Making newsletters work harder:
A user-centred approach 

Introduction

At Experience UX we mostly help clients to improve the user experience of their websites. However, any organisation’s digital estate is always broader than the typical landing page customer journeys, so we love it when we get to work on a more specific digital channel. In this case, our client’s goal was to improve the performance of their monthly email newsletter.   

Universities UK (UUK) is the collective voice of 141 UK based universities, bringing them together to pursue a common cause: thriving universities, serving society. UUK works with the government and higher education sector to champion UK higher education.   

After months of experimentation with format and content the UUK digital team’s efforts to improve newsletter performance had plateaued and they were uncertain how best to reliably grow their readership. They requested help from an Experience UX Usability Test.

Challenge

With a core aim to increase their newsletter audience the UUK newsletter was evolving, but the digital communications team required evidence to guide its direction. The team had been experimenting with different formats, tones and content but needed clearer answers to questions, including:  

1. What kind of content do readers value? 
2. How do people interact with the newsletter in real life? 
3. What makes someone choose to open and click – or not? 

Whilst we were exploring the newsletter with their target audience, UUK also required insight into the newsletter sign-up journey, and what might encourage more people to subscribe. 

Findings suggested listing the newsletter contents to begin.

Solution

The approach: Lean, focused, and collaborative 

We designed an agile, research-driven project to deliver insight and actionable recommendations quickly. In just two weeks we moved from kick-off to delivery. 

During the research sessions we presented a combination of UUK and peer newsletters to our participants, who represented the target audience, to establish how they naturally interacted with the content. We explored:  

1. what motivates people to sign up to newsletters in the first place 
2. how they behave when receiving newsletters in a cluttered inbox 
3. why they share content or encourage others to subscribe

Meanwhile, the UUK team joined our private YouTube channel and notetaking board, offering them a first-hand observation of how their target audience react and interact with their newsletter and content. 

Findings

What we discovered 

From the research sessions several clear themes emerged – some expected, some surprising.  

1. Consistency and structure matter
   Participants responded positively to longer newsletters, as long as it was well structured. What helped:

• • A short, skimmable summary at the top with links to key stories 
  • Regular themed sections that felt predictable and easy to follow 
  • Consistent and simple visual dividers between stories
    

2. Newsletter readers expect something useful
   It was no surprise to see that people are selective about what they engage with. Every section of a newsletter must earn its place. We noticed content that was perceived as “filler” was ignored. For our client’s audience, articles featuring data, graphs, and/or key statistics were highly valued as readers said they would use them and quote them in reports and use them in internal discussions.

3. Timing and relevance encourage engagement
   Several practical factors influenced whether someone opened a newsletter:

• • Receiving it first thing in the morning 
  • Seeing it shared by a colleague 
  • Noticing that the subject line related to a current event or topic of interest 

Anyone managing a company newsletter will know this, but taking the time to ensure clarity in the subject line and introduction will boost readership and improves the user experience.  

4. Careful use of Emojis help connect with an audience
   Surprisingly for a professional newsletter, emojis received a positive reaction and were perceived as adding personality and warmth. We observed participants notice and react negatively when emojis were missing. They wanted them back. Ask participants what they want from a newsletter and emojis are not mentioned.

This is a good example of how moderated, one-to-one, usability testing provides deep insight and presents ‘gold nugget’ insights in understanding your audiences’ subtle preferences.

Providing a break line between content sections allows readers to scan the content easier.

Outcome

Turning Insight into Action 

The content team moved fast and implemented a handful of simple but effective changes to the newsletter, including: 

• Adding a bullet-pointed list of contents 
• Using contextual emojis (carefully) in the content list 
• Introducing regular blue dividing line between content sections 
• Reducing cognitive load by using just one article per news story  
• Prioritising regular key sections for ongoing familiarity 

The Impact 

The improvements are already showing results. Comparing performance before and after the updates – Click rate increased from 4% to 7%, Bounce rate decreased from 76% to 55%.

Conclusion

Early signs suggest that not only are more people clicking, but they’re sticking around longer once they arrive. For any organisation using newsletters to engage an audience, this project is a reminder of a few important truths: 

• It’s not about how much you say, but how clearly and helpfully you say it 
• Readers value content that’s relevant, practical, and timely 
• And even in a fast-moving digital world, listening to your users always pays off 

If you’re rethinking your own digital content, or wondering why engagement has plateaued, this kind of focused, user-led research can offer the clarity and direction you need. 

You can sign up to the UUK newsletter here: UUK Newsletter 

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01202 293652 amyhunter@experienceux.co.uk