Good Karma Socials

According to an article published by Increditools, the average person receives around 40 emails per day. With inboxes already that full, it’s no wonder people are becoming more selective with what they subscribe to. Too many brands still treat email as a place to dump content in the hope of staying relevant. What happens instead? We unsubscribe!

And this isn’t just anecdotal. According to Validity’s Consumer Email Tracker (used widely across the UK and Europe), 56% of people say they unsubscribe from brand emails simply because they’re sent too often. Not because they dislike the brand or because the content was terrible. Just too many emails!

Other industry data backs this up. Research shared by HubSpot shows that between a quarter and a third of unsubscribes are directly linked to email frequency, making it the single most common reason people opt out. Relevance matters, yes, but volume is what pushes people over the edge.

What’s interesting is that the newsletters people do stay subscribed to tend to ignore most marketing “rules”. They’re not perfectly designed. They don’t always sell something. They don’t show up every week without fail. They arrive when there’s something worth saying.

I see this a lot with smaller UK organisations, CICs, charities and independents who send emails monthly or even less often. When they show up, it’s usually with something real: an update, a reflection, a decision they didn’t take lightly or a quiet invitation. No fake urgency or “just checking in!”. And their audience actually reads them.

So, how do you actually write a newsletter that people want to read? Here are three tips that we have seen work for our clients:

1. Keep it human.

Write like a person, not a brand. Skip “exciting updates” and “we’re thrilled to announce.” People can smell a corporate tone from a mile away. Instead, write as though you’re talking to a friend. Simple, clear, and a little bit warm. Share your personality, your voice, and even small moments of honesty or reflection. That connection is what makes someone open your email next time and actually read it, rather than skim or delete.

2. Respect their inbox.

Every email should earn its place. Bombarding people with newsletters that say nothing is a fast track to unsubscribes. Only send emails when you have something genuinely worth sharing. When subscribers feel each newsletter is purposeful and valuable, they’ll stay engaged and actually read what you send.

3. Make it worth their time.

Every email should have one clear purpose: an update, a reflection, or something useful. Attention spans are shrinking, and people skim faster than ever, so a long, sprawling newsletter with five topics, three CTAs, and a last-minute sales pitch is exhausting. Keep it short and focused – one main idea, one story, one call to action. Bite-sized, digestible content is easier to read and more respectful of people’s time.

Unsubscribes aren’t a failure, either and can be used as valuable feedback. Write with care, keep your emails thoughtful and your audience will reward you by actually opening and reading what you send.

At Good Karma Socials, we’ve got the skills, know-how and a little bit of magic to create newsletters your audience won’t be able to resist. If you’re interested in hearing more, send us an email at hello@goodkarmasocials.com

Read our blog “AI for social content? Here’s who can get away with it (and who really can’t)” here.