Send Your First Newsletter in One Hour | Complete Guide

Send your first newsletter in 10 steps

This is how you can reach your customers this week.



1. Choose the newsletter system

Not currently using a newsletter system? Then we recommend one of the two solutions below. Both are easy to use, affordable, and suitable for small to medium-sized shops.

View Mailerlite

Best and affordable for businesses sending normal newsletters.

View Brevo

Best option for advanced marketing automation.

We will continue below with the first option in more detail. We use information from our MailerLite setup.

(2 minutes)

2. Create a free account

You also get 30 days of free access to premium features. If you have more than 500 contacts, you will pay a relatively small monthly fee.

1. Click the button above to create a free MailerLite account.
   
2. The website will open in a new tab. Click the ‘Log in’ button in the top right corner.
   
3. Enter your company name, your name, your business email address, and a password.
4. Click the green ‘Create my account’ button.



(1 minute)

3. Verify your email address

1. Open the mailbox you used to create the account.
2. Open the email from MailerLite with the subject ‘Verify your email address’.
3. Click the ‘Verify Email Address’ button in the email.
   
   

(3 minutes)

4. Complete your profile

1. Log in to your account.
   
2. Click the ‘Finish’ button on the right.
   
3. Enter your surname, select your industry, and select the following options: Campaigns, Forms, and Automations.
   
4. Click the green ‘Next step’ button.
   
5. Enter your company address.
   
6. Tick the box ‘I have read and agree to MailerLite’s anti-spam policy.’
7. Click the green ‘Confirm’ button.



(8 minutes)

5. Confirm your account

1. In the Dashboard, click ‘Finish’ again.
2. Complete the questions about your subscribers and website information, then click the green ‘Next step’ button.
3. Please check your email inbox before continuing. Didn’t receive an email? Click the yellow ‘Resend’ notification at the top. Click the ‘Verify Email Address’ button in the email.
4. Complete the final questions and click the green ‘Confirm’ button at the bottom.

Your account is now being verified. You can proceed to the next step.



(10 minutes)

6. Import email addresses

1. Click ‘Subscribers’ in the menu on the left.
2. Click the green ‘Add subscribers’ button on the right.
3. Upload your list of email addresses or copy and paste them from Excel.

Getting an error? Read the full article here. You can also organise your list into groups and segments — here’s an explanation.



(10 minutes)

7. Create the first newsletter

1. Click ‘Campaigns’ in the menu on the left.
2. Click the ‘Create’ button.
3. Click the Template gallery at the top and select the template you want. You can also start with a blank email by clicking the drag-and-drop editor on the right.
4. Enter a campaign name (for internal use only) and select ‘Regular Campaign’.
5. You can now start designing your newsletter.



(45 minutes)

8. Edit the newsletter layout

1. Click any text to edit it.
2. Click an image and then click ‘Browse’ on the right-hand side to change it.

Check out these three newsletter texts and images for December — feel free to use them for your own newsletter.

(5 minutes)

9. Send a test newsletter

1. Click the ‘Preview and Test’ button at the top right.
2. Click ‘Preview’ to see a preview, or ‘Send a test email’ to receive a test version.



(5 minutes)

10. Sending the newsletter

1. Click the green ‘Done Editing’ button in the top right corner. A new window will appear.
2. Enter the subject of the newsletter.
3. Under Recipients, select ‘All active subscribers’.
4. Click the green ‘Continue’ button at the bottom right.
5. Choose ‘Send now’ to send the newsletter immediately.
6. Click the ‘Send’ button at the bottom.