Blog
Guides on getting a newsletter into the inbox and keeping it there, written by the person who tests every template on this site.
Deliverability
- Guide Email deliverability: the complete guide for newslettersHow newsletter deliverability works in Gmail, Yahoo and Outlook: authentication, the 2024 sender rules, spam rates, list care and testing.
- SPF, DKIM and DMARC explained for newsletter writersWhat SPF, DKIM and DMARC do, which records a newsletter needs, how alignment works, and how to check your setup before your next send.
Email verification
Design and format
- Guide Newsletter format: the complete guideHow to choose and build a newsletter format: the main types, structure, length, layout, subject and preheader, images, plain text and the technical limits.
- Custom HTML email templates: which platforms accept themKit, Mailchimp, MailerLite, Brevo, Buttondown, MailCheap, beehiiv and Substack: which accept a custom HTML email template, on which plan, and what they strip.
- Email preheader: what it is and how to write oneWhat an email preheader is, where it appears, how long it can be, how to add a hidden preheader in HTML and how to write one that earns the open.
- Gmail clipped message: why it happens and how to fix itWhy Gmail shows "Message clipped" on newsletters over 102 KB, what gets hidden, how to measure your HTML weight and how to bring it down.
- Newsletter subject lines that get openedHow to write newsletter subject lines that get opened without hurting deliverability: clarity, consistency, length, the preheader pair and what to avoid.
- Plain text vs HTML emails: what our tests showPlain text vs HTML emails for newsletters: what each really means, what one same-list comparison showed, and when a designed issue is still the right choice.