Newsletter Examples: 12 Ecommerce Formats and Why They Work

Most newsletter example roundups are galleries: forty screenshots, a sentence each. You come away with a vague sense that “clean design works” and nothing you can build on Monday.

This is a different kind of list. Below are twelve newsletter formats that work for ecommerce brands, each with an example, an analysis of why it works, and what to take from it. One is a real brand, described in our own words from published sources. The rest are illustrative examples: composites of patterns we build for Klaviyo brands, written up so you can see the structure clearly rather than squint at someone else’s screenshot.

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What makes a good ecommerce newsletter?

A good ecommerce newsletter gives subscribers a reason to open that is not a discount. It leads with one useful or interesting idea, relates the products to that idea, has one clear call to action, and keeps a format consistent enough that subscribers know what to expect. It is judged on clicks and revenue per recipient, not on opens.

Every example below follows those rules. They differ in what earns the open.

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12 ecommerce newsletter examples

1. The content-led journal (real example: Huckberry)

The example: Huckberry, the US menswear and outdoor gear retailer, is one of the best-known cases of a newsletter treated as a publication. In a 2019 interview with Glossy, its head of marketing described sending to over a million subscribers three times a week. Each issue mixed several product and brand stories with regular non-sales features: a journal article, an Instagram photo feature and a music recommendation. He also said the content never gets cut from the email, and called email the company’s most profitable channel.

Why it works: the non-sales content is the reason people open. Once they are in, product stories sit naturally alongside the editorial, so selling does not feel like an interruption. Recurring features also build habit: readers know what they will get before they open.

Take this: pick one or two recurring non-sales features you can sustain every issue (a customer story, a behind-the-scenes photo, a “what we’re into” pick) and protect them even in heavy sale weeks.

2. The founder’s letter

The example (illustrative): a supplement brand sends a monthly letter from its founder. It is plain-looking with no header image, about 250 words on what the team has been working on, a candid note about a formulation change, and one link to the product page. It is signed with a first name and invites replies.

Why it works: it reads like correspondence, not marketing. Replies come in, which is a good engagement signal and a direct line to customer objections. Transparency about changes builds the trust that matters in health and supplements.

Take this: keep it short, specific and genuinely from the founder. Our plain text vs HTML guide covers when this format beats a designed email.

3. The education newsletter (“ingredient spotlight”)

The example (illustrative): a wellness brand runs a fortnightly issue on one ingredient: where it comes from, how it is sourced, how to take it, and common questions. The product row at the bottom shows the two products that contain it.

Why it works: it answers questions people are already Googling, which makes it genuinely useful. It builds category authority, and the products become the obvious next step rather than a hard sell.

Take this: for supplement brands, keep education to sourcing, quality, usage and what is known, and stay within what your product claims allow. No disease or cure language.

4. The new arrivals drop

The example (illustrative): an apparel brand sends a Thursday “just landed” issue with a full-width hero of the new collection, a two-column grid of six new pieces with prices, and a styling note from the design team.

Why it works: newness is a legitimate reason to email. A regular day builds anticipation, and the styling note adds context a product page does not have.

Take this: only send it when there genuinely is something new. A “new arrivals” email with nothing new trains people to skip it.

5. The bestseller and social proof roundup

The example (illustrative): a homewares brand sends “what everyone’s buying this month”: its top six products by recent sales, each with a star rating and a one-line review excerpt.

Why it works: it outsources the persuasion to other customers. It helps new subscribers who do not know where to start, and it needs almost no new creative.

Take this: pull the products from real sales data and rotate them, so the email reflects what is actually moving.

6. The customer story

The example (illustrative): a fitness equipment brand features one customer per issue: their photo, their routine, the three products they use, and a quote in their words (shared with permission).

Why it works: it is proof and inspiration in one. Readers see someone like them using the products in real life, which does more than a studio shot.

Take this: collect stories from post-purchase and review flows, get written permission, and do not edit quotes into claims the customer did not make.

7. The how-to or routine guide

The example (illustrative): a coffee brand sends “three ways to brew our new single origin”: a numbered method for each, a short GIF of the pour, and the grinder and beans used.

Why it works: it helps customers get more from what they have already bought, which drives repeat purchase. It also converts prospects who were unsure how to use the product.

Take this: a short GIF of the key step often explains more than a paragraph. Keep the steps in live text.

8. The behind-the-scenes issue

The example (illustrative): a skincare brand shows how a product is made: the lab, the testing, the packaging decision, with photos from the team’s phones rather than a polished shoot.

Why it works: it makes the price make sense. People pay for what they understand, and craft, sourcing and quality control are hard to communicate on a product page.

Take this: unpolished photography is fine, and often better. Authenticity reads as authenticity.

9. The seasonal gift guide

The example (illustrative): a lifestyle brand sends a gift guide organised by recipient (“for the one who has everything”, “under $50”, “for the host”), each section with three to four products.

Why it works: it does the thinking for the shopper. Organising by recipient or budget matches how people actually shop for gifts, not by product category.

Take this: send it early in the season and follow up to people who clicked but did not buy. It pairs naturally with your BFCM plan.

10. The one-product deep dive

The example (illustrative): a bag brand devotes a full issue to a single product: the design story, three details you would miss in photos, how it has held up after a year, and the colourways.

Why it works: focus. One product, one story and one action converts better than a grid for considered purchases, and it is the natural format for launches and hero products.

Take this: pick products with a story and a price point that justifies the attention.

11. The community and referral newsletter

The example (borrowed model): Morning Brew, the business news newsletter, is widely documented (by ReferralCandy and Referral Rock among others) for putting a personal referral link at the bottom of every issue, with tiered rewards for bringing in friends and a counter showing progress to the next tier. It is a media business, not a store, but the mechanic transfers.

Why it works: subscribers see the programme every time they read, the rewards are concrete, and progress is visible. Growth comes from the readers who like the newsletter most.

Take this: an ecommerce version is a referral block in every newsletter, with store credit or a gift at clear milestones. Klaviyo integrates with a range of referral and loyalty apps that can feed personalised links and balances into each email.

12. The monthly recap

The example (illustrative): a pet food brand sends a first-of-the-month issue: the most-read article, the most-loved product, a customer photo, what is coming next month, and a reminder about subscribe-and-save.

Why it works: it is a low-effort, high-value catch-up for subscribers who missed issues. It resurfaces the best content without making new content.

Take this: build it from your own data (top clicked links, top products) so the recap reflects what your audience actually cared about.

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Newsletter formats compared

Format	Best for	Typical cadence	Judge it on
Content-led journal	Lifestyle brands with a story	1–3 per week	Clicks, revenue per recipient
Founder’s letter	Trust-heavy categories, supplements	Monthly	Replies, clicks
Education	Health, beauty, food, technical products	Fortnightly	Clicks, time to second purchase
New arrivals	Fashion, homewares, frequent drops	Weekly, on drops	Revenue per recipient
Bestseller roundup	New subscribers, broad catalogues	Monthly	Placed order rate
Customer story	Community-driven brands	Monthly	Clicks, UGC submissions
How-to / routine	Products with a learning curve	Fortnightly	Repeat purchase rate
Behind the scenes	Premium and craft brands	Monthly or quarterly	Clicks
Gift guide	Every brand, seasonally	Seasonal	Revenue per recipient
One-product deep dive	Launches, hero products	As needed	Placed order rate
Community / referral	Brands with loyal fans	Every issue (as a block)	Referrals
Monthly recap	Content-heavy programmes	Monthly	Clicks

Our email marketing benchmarks for ecommerce covers what “good” looks like for these metrics.

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What content should be in a newsletter?

A reliable ecommerce mix for each issue:

1. One lead item that earns the open: a story, guide or genuine piece of news.
2. Something social: a review, customer photo, or community highlight.
3. Something to buy that relates to the lead item.
4. One primary CTA, with any secondary links clearly subordinate.
5. A consistent footer: preferences, social links, address and unsubscribe.

Rotate the lead. Most issues should be led by content, with a minority led by an offer. If every issue is a discount, subscribers learn to wait for the code.

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Newsletter layout rules

Six rules that apply to every format above:

1. Single column, 600px wide. It scales cleanly to mobile. Save two-column grids for product modules lower down. The email dimensions guide has the specs.
2. One idea per issue, clearly first. The first screen on a phone should show what the issue is about.
3. Clear hierarchy in every module: headline, image, two or three lines of copy, button.
4. Live text, not text in images. It survives image blocking, dark mode and small screens. See our email fonts guide.
5. Predictable structure. Recurring sections in the same place every issue build habit.
6. One action per module. A module with three links is a module with no clear action.

For ready-to-build structures, our ecommerce email templates guide has block-by-block layouts, and the Klaviyo email templates guide covers the setup in Klaviyo.

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How to build these newsletters in Klaviyo

• Base template: lock header, footer, fonts and colours into one base, and save each format above as its own template on top of it.
• Universal content: use it for recurring blocks (the referral block, the footer, the reassurance row) so an edit updates every email.
• Product blocks: pull bestsellers or new arrivals from your catalogue rather than building grids by hand.
• Show/hide logic: show different modules to customers and non-customers, or to people who bought a specific category, in a single send.
• Segments: send the newsletter to engaged subscribers and adjust frequency for people who have gone quiet. Our Klaviyo segmentation guide covers the segments that matter.
• Email AI: Klaviyo includes AI tools for drafting content. Use them for first drafts and variations, then edit for voice, accuracy and compliance.

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The short version

The best ecommerce newsletters are not the prettiest ones. They have a clear reason to exist beyond “we want to sell something this week”, a format subscribers recognise, and products that fit the content. Pick two or three of the formats above, commit to a cadence you can sustain, and measure them on clicks and revenue per recipient.

If you want a newsletter programme that people actually look forward to, our email design and copywriting service plans, writes and designs it in Klaviyo. Or start with a free Klaviyo audit and we will show you where your campaigns are leaving revenue on the table.