraging social proof and credibility.
- Behind the scenes and staff successes: Build trust and connection by introducing your staff and showing the hard work that goes on behind closed doors.
- Upcoming events and product releases: Have new releases coming to market? Let your subscribers know about it!
- Practical tips and how-tos: Include resources to help your audience improve. This could be marketing assets you own or a short list of tips.
- Content roundups: Link to valuable content — whether it’s from your blog or another.
- Polls: Get closer to your subscriber list (and segmentation goals) with marketing or opinion questions.
Why Should I Share B2B Newsletters?
All in all, it’s a highly cost-effective way to drive your marketing goals home. Most of us aren’t looking for a means to an end. People want to experience your brand. An effective B2B newsletter supports relationship-building with your audience by showing who you are and offering genuine value.
Where does that value come from? Content creation plays a big part. Sharing actionable insights from your blog articles or industry news in your circulation demonstrates thought leadership. This, in turn, encourages trust and engagement. Once you’ve built that trust, you can funnel more traffic to your website and ramp up conversions.
Keep It Real With Your B2B Newsletter
Take a page from Gen Z’s book and work smart, not hard. Go digital — spare the trees. A weekly or monthly newsletter is a virtually effortless way to develop your content strategy and nurture B2B buyers into your funnel, just to name a few.
And remember: The best B2B newsletter isn’t just seen and heard by your audience; it’ll also make readers feel validated. Stay authentic, get creative and inject serious rizz into your email circulations.