How to Create a Newsletter in Gmail in 2024: Must Know Tips
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Whether you wish to share messages internally or externally, newsletters are a perfect vehicle to get your point across in an engaging and memorable way. If you’re looking to create a newsletter in Gmail, we’ll show you what you need to know.
Along with learning how to send a newsletter in Gmail, we’re going to take a look at useful tools like Publicate for all your newsletter needs. Let’s dive right in.
It’s relatively simple to learn how to create a newsletter in Gmail. You can get your newsletter up and running quickly, but you might find the platform’s capabilities are pretty basic.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to creating email newsletters using Gmail, with an alternative for anyone looking for an even easier way to create professional newsletters for Gmail.
Log into your Gmail account and then open Google Groups in your browser. This is a platform that enables collaboration between teams, where users can create and manage email lists and discussion boards.
Select ‘Create Group’ in the top left-hand corner. From there, a window will open that lets you set up a new group. Name the group, set up a new email address, and add a description. Click ‘Next’.
You’ll then be able to set your group’s privacy settings, including preferences and administrator privileges. Click ‘Next’ when you’re happy.
A third window then opens that lets you invite whoever you want to add to the group. Speed up the process by copying and pasting contacts from a Google Sheets list, if you have one. Click ‘Create group’.
Open Google Docs and you’ll notice a Template Gallery full of Gmail newsletter templates in the top right corner.
Choose a suitable template to get started.
Did you know you can also make your own email templates in Gmail?
The process to use and edit these templates can be awkward, so to solve this many businesses use a drag-and-drop email builder like Publicate to help. With hundreds of professionally-designed, highly engaging templates, and direct integration with Gmail and other email service providers, email builders make the process quick, easy and enjoyable.
With your template open in Google Docs, you can begin to customize it.
Add everything from your company logo to images, contact details and calls to action. Avoid cluttering the email. Good design is simple and engaging with lots of white space.
Note: creating a visually appealing newsletter in Google Docs is not the easiest, it is after all a word document, not newsletter design software, so customization and flexibility are very limited.
When you use an email builder like Publicate, great design comes as standard. All templates have been designed with engagement in mind, and include all the components of a great email newsletter.
With the design and your company branding taken care of, you can write the email content.
Try to mix this up with informational, entertaining content. Your readers will get bored of solely promotional emails.
Once you’re happy with the email, you’re ready to move everything over to Gmail.
Use ‘Ctrl+A’ to select everything on the page, and ‘Ctrl+C’ to copy it.
Once in Gmail, click ‘Compose’. Use ‘Ctrl+V’ in the email composer window to paste your copy and images.
In the ‘To” line of the email (your recipient), enter the group email you created in Google Groups.
Now add a subject line that’s likely to grab the attention of your audience. Aim for something relevant to them - but don’t give too much away! You want to intrigue them just enough so they open your email.
Carry out one last proofread to check for errors, and click ‘Send’ when you’re happy everything looks good. Your email is on its way to everyone in your Google Group!
If the selection of templates underwhelms you, and the process is a little too long-winded, you could use a newsletter template builder tool like Publicate instead. Publicate has templates for every purpose. You can save and reuse components, and add your company branding in just a couple of clicks.
Unlike when using Gmail on its own, Publicate also has powerful analytics, which let you track email engagement like opens, clicks, audience location and device, even when sending through Gmail.
With Google Docs, copy and paste become your best friend for sending your email newsletter in Gmail. That being said, you may run into some issues when you paste your template into your email body.
The formatting may be off, which will mean you’ll have to spend some extra time reworking the layout. Additionally, there’s no way to know how the email is going to show up in your recipient’s inboxes because it can render differently based on email service providers.
The alternative within the Gmail suite is to create a newsletter directly within the email body yourself, but that will take even more time and be wrought with extra limitations.
Since Gmail doesn’t support HTML email, the best way to go about this is to use a third-party email template builder like Publicate that easily exports to Gmail with the click of a button.
When you customize any email with Publicate, all the best email newsletter design practices are handled for you and the email will render properly across devices.
If you wish to format your own Gmail email layout within the email body, you can do so by clicking on the “Choose Layout” icon at the bottom of a new email. There are 6 options to choose from.
In the same window, you’ll see a button for “Default styling.” There, you’ll be able to add a logo and adjust color and fonts. The fonts are limited to Gmail’s options.
When you create a newsletter in Gmail, you may be itching for a more effective way to get down to business. We’ve mentioned how an newsletter builder like Publicate can help briefly, but let’s expand because it’s going to save you a lot of time and headaches.
With Publicate, all you have to do is choose from the many templates available. Then, you’ll be led into the customization editor, where anything you envision can happen with an easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor.
There's an option to add images, GIFs, and multimedia by clicking on each icon to do so. Publicate also has its own content library so you can choose from hundreds of stock images to help break up the copy within your newsletter.
As soon as you’re ready to send your newsletter, be it via Gmail or any other email service provider of your choice, you can use Publicate’s integrated tools to make it seamless. After you hit send, you gain access to analytics to see how your email performed.
Back to the sending process… While it’s historically been the “To” field and the “BCC” field, Gmail added an extra option, which is its multi-send mode.
Most people avoided the “To” field because everyone who receives the email is privy to the other recipient’s email addresses. The BCC field was the work around, but the multi-send mode is a big fix. The multi-send mode makes it so that each individual on the list receives the email addressed just to them.
Click on the multi-send icon in the bottom right of your email composition (it looks like an envelope in a half-enclosed box), and everything will turn into a purple color.
Your “Send” button will become a “Continue” button. Don’t worry- you’re doing it right.
A Chrome extension is a great tool when you want to send mass campaigns, or to track the performance of your emails.
Tools like Publicate offer Chrome extensions for Gmail. Publicate users can send HTML emails from Gmail or any other service provider with the click of a button, thanks to a browser extension.
Here’s how:
Using Google as a newsletter creator comes along with a list of limitations that might affect the performance of your newsletter.
Some of them include:
No tracking: Gmail doesn’t come with analytics that email builders like Publicate offer. In other words, you can’t assess which content resonates most with your audience, so it’s difficult to continuously improve your newsletter emails.
With a newsletter editor like Publicate, you can bypass all the limitations of having to create a newsletter in Gmail. The process is made to be as seamless as possible so that everyone and anyone has the ability to do so.
Here’s the steps you’d follow within the web-based email builder tool:
Sign in or sign up on Publicate’s website. They have a free 14 day trial too which is great to test everything out before you buy!
You’ll have the option to design a newsletter using a template or from scratch to build your own with content blocks. (You also have the option to create landing pages using the same tools). There are countless templates organized in different categories.
For example, you can select from: events, seasonal, internal communications, holidays, and other newsletter templates.
Design your newsletter however you want to. There are brand kits and saved styles. You can use the visual editing tools and crop. If you want to add content blocks or any multimedia, you can use the buttons with icons to do so.
Then, it’s time to add your content. If you wish to create a curated content newsletter, Publicate provides dynamic link scraping from web content you’ve liked and saved. There are various fonts to choose from and all the colors of the rainbow to use.
When your newsletter is fit to send, you can export it to Gmail using the integrated exporting plugin. So, there’s no need to copy and paste your email yourself (which, as we discussed, can lead to improper formatting).
Publicate ensures that your email will render the same within Gmail as it does when you’re building it on the screen.
Before you hit send, be sure to add a subject line that is intriguing and reflective of the newsletter content itself. No one wants to be surprised by what’s inside or misled. It’s best to keep your subject line short, to the point, and honest.
Add your desired recipients or group list so your email newsletter can be delivered to your desired audience.
Double check that there are no spelling or grammar mistakes. Make sure all your links are leading to the right place. Add any alt text to images. And, once your review is complete, you’re one step closer to sharing your message.
Now, you can finalize your newsletter creation by hitting send within Gmail! Publicate provides detailed analytics so you can track key performance indicators and make any necessary adjustments moving forward to optimize your engagement levels.
If you’re still powering through using Gmail to create newsletters, then here are some tips to keep in mind.
Gmail is a great email provider, which is why it’s the most popular email service provider in the world. However, it’s not geared towards HTML or email newsletter creation. As we’ve shared, it has its limitations.
That being said, you can use an email builder like Publicate to simply design and customize your email newsletters. Then, using the integrated tool, you’re still able to send your emails through Gmail. So, you get the best of both worlds without the downsides.
With the knowledge of how to create a newsletter in Gmail, it becomes increasingly clear that there are in fact better ways to create, customize, and design email newsletters for any purpose.
Publicate’s tool is made for everyone and enables the email newsletter send process via Gmail (or Outlook, or any other email service provider). This way, you can send beautifully designed and professional emails without hassle any time.
To get started creating beautiful Gmail templates immediately, try Publicate out for free here!
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