Hey, hey Reader,

I’ve been thinking a lot about customer newsletters lately.

Specifically, the monthly kind that B2B SaaS & EdTech companies send out.

I launched one this year for a client. It’s solid: a mix of educational content and product updates, thoughtfully written, well-designed, and genuinely useful.

But now I’m getting the inevitable question:
​“How is it driving product engagement or activation?”

And I’ll be honest.

I’ve always been skeptical of monthly newsletters for exactly this reason. They’re time-consuming to produce, difficult to measure beyond opens and clicks, and often too infrequent to build any real momentum.

In my experience, newsletters work best as part of a broader nurture strategy, not as a direct conversion tool.
​

But the pressure to prove short-term ROI is real.

So here’s where I’ve landed (for now):

The case for newsletters is not found in conversions. It’s in conditioning.​
Done well, newsletters create consistency. They give your brand a regular rhythm. They keep customers connected, even when they’re not actively using your product. And over time, they build trust so that when an update does land, your email is the one they open.

But that only works when a few things are true:

• The content feels customer- and human-first, not company-first
• It’s clear, concise, and not overloaded with CTAs
• You send often enough to stay top of mind, but not so often it becomes noise

So if you're wondering whether to launch (or keep) your customer newsletter, consider:

• Is it helping customers do something better?
• Is it part of a longer customer journey or lifecycle strategy?
• Do you have the systems in place to learn from it? Meaning you don’t send just to send?

That’s the lens I’m shifting toward now. Less “monthly news dump,” more “mini momentum-builder.”

Curious to hear how you approach this, too.
Have you seen newsletters move the needle? Or, do they fall flat in your org?

See you next Wednesday.

And as always , I'm rooting for you 👏. Kelly