Seven Keys to Newsletters People Read: Open Rates to Aim For and How to Structure Them

The email newsletter is one of the activities you cannot do without in B2B marketing.
Chat tools such as LINE are now common for communication, but used well a newsletter is an effective tool that delivers solid results.

Even so, there are plenty of problems around how to write one and how to improve it: “I don’t know what kind of newsletter people read”, “I can’t tell whether it is working”.

So this article starts with seven things that make a newsletter people actually read.

1. The newsletter is a tool for nurturing prospects

Start by understanding where the newsletter sits as an activity.
As the diagram below shows, in B2B marketing the newsletter does its work at the lead nurturing stage.

Lead nurturing is the marketing approach of raising a captured lead’s appetite to enquire or buy, so that it leads to an order later on.

※The article below covers the specific methods and steps of lead nurturing in more detail. Do read it alongside this one.
Related article:
What is lead nurturing? Methods and steps, explained in full

As a push-based nurturing tool, a newsletter lets you control who receives it, what it says and when it goes out.

2. Four characteristics of a newsletter

As described above, a newsletter contributes to revenue by nurturing the leads you have captured. It has the characteristics below and is relatively easy to set up and run, so it is worth trying.

• It is easy to get started
• It keeps sales costs down
• It lets you follow up with prospects continuously
• It is easy to improve through repeated cycles

3. Aim for an open rate above 15%

A newsletter open rate of 10% is the usual benchmark.
Newsletters that are widely read reach 15% or more.

The open rate is calculated as follows.
Open rate (%) = opens ÷ delivered × 100

To measure open rates and click rates,
you use HTML email together with an analytics tool or an email delivery tool.

Look at the other measures alongside the open rate.

4. Seven things that make a newsletter people read

4.1 Be clear about the target and the purpose

Start by setting the target and the purpose of the send.
Even within one industry, companies sometimes fall into different segments, so
decide in advance how finely you will split your sends.
Vary what you send according to who you are sending to. The basis for that
is how far nurturing has progressed; think in two or three stages.

4.2 Match the message to the target

Work out the message to fit the purpose and target you set in 4.1.
You also need to think about whose voice the email goes out in.
Sending something entirely unrelated, or pitched at the wrong level of warmth,
leaves a bad impression instead, so take care.

4.3 Make it feel human

Make the subject line, the subheading and the opening feel as human as you can.
That makes the reader feel closer to you, which raises engagement.
Make it read as far as possible like one-to-one communication, with wording such as “Dear [name]”
as well.

4.4 Stick to one message per email

It depends on the purpose and the audience, but as a rule keep to one message per email.
Where there is a topic you want clicked in particular, concentrate on that one piece of content
and bring the drop-off rate down.
From an analysis point of view too, when there are several topics
you can no longer tell which one landed with the reader and which did not, so
avoid it where you can.

4.5 Write it as HTML email

Build the newsletter in HTML.
As explained in 4.3, plain email gives you no way to measure open rates or click rates.
It also lets you add images and other styling, which makes it easier to read.
There are two ways to get HTML email: build it yourself, or use a free or paid newsletter delivery tool.

4.6 Write a readable subject line and body

Write a subject line whose content and copy catch enough interest for the reader to open it.
Break the body into sections and make it easier to read with bold text, colour and so on.
With HTML email it is tempting to use a lot of colour
and cram in content, but stick to readability and one message per email.

4.7 Give prospects information that is useful to them

Beyond matching the content to the target, send information that
benefits the prospect and is useful to them.
Sending promotional material such as service descriptions and announcements again and again leaves a poor impression instead, so take care.

5. What goes in a newsletter and how it is structured

・Subject line
　The subject line should make it clear at a glance what the newsletter is about, and it should spark interest by stating the benefit the reader gets.
・Header
　Put an image or a Gif in the header to give an otherwise text-only newsletter some appeal.
Use the same wording and image every time so readers come to recognise it visually
・Lead paragraph
　In the opening, write a greeting and a lead paragraph that feel human.
・Body
　Break lines where it helps readability, set the points you want to highlight in bold, and so on
・CTA
　Tell readers who made it to the end what you want them to do next
・Footer
　Keep it the same every time, and include sender details and how to unsubscribe

HubSpot is our recommendation for a newsletter tool
What is HubSpot’s email newsletter feature? How to build one, how to measure it and what it costs [2026]

※An email newsletter tool, or MA tool, does more than send one message to everyone at once. For practical steps on using an MA tool to automate when, to whom and which email goes out according to customer behaviour, and to lift sales efficiency sharply, see the article below as well.
Related article:
Four steps to lead nurturing with an MA tool, and three points for success

6. A checklist for newsletters people read

Thank you for reading this far.
This article covered how to write a newsletter people read.
From here, send real newsletters and test which content, send times and recipient lists work best for you, then build your own best practice.

We have put together a checklist to run through before you send,
so download it below and put it to use.