Most of us send newsletters to keep up with readers. We send emails to correspond with individuals – whether customers, readers, family, etc. But can you use your email to send your newsletter??
If you’ve ever tried sending newsletters via your email, you have discovered that your email deliverability goes in the toilet. You eventually figure out that things are landing in spam folders.
We get this question on a weekly basis, “Why is so-and-so getting my emails in their spam folder?”
The first thing we check is technical. Is your email program set up properly? Is the deliverability problem actually a sending problem? Things like that.
If that is fine, the next question – always – is what newsletter program do you use? If you send newsletters from your email account – like gmail, outlook, etc, you will start to end up in spam folders. But it gets worse than that! Here are the 10 reasons you should NEVER use your email to send newsletters!
For every dollar you spend on email marketing, you’ll get a $36 return on average – more than any other channel. (Litmus)
(Then below I’ll point you to the right way to send newsletters.)
1. Your email address’ deliverability will suffer.
First of all, when you use your personal email address to send newsletters, it’s likely that you’ll be sending quite a few emails at once. Email providers like Gmail and Microsoft Outlook are not designed to handle bulk email sending.
Email providers may flag your account as suspicious and send your emails straight to the recipients’ spam folder. This means that your carefully crafted newsletters may never even reach your customer’s inboxes.
On the other hand, using a professional email marketing service specifically designed for sending newsletters can help you avoid deliverability issues. These tools have dedicated email servers and advanced features to ensure that your newsletters land safely in your subscribers’ inboxes.
An example of an email service is Gmail. An example of a newsletter (Email Marketing Service Provider) is MailChimp or Mailerlite or ConvertKit.
2. Breaking the CAN SPAM law.
When it comes to sending newsletters via email, it’s important to understand and comply with the CAN-SPAM law. This law is Canadian but there are similar laws in other countries and states. This law was put in place to protect consumers from unwanted, deceptive, and spammy emails. Can you imagine the amount of spam could be worse?
First and foremost, make sure that your sender information is accurate. It’s important for recipients to know who the email is coming from and to trust the sender.
Another requirement of the CAN-SPAM law is including a physical address in your email. This can be a real business address or a mailing address for your organization. The likelihood of adding this to your personal email footer are about…. nill.
Penalties for non-compliance can include hefty fines, as well as deliverability issues.
3. Newsletters Won’t Be Read
In the world of email marketing, writing newsletters is just the first step. You’re not going to see many conversions if customers aren’t reading your newsletter!
49% of consumers are happy to receive promotional emails from the brands they love on a weekly basis. (Statista)
Deliverability refers to the ability of your newsletters to bypass spam filters and land in your subscribers’ inboxes. Deliverability depends on the sending server’s reputation (newsletter sending servers are designed especially to increase deliverability), a clean subscriber list, and the content of the newsletters. The popular topics that we all used to get constantly are flagged so that now they land in spam folders.
The whole point is to get your content into the hands of readers!
4. There are no easy to manage lists
By active managing of your subscriber lists you can significantly increase open rates and conversion rates.
- remove inactive email addresses
- segmenting your subscriber list to boost engagement with personalization
- remove bounced and invalid emails is essential to keep your sender reputation
If you want your digital newsletters to feel that personal, you should do these three things.
All of this is harder to do when you don’t know who opened your list or clicked a link, and you don’t know which contact received a newsletter -because you’re using your regular email service.
5. There is no easy scheduling mechanism (usually)
One item that can greatly effect your open rates is the time the email is sent. By considering the time zones of your subscribers, you can reach them when they are most likely to be checking their emails. This can make a big difference in the success of your email campaigns.
6. You Could Have Higher Conversion Rates with Personalization
When it comes to email newsletters, personalization can make all the difference in the world. Nowadays, subscribers expect tailored content that speaks directly to them.
31% of B2B marketers say that sending email newsletters is the best way to nurture leads. (Content Marketing Institute)
By segmenting your email lists and customizing your newsletter accordingly, you can target specific demographics, interests, or behaviors. This level of personalization not only grabs the attention of your subscribers but also makes them feel valued and understood. And when people feel understood, they are more likely to trust your brand and convert.
7. No Unsubscribe link
Not only is including an unsubscribe link a legal requirement in many countries, but it also helps maintain a positive sender reputation. Sending newsletters without an easily accessible unsubscribe option can lead to complaints, high bounce rates, and low deliverability rates, which can ultimately harm your email marketing efforts.
8. No Detailed Stats
Measure the effectiveness of your newsletters and optimize their performance by monitoring key metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates.
Open rates indicate the percentage of recipients who opened your email. This metric helps you gauge the effectiveness of your subject line and email preview, giving you insights into the overall interest and engagement of your audience.
Click-through rates (CTRs) measure the percentage of recipients who clicked on a link within your email. CTRs give you valuable insights into the relevancy of your content and the effectiveness of your call-to-action. By tracking CTRs, you can identify areas for improvement and optimize your email content to increase engagement.
Conversion rates are arguably the most important metric, as they measure the percentage of recipients who take a desired action after clicking on your email. This action could be making a purchase, filling out a form, etc. By tracking conversion rates, you can determine the impact of your email campaigns and make data-driven decisions to enhance your marketing efforts.
9. Double Opt-in Is Non-Existant
The double opt-in process is a simple and effective way to ensure that you’re reaching the right audience and complying with email marketing regulations.
Here are a few benefits of using double opt-in with your email messages:
- Preventing uninterested or incorrect email addresses: By having subscribers confirm their email address, you can avoid adding people who may have provided a wrong or outdated email, or who may not be genuinely interested in your content. This increases your open rates!
- Reduces the chances of your emails bouncing or ending up in spam folders, ultimately improving your email deliverability rates.
- Complying with CAN-SPAM regulations: maintain a good sender reputation and avoid being flagged as spam.
Implementing the double opt-in process is easy and straightforward in a email marketing tools – not your regular email!
10. Forms & Auto-responders are Complicated!
By implementing a signup form on your website, you can easily collect email addresses from your visitors – but this is near impossible if you’re using your own personal email to collect emails and send newsletters.
By using a newsletter service provider, you can easily create emails and forms, as well as automate follow-up emails with a few clicks.
Conclusion
Using a newsletter service provider instead of your personal email account is the best way to ensure that your newsletters are sent reliably, and that you can measure their effectiveness.
If you’d like to explore which Email Marketing Service is the best for you try this post that I wrote comparing the most popular four EMSs.
If you’re already set up – checkout our list of 50 newsletter topics that every blogger should cover for some inspiration!
Beginner Checklist
If you’re starting out, you’ll love our comprehensive 52 point checklist for your website! Read through once, and then work on items one at a time as it comes up!

Cathy Mitchell
Single Mom, Lifelong Learner, Jesus Follower, Founder and CEO at WPBarista.