B2B Newsletters: How to Start One and What to Send Your Business Contacts
By: Kazushi Inui (Newsletter Ready) ・ Last updated:
Many B2B companies collect business cards at trade shows and meetings, then never follow up. A B2B newsletter keeps those contacts informed about your company so you come to mind when they need you. This page covers how to start one and how to keep it going with news you already publish.
Decide on one goal first
B2B purchases often take a long time to decide. Instead of trying to sell in every issue, aim to be remembered when the need comes up. That makes it easier to choose what to include.
Typical goals are staying in touch with people you met, bringing contacts to trade shows or webinars, or telling existing customers about new products. One clear goal keeps each issue focused and tells you what to measure.
Build your list from business cards and customers
- Put the company, name and email address from each business card into one list.
- Note when and where you met each contact.
- Before the first issue, send a short message asking whether they would like to receive updates. It avoids surprises and gives you a record of consent.
- Buyers, engineers and managers want different things. As the list grows, consider sending to separate segments.
Why B2B newsletters stall
Sales and engineering staff are busy with their main work, and nobody clearly owns the newsletter. Internal reviews can delay each issue.
Your site news and technical articles have already been reviewed before publishing. Building the newsletter from them cuts down the review work.
Newsletter ideas already on your website
- New products and services
- Trade show announcements and show reports
- Case studies and application examples
- Technical articles and explainers
- Certifications and quality updates
- Price or specification changes
- Holiday shipping and office schedules
How often to send and how to structure an issue
Once a month is a realistic place to start. Send more around trade shows and webinars.
A basic issue has one or two news items, one case study or technical article, and any schedule notices. Keep detailed specs and drawings on your site and link to them.
How to measure results
Open rates can be inaccurate because some mail apps load images automatically, so treat them as a rough guide. In B2B, link clicks, replies and inquiries or quote requests show the real effect more clearly.
Give it about three months before judging, then compare which topics get the most response.
CAN-SPAM basics
In the U.S., the CAN-SPAM Act applies to commercial email, including newsletters. Each message must identify the sender, include a valid physical postal address, and offer a clear way to unsubscribe. Opt-out requests must be honored promptly.
Subject lines must not mislead. You can build a compliant footer with the email footer generator.
CAN-SPAM applies to business-to-business email as well. If you send to contacts in Canada, the EU or the UK, their rules on consent may be stricter.
Frequently asked questions
How often should a B2B newsletter go out?
Monthly is a good starting point. Send more only when you have more to say, such as before and after a trade show.
Can I email people whose business cards I collected?
Under CAN-SPAM in the U.S., commercial email does not require prior consent, but every message needs sender details, a postal address and a working unsubscribe link. Other countries can be stricter, so check where your contacts are and keep a note of how you got each address.
What should a B2B newsletter include?
Mostly what you already publish: product news, trade shows, case studies, technical articles and schedule notices. Rounding up your site updates is easier to sustain than writing everything from scratch.
How Newsletter Ready helps
Newsletter Ready reads your site's news or blog listing page, or its RSS feed, every hour and picks up to 10 new articles. It drafts an issue from up to 6 of the newest articles you have not used yet.
The draft uses only facts found in your articles and puts a link to the source under each section. Nothing is sent until you approve it.
Sender details and the unsubscribe link are added automatically. Readers can unsubscribe in one click, and addresses that bounce or complain are suppressed. You can record the consent basis for each subscriber.
Paste your site URL on the homepage to get a sample issue in about a minute, with no sign-up. The free plan covers 300 subscribers and 4 issues a month.
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Sources
This page is general information, not legal advice.