How to start a newsletter: A Tiny Guide to Growth

Thinking about starting a newsletter? It really boils down to four key stages: figuring out who you're talking to, nailing down your content strategy, getting the tech sorted, and then finally, launching and measuring what happens. For a B2B SaaS company, this isn't just about sending emails—it's about turning your inbox presence into a reliable channel that drives revenue and keeps customers from churning.

Why Your SaaS Needs a Newsletter (Like, Yesterday)

Let's be clear: we're not talking about blasting out company updates and hoping for the best. A modern, revenue-driving newsletter is a serious strategic asset, especially in the B2B SaaS world. It's one of the only channels you truly own, giving you a direct line to nurture leads, get new users hooked, and keep your paying customers happy.

This guide is your playbook. We're skipping the fluffy, generic advice to show you exactly how to build a newsletter that becomes a predictable engine for growth. This is about building a communication system that works for you around the clock, covering everything from the initial planning stages to scaling up, all with actionable steps designed for SaaS teams.

More Than Just Another Box to Check

If you see a newsletter as just another item on your marketing to-do list, you're missing the point. Its real power is in solving specific business problems at every single stage of the customer journey.

A well-oiled newsletter can:

• Nurture early-stage leads by delivering genuine value and proving your expertise long before they're even thinking about a demo.

• Onboard new trial users with targeted tips that help them hit that "aha!" moment faster, bumping up your activation rates.

• Drive feature adoption by showing your existing customers how to get the most out of your product with best practices and cool use cases.

• Slash churn by keeping your product top-of-mind and constantly reminding them of the value you provide.

The numbers don't lie. The newsletter space has absolutely exploded, with publishers sending a staggering 28 billion emails to over 255 million readers. And even with crowded inboxes, engagement is solid—open rates often hit 41% or higher. You're stepping into a channel where 71% of B2B marketers are already winning.

Before we dive into the nuts and bolts, let's summarize the core philosophy behind a successful SaaS newsletter. It's not just about sending emails; it's about building a system.

Key Pillars of a Successful SaaS Newsletter

Building on these pillars is what separates a newsletter that gets deleted from one that drives real business results.

This guide will give you the tactical details to make that happen. You'll learn how to set up critical authentication like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to make sure you land in the inbox, not the spam folder. With the right strategy, your newsletter can become one of the most powerful parts of your entire SaaS email marketing plan. Let's get started.

Define Your Audience and Nail Your Content Strategy

The best newsletters aren't just newsletters. They're a direct line to solving a specific problem for a very specific person. Before you even think about subject lines or send times, you need crystal clarity on who you're writing for and what they're struggling with.

This is especially true in B2B SaaS. Generic content gets ignored. Aiming for everyone means you resonate with no one.

Forget tired demographic buckets like "Marketers, age 30-45." To build a newsletter that actually drives revenue, you need to think in terms of behavior. What are people doing inside your product? What actions are they taking—or failing to take? This is where you'll find the gold. And of course, the whole thing starts with building your email list with the right people in the first place.

When you switch from demographics to behaviors, your newsletter stops feeling like a marketing blast and starts feeling like a personal, one-on-one consultation. The goal is to be so ridiculously relevant that your subscribers wonder if you're reading their minds.

Moving Beyond Basic Demographics

For any SaaS business, your richest source of truth is your own product data. How people use—or don't use—your app tells you exactly what they need. This lets you craft hyper-relevant content that nudges them toward success and shows them you get it.

Here are a few powerful behavioral segments you can build today:

• Activated Trial Users: These folks have kicked the tires and completed key onboarding steps, but they haven't pulled out their credit card yet. Your content for them should be all about demonstrating long-term value. Think advanced use cases and compelling case studies.

• At-Risk Accounts: Dive into your data. Find the users whose engagement is dropping off or who haven't logged in for 30 days. Your newsletter is a powerful re-engagement tool here. Hit them with a new feature announcement or an exclusive offer for a strategy call.

• Power Users by Feature: Identify the users who live inside one specific part of your product. These are your superfans. Send them exclusive tips, behind-the-scenes looks at upcoming improvements, and best practices related to that feature. It makes them feel like insiders.

Once you have these segments dialed in, you can map your content strategy directly to them. That starts with defining your content pillars.

Developing Your Content Pillars

Content pillars are the 2-4 core topics your newsletter will hit on again and again. These aren't random ideas; they live at the intersection of your audience's biggest problems and your product's most elegant solutions. They give your content a backbone and make sure every email reinforces your expertise.

A great way to brainstorm pillars is to map them to the customer lifecycle. What does someone need to hear when they're just getting to know you versus when they're a long-time advocate?

Let's use a project management SaaS tool as an example. Their pillars might look something like this:

1. Productivity Frameworks: High-level, strategic content that solves a broad problem. This is top-of-funnel stuff that attracts new subscribers (e.g., "How to Run More Efficient Team Meetings").

2. Product Best Practices: Tactical, in-the-weeds content for activated users. It shows them exactly how to use your tool to implement the frameworks you just taught them (e.g., "Using Our Meeting Template to Cut Prep Time in Half").

3. Customer Success Stories: Social proof that showcases ROI and sophisticated use cases. This is perfect for nurturing late-stage leads and reminding current customers why they pay you (e.g., "How Company X Slashed Project Overruns by 15%").

These pillars create a content engine that does more than just get opens and clicks. It actively moves people through their journey with your product.

If you need more help getting those first subscribers, we have a complete guide on how to build an email list from the ground up. Honestly, this foundational work on audience and content is the most important part of building a newsletter that actually moves the needle.

Build a Technical Foundation for Unbeatable Deliverability

Your content could be the best in the world, but it's completely useless if it lands in the spam folder. Building a newsletter that actually drives revenue starts with a rock-solid technical foundation. Deliverability—the art and science of getting your emails into the inbox—is everything.

This isn't about finding clever workarounds or gaming the system. It's about proving to inbox providers like Gmail and Outlook that you're a legitimate, trustworthy sender. If you neglect this part, even your most engaged subscribers might never see your messages. The whole process begins with mastering a few key email authentication protocols.

Demystifying Email Authentication: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC

Think of email authentication as your business's digital passport. It's a set of technical standards that verifies your identity, proving your emails are actually from you and haven't been hijacked or spoofed. For anyone serious about building a real audience, setting these up is non-negotiable.

Let's break them down in simple terms:

• SPF (Sender Policy Framework): This is basically a public list of all the servers authorized to send email on your behalf. It tells the world, "Only emails sent from these specific IP addresses are officially from me." It's your first line of defense against spammers trying to impersonate your domain.

• DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): This adds a unique digital signature to every single email you send. When the email arrives, the recipient's server checks this signature to make sure the message wasn't altered in transit. It's like a tamper-proof seal on a physical package.

• DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance): This is the final piece of the puzzle, the enforcer. It tells receiving servers what to do if an email fails the SPF or DKIM checks—either quarantine it (send to spam) or reject it outright. DMARC builds on the other two to provide the strongest layer of protection against phishing and spoofing.

Getting these three configured correctly is a massive signal to inbox providers that you're a responsible sender, which gives your sender reputation an immediate and direct boost. A comprehensive email marketing software can also help you find a tool that makes this technical setup much simpler.

Your Sender Reputation: Shared vs. Dedicated IPs

Your sender reputation is like a credit score for your email program. It's an invisible score that inbox providers assign to your domain based on your sending practices. A high score means your emails get VIP treatment and are more likely to land in the primary inbox. A low score can get you sent straight to spam jail.

A huge factor influencing this score is your IP address—the unique address you send emails from. You generally have two choices:

For most businesses just getting a newsletter off the ground, a shared IP from a reputable provider like SMASHSEND is the way to go. The key is to choose a provider that actively monitors its shared IP pools to weed out bad actors. As your list and sending volume grow, investing in a dedicated IP gives you complete control over your deliverability destiny.

The Essential Habit of List Cleaning

Finally, a crucial part of your technical foundation is simply maintaining a clean, engaged email list. Continuously sending emails to invalid addresses or people who never open them sends a wave of negative signals to inbox providers, slowly chipping away at your reputation. A clean list is a healthy list.

Regularly cleaning your list means removing subscribers who have gone cold. I know it sounds counterintuitive—why would you want fewer subscribers? Because a smaller, highly engaged list will always, always outperform a large, disengaged one. High open rates and click-through rates are powerful positive signals that boost your deliverability across the board.

If you really want to dive deep into this, our guide on email deliverability best practices covers it all.

As a rule of thumb, aim to prune your list at least twice a year. You'll want to remove subscribers who haven't opened an email in the last 90-120 days. Most modern email platforms can automate this process, making it a simple yet powerful way to keep your technical foundation strong and ensure your messages always find their home.

Design Automated Onboarding and Welcome Sequences

That moment someone clicks "subscribe" is your single biggest chance to make a real impression. Just sending a generic "Thanks for subscribing!" email is a massive missed opportunity. It's like a salesperson shaking a new lead's hand and immediately walking away.

This first touchpoint sets the tone for your entire relationship. A thoughtful, automated welcome sequence can turn a passive subscriber into a true fan from day one. Think of it as your 24/7 onboarding engine.

It's not just a nice-to-have, either. The data is clear: welcome emails can generate up to 320% more revenue per email than other promotional messages. This makes it one of the highest-impact things you can do when you're just getting started. The goal isn't an immediate hard sell; it's about building trust, setting expectations, and delivering a quick win.

The Anatomy of a High-Converting Welcome Flow

For B2B SaaS, you don't need anything overly complicated. A simple, powerful 3-email sequence is the perfect place to start. This structure guides new subscribers on a logical journey, showing off your brand's expertise and the value of your product without being pushy. It's all about building momentum.

Here's a field-tested playbook you can steal:

Email 1 (Sent Immediately): The Warm Welcome & Quick Win

• Objective: Confirm their subscription and deliver instant value. This email will have your highest open rate, so make it count.
• Content: Give them a warm welcome and quickly remind them why they signed up. Most importantly, give them something useful right now. It could be a link to your most popular guide, a handy checklist, or a template that solves a small but nagging problem they have.

Email 2 (Sent 1-2 Days Later): Setting Expectations

• Objective: Tell them what's coming and show them your greatest hits. This builds anticipation and reinforces that subscribing was a smart move.
• Content: Clearly state your sending schedule (e.g., "Keep an eye on your inbox every Tuesday morning"). Then, link to 2-3 of your all-time best articles or resources. This is your highlight reel—it proves your expertise and trains them to actually look forward to your emails.

Email 3 (Sent 3-4 Days Later): The Soft Product Introduction

• Objective: Gently connect the dots between the problem your newsletter solves and the solution your product offers.
• Content: Share a brief customer story or a case study that shows how a company just like theirs solved a problem using your product. Focus on the benefits, not a laundry list of features. End with a low-friction call-to-action, like an invite to a webinar or a link to a free tool, not a demanding "Book a Demo" button.

Bringing Your Automation to Life

Actually building this sequence is surprisingly simple with a visual workflow builder. Platforms like SMASHSEND let you map out the whole journey with simple triggers, delays, and conditions.

Before you start automating, though, you need a solid technical foundation. This diagram breaks down the authentication process, which is a non-negotiable first step.

Getting SPF, DKIM, and DMARC set up correctly is what ensures your emails actually land in the inbox, making all your automation efforts worthwhile.

Once that's handled, you can set time-based delays between each email in your sequence so it feels natural, not like a firehose of content. You can even get more advanced. For instance, you could use a conditional split: if a subscriber clicks the link to a specific case study in Email 3, you can automatically tag them as "interested in X feature" and trigger a more targeted follow-up a week later. That's what separates a basic newsletter from a revenue-driving machine.

Launch, Measure, and Scale Your Newsletter for Growth

Alright, you did it. Your newsletter is live, the welcome sequence is humming along, and your first issue is out in the wild. Pop the champagne, but don't get too comfortable. The launch is just the starting line.

Now the real work—and the real fun—begins. Sustainable growth doesn't happen by accident. It's born from a relentless cycle of publishing, measuring, and iterating. To turn your newsletter from a content piece into a genuine revenue engine, you have to get obsessed with the right data.

Tracking the Metrics That Actually Matter

Let's be honest: open rates are a vanity metric. They feel good, but they don't pay the bills. The health of a B2B SaaS newsletter is measured by one thing: its ability to influence bottom-line results.

A high open rate might tell you that your subject line was catchy, but it says nothing about whether your content is actually compelling anyone to act. It's time to connect your email efforts directly to business goals.

Instead of staring at open rates, focus your attention on these three core areas:

• Conversion Rate on CTAs: Don't just look at the overall click-through rate. Dig deeper. What's the conversion rate on your primary call-to-action in each email? Are people actually signing up for the webinar or downloading the case study? This tells you if your content is genuinely persuasive.

• Newsletter-Influenced Trial Sign-ups: This is where things get interesting. Using UTM parameters on every single link pointing back to your site is non-negotiable. This is how you track exactly how many trial sign-ups or demo requests came from a specific newsletter. It's your direct line of sight from content to MQL.

• Revenue Attribution: The ultimate metric. By integrating SMASHSEND with your CRM, you can track the ARR influenced by your newsletter. How many subscribers who joined your list eventually became paying customers? This is the number that will get you more budget.

Once you're tracking the right things, you can start running experiments to move the needle. This is how you graduate from guessing what works to knowing what works.

A Framework for Running Growth Experiments

Systematic experimentation is the fastest path to scale. Forget throwing random ideas at the wall—you need a simple, repeatable framework for testing and learning. Every test should be designed to improve one of your core metrics.

Start with simple, high-impact tests that are easy to run and measure. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Common Newsletter A/B Tests

A word of advice: don't test more than one variable at a time. If you do, you'll have no idea what actually caused the change in performance. Run the test until you hit statistical significance, roll out the winner, and move on to the next experiment. This continuous loop of testing is the engine of newsletter growth.

Promoting Your Newsletter to Attract High-Quality Subscribers

Your existing channels are your best source of new, high-intent subscribers. The goal isn't just to get more subscribers, but to get the right subscribers—people who perfectly fit your ideal customer profile.

Start by weaving your newsletter sign-up into all your key marketing touchpoints.

1. On Your Website: A sign-up form buried in the footer is a wasted opportunity. Add a clear, value-driven call-to-action on your homepage, blog sidebar, and at the end of every article. Frame it around the benefit, not the action. "Get Weekly SaaS Growth Tactics" is miles better than "Subscribe to Our Newsletter."

2. Within Your Product: This is a goldmine for SaaS companies. Promote your newsletter to existing users right inside your app. You can get clever here and target specific segments—for example, prompting new users to subscribe for onboarding tips or hitting power users with advanced strategies.

3. On Social Media: Take your best newsletter content and share snippets on platforms like LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter). Post a compelling insight from your latest issue and include a direct link to your sign-up page. You're showing people the incredible value they'll get before they even subscribe.

Scaling your newsletter is a methodical process, not magic. By focusing on metrics that tie directly to revenue, running disciplined experiments, and promoting your newsletter across your owned channels, you can transform it from a simple communication tool into one of your most reliable sources of growth. This is the final step in learning how to start a newsletter that truly impacts your business.

Common Questions We Hear About SaaS Newsletters

When you're diving into building a newsletter, a handful of questions always pop up. It's totally normal. Getting these sorted out early is the difference between a newsletter that drives growth and one that just takes up your time. We've fielded these from hundreds of B2B SaaS teams, so let's get you some straight answers.

How Often Should I Actually Send This Thing?

There isn't a single magic number here, but let me tell you what matters most: consistency.

For most B2B SaaS companies, a weekly or bi-weekly send is the sweet spot. It's frequent enough to build a real habit with your readers and stay on their radar, but not so often that you're scrambling for content and the quality starts to slide.

The biggest mistake I see is teams committing to a weekly cadence they can't realistically maintain. It's so much better to send one fantastic, high-value newsletter every two weeks than to push out a rushed, mediocre one every single Friday.

Let your data be your guide. Watch your engagement and unsubscribe rates like a hawk. If you bump up the frequency and see engagement drop off, that's your audience telling you to pull back. On the flip side, if they're constantly asking for more, maybe you have room to accelerate.

What's the Real Way to Get My First 100 Subscribers?

Forget casting a wide, impersonal net. Getting your first 100 subscribers is a game of personal outreach and tapping into the assets you already have—the people who already know, like, and trust you.

Here's a simple playbook that works:

• Optimize Your Home Turf: Put a clear, benefit-driven sign-up form on your website's homepage, your blog, and in the footer. Don't just say "Subscribe." Tell them why. Something like "Get Weekly Product-Led Growth Tactics" is way more compelling.

• Tap Your Existing Followers: Announce the newsletter to your social media audience and pin a link in your profiles. These people already chose to follow you; they're your warmest leads.

• Weaponize Your Email Signature: Think about how many emails you and your team send every day. Each one is a tiny ad for your newsletter. Add a simple one-liner with a sign-up link to your company-wide email signature.

• Do Things That Don't Scale: This is the most important part. Personally email people in your professional network, your best customers, and industry friends who you genuinely think would get value from it. A personal note makes all the difference.

Should I Move My Existing Email List to a New Platform?

Yes, you absolutely should—but only if your current platform is holding you back. If you're hitting a wall trying to build smart automations, can't segment your audience the way you need to, or you're losing sleep over deliverability, it's time to upgrade.

But migrating isn't just a simple export/import. You have to do it carefully to protect the sender reputation you've worked so hard to build.

• First, clean your list before you move it. Run it through a list verification service to get rid of any invalid, old, or inactive email addresses. Importing a dirty list into a new tool is the fastest way to get your new account flagged.

• Next, pick a platform built for a smooth transition. You need a provider like SMASHSEND that not only makes importing easy but also offers a dedicated IP with an automatic warm-up process. This slowly ramps up your sending volume so inbox providers don't freak out and think you're a spammer.

• Finally, run a re-engagement campaign. Your very first send on the new platform should be a simple campaign asking people to confirm they still want to hear from you. This will scrub any last unengaged contacts and ensures you're starting fresh with a highly active audience.

How Do I Actually Measure the ROI of My Newsletter?

Measuring newsletter ROI means going way beyond opens and clicks. For a SaaS business, the real goal is to connect your email efforts directly to actions that generate revenue.

The first, non-negotiable step is to use UTM parameters on every single link you share. This is what allows you to see in your web analytics which traffic, demo requests, or trial sign-ups came directly from a specific newsletter issue.

The ultimate setup, though, is integrating your email platform with your CRM. This creates a full feedback loop. You can see when a new lead originates from a newsletter and track their entire journey until they become a paying customer. This lets you calculate a crystal-clear ROI, comparing the revenue generated from newsletter subscribers against the cost of your email tool and your team's time.