How to Start a Newsletter in 2025

Starting in 2025, major email providers like Gmail and Yahoo changed the game—and it's essential you stay ahead. Have you ever wondered why some emails land straight in the spam folder? The answer often starts with authentication. Today, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC aren't just best practices—they’re required. Gmail and Yahoo now enforce these protocols strictly, and if you're sending at least 5,000 emails per day, messages that don’t pass DMARC alignment risk being bounced or blocked altogether.

But what do these letters even mean? SPF (Sender Policy Framework) verifies that the mail is coming from an allowed server for your domain. DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) stamps your emails with a cryptographic signature linked to your domain—so recipients can trust that the contents haven’t been tampered with. And DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) ties it all together: it tells receiving servers what to do when SPF or DKIM checks fail, plus it sends you valuable reports about messages that passed or failed.

What about unsubscribing—does it really make a difference? Absolutely. Gmail and Yahoo now expect a one-click unsubscribe option. Without it, you're risking user frustration—and potential deliverability issues—even if you’re a smaller sender.

And speaking of user frustration, did you know that mailbox providers expect spam complaints to stay extremely low? Too many “this is spam” marks—and you could be cut off. The official threshold is 0.3% (that’s just three complaints for every 1,000 emails), but smart senders aim for around 0.1% to stay on the safe side.

Let's talk metrics: is open rate still king? Not anymore. Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) automatically prefetches email content—including tracking pixels—whether or not a subscriber actually opens the email. That means open rates can look perfect, but they’re often misleading. In some segments, up to 75% of reported opens can be artificial. So, what should you measure instead? Think clicks, click-throughs, conversions—real engagement, not inflated numbers.

Before you even think about design or platforms, the most important step is knowing exactly why your newsletter exists. Ask yourself: who are you writing for? If your audience is entrepreneurs, they might want insights, tools, and case studies that help them grow their businesses. If your readers are everyday consumers, they may prefer quick tips, special offers, or curated news they can use right away. The clearer you are about your audience, the easier it becomes to shape every issue around their needs.

But what will make readers open your newsletter week after week? Think about the specific value they’ll get each time. Will you provide industry news they can’t find anywhere else? Step-by-step tips that solve everyday problems? Or maybe exclusive offers that make them feel like insiders? If you don’t give them a reason to keep coming back, why should they stay subscribed?

Then comes frequency—the part most people overlook. How often should you send your newsletter? A weekly newsletter can keep you top of mind, but are you sure you’ll have enough fresh content to maintain that rhythm? Bi-weekly or monthly may work better if your content requires more depth or analysis. Remember, consistency matters more than frequency. It’s better to show up once a month with high-quality content than to rush out something every week that feels thin.

When you define your audience, clarify the value you’ll provide, and commit to a realistic publishing schedule, you give your newsletter a strong foundation. Without this clarity, even the most beautifully designed emails risk falling flat.

Choose the Right Platform

So, how do you pick the best tool for your 2025 newsletter? The choice can be overwhelming with so many options—Mailchimp, Beehiiv, ConvertKit, Brevo, Substack, and others all vying for attention. But the real decision comes down to aligning features with your goals.

Wondering about cost? Mailchimp offers a free plan for small lists—up to 500 contacts—and paid plans start around $20/month, scaling steeply as you grow. ConvertKit’s Creator Pro plan begins near $25/month for about 300 subscribers but ramps up to several hundred dollars for larger audiences. Beehiiv stands out by offering a generous free tier and paid plans around $39 to $199/month depending on your subscriber count and needs.

What about advanced automation? If your focus is on building workflows, drip sequences, or personalised campaigns, platforms like Brevo shine—they’re budget-friendly, intuitive, and let you segment and automate without breaking the bank.

Or maybe multilingual support matters most. Does your newsletter need Arabic or right-to-left (RTL) layout options? Not all tools offer this. MailerLite is one that does support RTL and makes building bilingual emails smoother.

Looking for simplicity and monetisation features? Substack may catch your eye—it’s free to start, easy to use, and has built-in monetization if you decide to charge readers. But it doesn’t offer advanced automation or deep design flexibility, so think carefully about what long-term growth looks like for you.

In short, ask yourself: what are your absolute must-haves (budget, automation, RTL, ease-of-use, monetization)? Then match them to:

Mailchimp for a familiar all-rounder with growth potential.
ConvertKit for creators who need subscription tools and deeper creator-focused workflows.
Beehiiv for generous free plans plus scalability.
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) if affordability and automation are key.
MailerLite for seamless RTL support and content blocks.
Substack for simplicity and built-in monetization—great for getting started, if you don’t need customization.

Build and Grow Your Email List

Before you hit “send,” let’s talk about something even more important: building your audience. After all, a great newsletter is nothing without people to read it. But how do you grow that list the right way?

Have you ever landed on a website and saw an abrupt popup begging for your email—and immediately felt uneasy? That’s what you want to avoid. Instead, think about where and why someone might want to share their email with you. Could it be through a well-designed signup form in your site footer, or a dedicated landing page offering a useful resource? Maybe it’s an exclusive checklist or a mini-guide—something that solves a problem for them right away—and in exchange, they get your insights delivered straight to their inbox. These are known as lead magnets, and they work beautifully to attract subscribers who genuinely care about what you offer.

What about more interactive ways to grow your list? Events are another powerful channel. Whether it’s hosting a virtual webinar, an in-person panel, or even partnering with a local Dubai-based business to co-create an event—these give you a chance to connect with your ideal audience. During registration, you can ask attendees to sign up for your newsletter (of course, with clear opt-in wording and an easy unsubscribe option). That way, you’re giving value first and building a subscriber base that’s already warmed up to you.

Speaking of opt-in: let me ask—would you ever buy an email list from a shady provider promising thousands of subscribers overnight? I certainly hope not! Purchased lists are a fast track to low engagement, spam complaints, and potential blacklist warnings. Instead, permission-based signups—where people explicitly choose to subscribe—are your safest, most sustainable path forward. These subscribers are more likely to engage, less likely to mark your emails as spam, and they’ll trust you as a sender.

And let’s not forget the power of subtle nudges too. A “Join our newsletter” field at the end of a blog post or a small, unobtrusive form in your website’s sidebar can add up over time without disrupting the user experience. The trick is to make the signup feel like a benefit—something people are opting into because they expect real value, not because they’re trapped in a marketing funnel.

So—what’s your go-to tactic? Will you lure readers with a helpful ebook, webinar, or downloadable inside guide? Perhaps all three, layered across your blog, website, and events? No matter your methods, just remember: list growth is about quality, not quantity. Nurture that opt-in culture, and your newsletter will become a trusted resource instead of just another inbox clutter.

Set Up Your Domain and Deliverability

Your newsletter’s reliability starts long before hitting “send.” Ever wondered why some newsletters vanish into spam folders while others land in the main inbox? It all begins with sending from your own authenticated domain.

Think of using something like newsletter.yourbrand.com—doesn’t that feel more professional than a generic @gmail.com or @yourprovider.com? It also sends a clear trust signal to inbox providers.

But that’s just the start. Have you set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC yet? These acronyms are your email authentication heroes:

SPF tells mail services which servers are allowed to send emails on your behalf.
DKIM locks in your email with a digital signature so nobody can tamper with it.
DMARC wraps them up, guiding inbox providers on how to treat emails that fail these checks—and sends reports so you can improve.

Without them, your emails lose credibility fast.

Once authentication is solid, what’s next? It's time to warm up that domain—especially if it's brand new or rarely used. Sending too many emails at once can trigger spam filters. Instead, start with a small batch of your most engaged subscribers and slowly build up over several weeks. In the early stages, begin with a few hundred emails per day, then carefully grow—say, up to thousands by week 3 or 4—while keeping spam complaints super low. This gradual approach helps mailbox providers see you as trustworthy.

But how do you know if your plan is working?

That’s where Google Postmaster Tools comes in. This free tool gives you a dashboard view of how Gmail views your domain’s health: spam rate, domain reputation, authentication success, IP reputation, and delivery errors. Want to know how to get started? Add and verify your sending domain via a TXT record in your DNS, then check the dashboards as they populate. If any red flags appear—say high spam complaints or failed authentication—you’ll catch them early.

Create and Design Your Content

Once your domain setup is complete, it’s time to focus on the content itself—and design plays a huge role in whether people will actually read what you send. Most emails today are opened on phones, so a mobile-friendly layout is non-negotiable. A single-column design, readable fonts, and buttons that are easy to tap make your newsletter accessible and pleasant to browse. Simplicity is what gets people scrolling.

The first impression always comes from your subject line and preheader text. A subject line should spark curiosity or deliver value in just a few words, while the preheader acts like a supporting tagline, adding context before the reader even opens the email. Together, they determine whether your message earns attention or gets buried in the inbox.

Inside the email, focus on readability. Short paragraphs, headers, and occasional bullet points make the content easy to scan quickly. Light visuals—like an image, icon, or infographic—help break up text, but keep file sizes small to ensure fast loading on mobile.

Every newsletter also needs a clear call-to-action (CTA). Do you want readers to click a link, register for an event, or make a purchase? Highlight it with a button or bold link that stands out naturally within the design. A strong CTA doesn’t just close the loop—it gives your audience a reason to take the next step.

Track Results and Improve

Once your newsletter is up and running, measuring performance becomes the key to growth. Open rates used to be the gold standard, but with new privacy protections in place, they’re no longer a reliable metric. Instead, shift your attention to the actions that show true engagement.

Clicks and conversions reveal how well your content resonates. Are readers interacting with the links you include? Are they signing up for events, downloading resources, or completing purchases? These numbers give you a clear picture of how effective each issue is in moving people closer to your goals.

Unsubscribe rates also carry important signals. A few unsubscribes are normal, but a sudden spike could mean your content isn’t matching expectations, or you’re sending too frequently. Monitoring this helps you adjust before engagement drops further.

Improvement often comes down to testing. Subject lines can be A/B tested to see which style generates more clicks. Layouts can be tweaked to highlight content differently. Even sending times can be adjusted—are readers more active in the morning, during lunch breaks, or later in the evening? The data will tell you.

Finally, keep looking at trends over time rather than obsessing over a single send. Consistency in improvement—higher click-through rates, steady conversions, fewer unsubscribes—will show that your newsletter is building a loyal readership.

A newsletter in 2025 can be one of the most powerful ways to connect with people—if it’s done with clarity and care. By focusing on purpose, choosing the right tools, and paying attention to both design and deliverability, you set yourself apart in a crowded inbox. Keep your approach simple, consistent, and valuable, and your newsletter won’t just be opened—it will be remembered.