Send a newsletter

Write a newsletter in the editor and send it to the people on your email list: what's new, this month's events, a seasonal offer. It goes out under your business's name, and replies come to you.

Write it

1. Click Newsletter in the left menu of the editor, then Write a newsletter.
2. Subject: what people see in their inbox. Short and specific works best, like "Fall planting starts this week".
3. Heading (optional): the big line at the top of the email.
4. Text: leave a blank line between paragraphs. Start a line with ## for a subheading and - for a list item, and put ** around words to make them bold.
5. Photo (optional): pick one from your photos, and describe it for people who can't see it.
6. Button (optional): its words, and where it goes: a page, an event or any web address.

Click Save draft to keep it and come back later. It's also saved each time you send a test or send it.

Write it for me

Not sure what to say? At the top, jot a few notes in the Write it for me box ("pumpkins are in, workshop on the 8th, closed Thanksgiving"), or leave it empty, and click Write it for me. AI writes a subject, heading and text from your notes, your upcoming events and your latest news. It only uses what you gave it and what's on your site, but read it over before you send: it's your newsletter.

Preview it and send a test

The preview on the right shows the email as people will see it; switch between Phone and Computer above it. (On a phone, tap Preview at the top.) Click Send me a test to get it in your own inbox, marked as a test. It's the best way to check the photo, the links and how it looks in your email app.

Choose who gets it

Under Who gets it, choose Everyone subscribed, or people with one tag, like "Workshops". Each choice shows how many people that is. Only subscribed people get it: never people who haven't confirmed, unsubscribed, bounced or marked your emails as spam.

You can also pick Only people who… to send to a group of your customers:

• Booked in the last 90 days
• Haven't been back in 90 days: customers whose last booking, order or message was more than 90 days ago. This is a good way to say hello to people you haven't seen in a while.
• Came twice or more
• Spent $100 or more

You can use a group together with a tag. Under the choice, it says something like "42 match. 30 will get this. 12 haven't agreed to email." A group only narrows your list: the 12 who never agreed to get your news (they're in Customers but not on your email list) are never emailed, and neither are people who unsubscribed. The group is worked out when the newsletter goes out, so one you schedule for next week uses what's true that day.

Send it now or later

Click Send…. Choose Now and click Send to … people now, or choose Later, pick a day and time (up to 60 days ahead), and click Schedule it. A scheduled newsletter can be changed until it goes out, or stopped with Don't send it.

Turn on Also post it on your site as news to put the newsletter on your site as a news post too. Once it's sent, it's added to your News list, so publish to show it.

After it's sent

Click a sent newsletter to see how many people it went to, how many opened it and clicked, and how many emails bounced or people unsubscribed. Opens are a rough count: some email apps hide them, and others open every email. Copy into a new newsletter starts your next one from it.

The first send to a new list

The first newsletter to people you've never sent to before, like a list you just imported, goes to at most 500 of them at first. The rest get it 4 hours later, once we've seen that the first emails arrived and weren't marked as spam. People you've sent to before all get it right away.

Unsubscribing

Every newsletter has an Unsubscribe link at the bottom, and email apps show their own Unsubscribe button. Either takes the person off your list straight away; you don't need to do anything. They're shown as Unsubscribed in Contacts.

Your address in every email

The law in the United States (CAN-SPAM) requires your business's postal address in every newsletter, so we add the address from Business info to the bottom of each one. If you haven't added an address there, you'll be asked to before sending.

Limits

• Up to 2,000 people a newsletter. For a bigger list, send to one tag at a time.
• Up to 4 newsletters a month.
• Up to 20 tests a day.

If your sending is paused

Newsletters from every site go out from the same address, so we keep an eye on how they're received. If more than 5% of a newsletter's emails bounce, or more than 1 in 1,000 people mark it as spam, we stop sending it and pause your newsletters. We email you, and we'll look at your list with you, usually within a business day.

To keep your list healthy:

• Only add people who asked to hear from you.
• Don't import old lists you haven't emailed in years.
• Send regularly, so people remember who you are.

What it costs

Sending newsletters comes with the Business plan or the Newsletter sending add-on ($4 a month). Without either, you can still write newsletters and send yourself a test. See The Business plan. The email list itself is included in every plan.

Related: Your email list, Add a newsletter signup, News posts.