20 Best Email Newsletter Examples in 2026 (Worth Studying for Format and Design)
Key facts20 newsletters worth studying, from Morning Brew's roundup to Techpresso's AI angle
- Morning Brew has 4M+ subscribers and opens daily issues with a short, voicey editor's note before the news roundup begins.
- Techpresso, published by Dupple, has 780K+ subscribers and brands itself as 'AI-curated, human-edited' to build trust in an AI-skeptical inbox.
- Lenny's Newsletter charges $150/year and bundles a free year of tools like Notion, Perplexity, Linear, and Canva, claimed at $30K+ value.
- Subject lines of 50 characters or less get about 12% more opens and 75% more click-through rate, and personalization adds 26% more opens.
- Recommended newsletter length varies by category: daily roundups run 600 to 1,200 words, operator essays 2,000 to 5,000 words.
Short answer: study Morning Brew for the daily roundup format, Lenny's Newsletter for paid-tier value-stacking, Techpresso for the AI-curated daily briefing, Marketing Examples for the 3-2-1 weekly structure, Growth.Design for visual case studies, and Web Curios for pure voice-driven curation. The 20 examples below are organized by category, with the specific element from each worth borrowing for your own newsletter.
The best newsletters in 2026 don't share a single design pattern. They share a specific element each that makes them recognizable. This guide is built to be a swipe file. Pick 3-5 newsletters that match your style, sign up to study them weekly, and steal one specific tactic from each.
Quick reference: 20 newsletters and what to steal from each
| Newsletter | Category | One element to steal |
|---|---|---|
| Morning Brew | Daily roundup | Witty editor's note opener |
| The Hustle | Daily roundup | "Big Idea" narrative lead |
| TLDR | Daily roundup | Reading-time annotations |
| Techpresso | Daily roundup | AI-curated, human-edited tagline |
| Marketingshot | Daily roundup | "Why it matters" line per item |
| The Skimm | Daily roundup | "What to say at brunch" voice |
| The Information | Paid daily | Scoop-in-subject-line pattern |
| Lenny's Newsletter | Operator | Paid bundle of tool credits |
| Stratechery | Operator | Free flagship + paid daily split |
| Pragmatic Engineer | Operator | "The Pulse" sub-format |
| Demand Curve | Operator | One tactic, fully explained |
| Why We Buy | Operator | "Imagine this..." opener |
| Marketing Examples | Operator | 3-2-1 structure |
| Growth.Design | Visual | Comic-book case studies |
| Tedium | Visual | Pixel-controlled custom stack |
| The Profile | Visual | Mid-article CTA placement |
| Web Curios | Niche | Voice as moat |
| Dense Discovery | Niche | "Worthy Five" guest section |
| Ann Friedman Weekly | Niche | Signature visual gimmick |
| First Round Review | B2B | 5,000-word evergreen long-form |
Category 1: Daily news roundups
Morning Brew
Morning Brew is the daily business newsletter, 4M+ subscribers across newsletters. Plain two-color masthead, businesslike design, no fancy graphics. Roughly 36 curated items per issue, sent Mon-Sat before 6 AM ET.
What to steal: the opening "witty editor's note", a single short, voicey paragraph from the day's editor before the news starts. It humanizes a corporate-feeling product and is the single biggest reason people open instead of skim. Add an editor's note to your daily roundup and watch open rates lift.
The model for a daily business newsletter with personality. Its witty editor's note before the news starts humanizes a corporate-feeling product, so steal that opener if you run a daily roundup and want readers to open rather than skim.
The Hustle
The Hustle is HubSpot-owned (acquired for $27M in 2021), 2M+ subscribers, daily.
What to steal: the "Big Idea" lead format, every issue opens with one main business story told as a narrative, not a roundup. Most dailies front-load links. The Hustle front-loads a story. The narrative lead pulls readers into the email before they bounce to social.
A lesson in narrative leads. Where most dailies front-load links, The Hustle opens every issue with one main business story told as a narrative, which pulls readers in before they bounce to social. Copy it if your roundup feels like a list.
TLDR
TLDR is the 5-minute daily tech digest, 7M+ subscribers across 9 specialized editions (AI, DevOps, Founders, Marketing, Web Dev, Design, Crypto, Product, Information Security).
What to steal: the reading-time annotation on every linked story ("(3 minute read)"). Sets expectation, makes the email feel like a service rather than a wall of links. Three words you can copy into your newsletter starting tomorrow.
Worth studying for how little it takes to make a digest feel like a service. The reading-time annotation on every linked story sets expectations, and it costs three words to copy into your own newsletter tomorrow, whatever your niche.
Techpresso
Disclosure: Dupple, the publisher of this site, also publishes Techpresso.
Study it for transparency. Telling readers that machines surface the stories and humans choose what makes the cut builds trust in an AI-skeptical inbox, and it becomes a bigger differentiator as more newsletters use AI behind the scenes.
Techpresso is the daily AI and tech briefing from the Dupple team, 780K+ subscribers.
What to steal: the "AI-curated, human-edited" angle, telling readers explicitly that machines surface stories and humans choose what makes the cut. Builds trust in an AI-skeptical inbox climate. As more newsletters use AI behind the scenes, transparency becomes a differentiator. Subscribe to Techpresso to study the format directly.
Marketingshot
Disclosure: Dupple, the publisher of this site, also publishes Marketingshot.
A cheap upgrade for any news roundup. The one-sentence Why it matters line under every item turns aggregation into analysis while keeping the whole issue readable in under 5 minutes.
Marketingshot is the daily marketing newsletter from Dupple, read by marketers at Google, Meta, HubSpot, Semrush, Shopify, and Mailchimp. Under 5 minutes, Mon-Fri.
What to steal: the "Why it matters" line under every news item. One sentence of editorial framing per story turns aggregation into analysis. The cheapest way to add perceived value to a news roundup. Subscribe to Marketingshot to see the pattern in practice.
The Skimm
The Skimm reaches 5M+ subscribers at peak. Powder blue, modern sans serif. No images, no emojis, no big CTAs, just text and one outbound link per story.
What to steal: the "what to say at brunch" framing, every story is rewritten in the voice of a friend explaining the news. Voice is the moat. Two newsletters can cover the exact same news. The one written in a friend's voice gets opened.
The case for voice as a moat. Every story is rewritten as a friend explaining the news, with no images, emojis or big CTAs. Use it if you cover the same news as everyone else and need a reason to be the one opened.
The Information
The Information is the premium tech journalism subscription at $399/year. Daily news plus deep features.
What to steal: the "exclusive scoop in the subject line" pattern. Subject lines often name a specific company plus a verb readers haven't seen anywhere else ("Anthropic is talking to..."). For paid newsletters, the subject line IS the conversion mechanism. If readers can guess what's inside, they don't pay.
A masterclass in subject lines for paid newsletters. Naming a specific company plus a verb readers have not seen elsewhere makes the subject line the conversion mechanism, though the $399/year price demands scoops that deliver.
Category 2: Operator and builder newsletters
Lenny's Newsletter
Lenny's Newsletter by Lenny Rachitsky has millions of subscribers across free and paid tiers, $150/year for paid. 2-3 issues per week.
What to steal: the product bundle. Paid annual subscribers get a free year of Notion, Perplexity, Linear, Granola, ElevenLabs, Framer, Canva, and ~25 other tools (claimed $30K+ value). Lenny turned an info product into a software bundle, justifying the $150 price 10x over. If you have a paid newsletter, partnership bundles are the strongest retention mechanism in market.
The strongest retention play here if you run a paid newsletter. Bundling free tools like Notion, Perplexity and Linear with the $150/year subscription justifies the price many times over, though the claimed $30K+ value is Lenny's own figure.
Stratechery
Stratechery by Ben Thompson, 40K+ paid subscribers (2023 estimate), ~$5M+ ARR. Daily updates 3x/week plus weekly free article.
What to steal: the free flagship plus paid daily split. One free essay per week markets the product to new readers. Daily issues are paywalled for $120/year. Most operators do the reverse (paywall the flagship, give away daily filler) and leave money on the table. Stratechery's structure is the right one.
The right structure for a paid newsletter. One free essay a week markets the product to new readers, while the daily issues sit behind a $120/year paywall. Most operators do the reverse and leave money on the table.
The Pragmatic Engineer
The Pragmatic Engineer by Gergely Orosz, 1.07M+ subscribers, #4 in Technology on Substack. Added 200K subscribers in 2025 alone.
What to steal: "The Pulse", a recurring sub-newsletter format inside the main one. Same brand, same list, different format and rhythm. Lets one operator publish more without burning out on long-form. If your flagship is a 5,000-word weekly, add a 500-word "Pulse" twice a week. Double your touch frequency without doubling your writing time.
Pick this lesson if you publish long-form and fear burnout. A recurring sub-format like The Pulse adds a second rhythm under the same brand, so you can double your touch frequency without doubling your writing time.
Demand Curve Newsletter
Demand Curve Newsletter, 91,000+ subscribers, weekly (sometimes 2x), free.
What to steal: the "one tactic, fully explained" format. Most growth newsletters give 7 tips. Demand Curve goes deep on one. The depth is the differentiator. In a noisy inbox, fewer items explained well beats more items explained shallowly.
The depth play. Instead of seven tips, each issue explains one tactic fully, which stands out in a noisy inbox where fewer items explained well beat more items explained shallowly. A good fit for a free weekly in a crowded growth niche.
Why We Buy (Katelyn Bourgoin)
Why We Buy, 220K+ subscribers, weekly Tuesdays, free. Reports generate $1M+ in revenue tied to paid courses.
What to steal: the "Imagine this..." opener. Almost every issue begins with those two words, dropping the reader into a scene before the lesson. Curiosity loop is opened in line 1, not line 5. Also: monthly "Brainy Battles" comparing two real brand campaigns, a recurring format pillar readers anticipate.
A strong model for writers who teach. Opening almost every issue with Imagine this starts a curiosity loop in line 1, and the monthly Brainy Battles give readers a format pillar to anticipate. Use it if you sell paid courses off a free list.
Marketing Examples (Harry Dry)
Marketing Examples, 130K+ subscribers, weekly Mondays, free.
What to steal: the 3-2-1 structure, 3 marketing examples, 2 copywriting tips, 1 X post. Predictable container, fresh contents. Readers know exactly what they're getting. The format becomes part of the product. Pick a number combination that works for your content, ship the same skeleton every week.
Steal the skeleton. The 3-2-1 structure of 3 marketing examples, 2 copywriting tips and 1 X post makes the format part of the product. Predictable container, fresh contents, ideal if you struggle to ship consistently.
Category 3: Visual and design-heavy
Growth.Design
Growth.Design, ~150K subscribers, roughly monthly, free. UX case studies presented as comic-book panels with illustrated characters reacting.
What to steal: treat the medium as the message. A comic-format takedown of TikTok's onboarding flow is more memorable than a 2,000-word essay. Pick a visual constraint and live in it. Most newsletters use generic templates. If you commit to one weird visual format, you become impossible to forget.
The pick if you want to be impossible to forget. Presenting UX case studies as comic-book panels beats a 2,000-word essay for memorability, though it means committing to one weird visual format every single issue.
Tedium
Tedium by Ernie Smith. Custom-built on Craft CMS, refusing Substack and Beehiiv to keep pixel control. Red-white-grey palette, giant red boxes with big white numbers as section anchors. Long-form essays on single obscure topics.
What to steal: owning your stack. Most newsletters use Substack or Beehiiv (which is fine). But owning your design and infrastructure compounds. Every issue reinforces visual recognition. For brands building newsletter-as-asset, owning the stack pays off long-term.
Choose this route if you are building a newsletter as an asset. Owning your stack on Craft CMS instead of Substack or Beehiiv gives pixel control that compounds, but it means giving up the convenience of those platforms.
The Profile (Polina Marinova Pompliano)
The Profile, "tens of thousands" of subscribers, 6-figure ARR. Sunday long-form plus weekly profiles dossier. Freemium ($10/mo or $50/yr).
What to steal: CTA placement mid-article, not end. Polina asks readers to subscribe halfway through the email. Counterintuitive but works because that's when the reader is most engaged, not most exhausted. Most newsletters bury the CTA at the bottom where attention has already dropped.
Copy the mid-article CTA. Asking readers to subscribe halfway through the email catches them when they are most engaged, not most exhausted, which beats burying the ask at the bottom where attention has already dropped.
Category 4: Niche and unusual format
Web Curios (Matt Muir)
Web Curios by Matt Muir, weekly Fridays, free. Sprawling, dense, deeply British, hostile to skimming. A single long page of links wrapped in essayistic asides.
What to steal: pure voice as moat. Web Curios is unmistakable from the first sentence. No template, no AI could replicate it. If you're an individual creator, the personality differential is what mass-produced newsletters can't copy. Don't optimize away your weirdness.
The reminder that voice beats polish. Dense, deeply British and hostile to skimming, it is unmistakable from the first sentence, which no template or AI could replicate. Best borrowed by individual creators rather than mass-produced brands.
Dense Discovery (Kai Brach)
Dense Discovery, weekly Tuesdays, free plus paid Friends membership. Feels like a printed quality magazine, generous whitespace, custom typography, single-column at calm width.
What to steal: the "Worthy Five" section, a guest each week shares 5 things they recommend. Built-in cross-promotion plus variety without extra writing. Adds new voices weekly. The recurring guest section is a tested format pillar worth borrowing.
A good model if you want variety without extra writing. The Worthy Five section, where a guest shares 5 things they recommend, builds in cross-promotion and adds new voices every week.
Ann Friedman Weekly
Ann Friedman Weekly, 50,000+ subscribers, weekly Fridays, free plus paid membership.
What to steal: the signature recurring visual gimmick, hand-drawn pie charts. One weird, memorable element that's hers alone, costs nothing, can't be copied. Most newsletter brands fail to develop signature visual elements. Pick one weird thing, commit to it weekly.
Proof that one signature visual is enough. Her hand-drawn pie charts cost nothing and cannot be copied, so pick one weird recurring element that is yours alone and commit to it weekly.
Category 5: B2B and SaaS
First Round Review
First Round Review, hundreds of thousands of subscribers, weekly(ish), free.
What to steal: the 5,000-word evergreen long-form. While everyone races to be brief, First Round bets on the opposite, playbooks that get bookmarked, shared on Slack, cited for years. Owned by a VC firm, but the model works for any thought-leadership play. Longevity beats frequency for B2B content.
The contrarian bet on length. While everyone races to be brief, its 5,000-word evergreen playbooks get bookmarked and cited for years, a model for B2B thought leadership where longevity beats frequency, even though a VC firm owns the brand.
Universal best practices every top newsletter follows
Subject line patterns that win in 2026
Top-performing patterns from current data:
- Curiosity gap ("The #1 reason your X isn't Y")
- Specific number ("3 things I learned...")
- Direct benefit ("Cut your CAC by half")
- Question ("Why isn't your funnel converting?")
- Personalization (+26% open rate)
- Length: 30-50 characters, 6-10 words (50 chars or less = +12% opens, +75% CTR)
Sender name patterns
- Personality-led: "Lenny Rachitsky" or "Lenny from Lenny's Newsletter", high trust, scales with creator
- Brand-led: "Morning Brew", "TLDR", works at scale, lower personal feel
- Hybrid: "Polina at The Profile", best of both
Layout norms
- Single-column, mobile-first is universal. Multi-column dies on phone.
- 60% text / 40% image ratio for deliverability and visual rhythm
- One primary CTA per email
- Top 1/3 must show value before any branding
- Section dividers (Tedium's red boxes, TLDR's category tags) help skimmability
P.S. line
The P.S. consistently has the highest CTR after the subject line. Treat it as a second subject line. Lenny ends with reader-of-the-week recs. Harry Dry ends with one X post. Polina ends with a quote. Recurring close equals ritual.
Length norms by category
- Daily roundup: 600-1,200 words (~5 min)
- Operator essay: 2,000-5,000 words (Lenny, Pragmatic Engineer, First Round)
- Curated weekly: 1,200-2,500 words (Dense Discovery, Marketing Examples)
- Visual: word count irrelevant (Growth.Design is 15-25 panels)
Beyond newsletter examples: tools and resources
To analyze and optimize your own newsletter, Toolradar lists 9,000+ tools including newsletter platforms (Beehiiv, Substack, Kit, ConvertKit), analytics (Mailchimp benchmarks, Beehiiv analytics), and design tools across 400+ categories.
For Dupple's complete newsletter coverage:
- Best AI newsletters, what to subscribe to in the AI space
- Best B2B newsletters, B2B operator and founder picks
- Best tech newsletters, tech professional picks
- Best marketing newsletters, marketer picks
For B2B operators thinking about newsletter advertising as a channel, see B2B newsletter advertising cost 2026, measure newsletter sponsorship ROI, and newsletter ad creative examples.
FAQ
What makes a good email newsletter?
One consistent recurring format that readers learn to expect, voice that's recognizable from the first line, value delivered in the first third before any branding, and one specific element that becomes your signature (visual gimmick, recurring section, opening pattern). Most successful newsletters share these traits, with the specific implementation varying.
What's the best free email newsletter format?
Daily roundup format for high-volume sectors (news, tech, AI, marketing). Weekly long-form for operator and builder content. The "3-2-1" or similar mini-format works for content marketers who want variety in a predictable shell. Pick based on your topic and how often you can ship without burning out.
How long should an email newsletter be?
Depends on category. Daily roundup: 600-1,200 words (5 minutes). Operator weekly: 2,000-5,000 words. Curated weekly: 1,200-2,500 words. Visual-first: word count irrelevant, focus on visual density. The right length is the one your audience consistently finishes.
What email newsletter platform should I use?
For most operators starting out, Beehiiv (free tier up to 2,500 subscribers) or Substack (revenue share on paid tier). For established creators with 10K+ subscribers, Beehiiv or ConvertKit. For brands building newsletter-as-asset, Beehiiv or custom Mailgun setup. See Toolradar's newsletter platform category for current pricing comparisons.
How do successful newsletters monetize?
Three primary models: ads (CPM-based, see newsletter advertising cost), paid subscriptions (Lenny at $150/yr, Stratechery at $120/yr, Pragmatic Engineer at $15/mo), and product bundles (Lenny's Product Pass with $30K+ in tool credits). Most large newsletters combine all three.
Should every B2B brand start a newsletter?
Most B2B brands shouldn't. Newsletters compound over years, not months. Most B2B brands stop publishing after 3-6 months when the audience doesn't materialize fast enough. If you commit to weekly publishing for 24+ months, yes. If you're not sure you'll still be publishing in 2 years, redirect that effort to other channels.
The best newsletters in 2026 aren't built on one design. They're built on one signature element repeated weekly until readers can't imagine the inbox without them. Start your free 7-day Dupple X trial →
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