---
id: seed:copy-patterns/newsletter
title: Newsletter / email marketing copy patterns
source_type: seed_copy
priority: warm
---

Newsletter and email marketing copy converts on relevance, brevity, and clear value. The subject line does 80% of the work.

---

**Email subject line patterns:**

| Pattern Type | Template | Example |
|--------------|----------|---------|
| Curiosity gap | "{Number} things about {topic} you didn't know" | "7 things about SEO your competitors don't know" |
| Personalization | "{First name}, your weekly digest" | "Sarah, your weekly digest" |
| Utility | "{X} ways to {benefit}" | "12 ways to cut your deployment time in half" |
| Social proof | "{N}+ {people} {action}" | "50,000+ devs shipped faster this month" |
| Questions | "Ready to {outcome}?" | "Ready to cut onboarding time?" |
| Fear of missing out | "{Time-bound} offer ending soon" | "48 hours left to lock in pricing" |
| Story opener | "We analyzed {N} {things} and found..." | "We analyzed 10,000 landing pages and found one pattern" |

**Subject line rules:**
- Under 50 characters (mobile preview cuts at ~40)
- No spam triggers: "FREE", "ACT NOW", "LIMITED TIME"
- Avoid "Re:" or "Fwd:" tricks
- Test with preview text (the line after subject)

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**Preheader text patterns:**

The preview text is the second subject line — it adds context.

| Subject Type | Preheader Example |
|--------------|-------------------|
| Curiosity | "The pattern appears in 90% of high-converting CTAs..." |
| Utility | "Includes the exact template our team uses every sprint" |
| Personal | "Here's what we found from analyzing your last 10 deploys" |

---

**Email body copy patterns:**

**Opening line templates:**

1. Direct question: "Ready to speed up your deployments?"
2. Story hook: "Three months ago, a dev team at a fintech startup faced the same problem you have right now."
3. Stat-based: "Teams using automated rollback recover from failures 8x faster. Here's why."
4. Personal address: "We noticed you haven't finished setting up your workflow. Let's fix that."
5. Benefit-led: "Here's how to cut your weekly reporting from 4 hours to 15 minutes."

**Email body structure templates:**

1. **Short-form (single-column):**
   - Hook (1-2 sentences)
   - Core message (3-4 sentences or one key point)
   - Supporting evidence (optional stat or quote)
   - Single CTA

2. **Educational:**
   - Hook ("The #1 reason teams fail at this...")
   - Main teaching point
   - 3-5 bullet takeaways
   - Resource/next step CTA

3. **Story-based:**
   - Scene setting ("Sarah was spending 6 hours/week on...")
   - Problem ("Then she discovered...")
   - Solution ("In 30 days, she cut that to 45 minutes...")
   - CTA ("Here's how to do the same")

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**CTA copy patterns:**

| CTA Placement | CTA Text Variants |
|---------------|-------------------|
| Primary | "Start free", "Get instant access", "Claim your spot" |
| Secondary | "Learn more", "Read the guide", "See the full breakdown" |
| Social proof | "Join 14,000+ subscribers" |
| Urgency | "Claim your spot", "Offer ends Friday", "Only 3 left" |

**CTA placement rules:**
- Above the fold (after opening hook)
- After the main value proposition
- At the bottom (final push)
- Never more than 2 primary CTAs per email

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**Email footer copy:**

| Element | Copy |
|---------|------|
| Unsubscribe line | "You're receiving this because you signed up at {domain}" |
| Physical address | "123 Main St, San Francisco, CA 94102" |
| Permission reminder | "To unsubscribe, click here" |

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**Newsletter series patterns:**

**Welcome series (3-5 emails):**
1. "Welcome to {Newsletter name} — here's what to expect"
2. "Our best content from the past {timeframe}"
3. "One actionable thing you can do today"
4. "Case study or deep dive"
5. "Invite to upgrade/subscribe"

**Abandoned cart series:**
1. "You left something behind" (1 hour)
2. "Reminder: your cart is waiting" (24 hours)
3. "Last chance — offer expires" (48 hours)

**Re-engagement series:**
1. "We miss you, {name}"
2. "Here's what's new since you left"
3. "Last chance — we have to say goodbye"

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**Segmentation copy patterns:**

| Segment | Subject Approach | Content Approach |
|---------|------------------|------------------|
| New subscribers | "Welcome" series | Best-of content, quick wins |
| Active users | Product updates | Feature announcements, tips |
| At-risk users | Re-engagement | "We miss you", special offer |
| Lapsed users | Re-engagement | "Is it something we did?" |
| Power users | Advanced tips | Deep dives, beta access |

---

**Copy rules for email:**

- **Scan-friendly:** 3-5 sentences per paragraph max
- **Mobile-first:** Short paragraphs, single-column layouts
- **Plain text fallback:** Test in plain text mode
- **Personalize where it adds value:** First name in subject, location-specific content
- **Honest subject lines:** Don't overpromise
- **Link text:** "Click here to..." vs "here" as URL