Something magical happens when you give your project a name.
It becomes real.
That idea that you’ve tossed around for a month, a year, or (be honest) a lifetime starts to solidify. Whether an email newsletter is step one or one hundred in your creator journey, it deserves a name.
As scary as it can be to start something new, it’s even more challenging to come up with a name that feels just right.
Raise your hand if you’ve scratched out countless options. We’ve all been there.
Luckily, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel to come up with great newsletter names. That’s because we’ve found a few tried and true formulas to help you crack the code on newsletter name ideas.
Why your newsletter needs a name
If you’ve ever struggled to come up with a newsletter name that you click with, you probably asked yourself, “do I really need to name this?” at least once. The truth is that your newsletter name is part of your brand, which means it’s a small but essential detail to engage with your audience.
Picking a name for your newsletter will help you:
Build brand awareness
A consistent and memorable name helps keep you—and your brand—top of your readers' mind. A unique name is also easier to refer to since it stands out in your mind. Finally, a newsletter name that stands out in the inbox can boost open rates and engagement.
Build a loyal community with newsletters
Share what you love to on a consistent basis to connect with your followers and grow your business with a free ConvertKit account.
Create a free newsletterLook official
Your brand is never too small to treat with care and respect. Consistent naming and branding help you present as the leader you are. Nearly 70% of consumers state that clear mission and values on a company’s website or socials build trust, and the name you choose can go a long way in establishing positioning.
Anne-Laure Le Cunff, whose Maker Mind newsletter reaches over 20,000 subscribers every week, shares:
“With a separate name, the Maker Mind newsletter became a mini-publication, related yet independent of the core business. Having a separate name gave me the flexibility to create other newsletters in the future, with different content and target audiences. For instance, I currently have another newsletter just for paid members, called The Ness Letter.”
Anne-Laure Le Cunff, founder of Maker Mind
Create exclusivity
Personalized content is key to growing your newsletter, and a creative name designates a space for your best content. You can use this exclusivity to your advantage on your newsletter’s landing page, just like Teela Cunningham does with her weekly newsletter, the Tuesday Tribe. The people in her newsletter are the “first to nab special deals” when they’re part of the Tribe.
How to name your newsletter
We promised newsletter name ideas, so it’s time to deliver. There are two parts in our method to help you come up with a name—an associated word brainstorm and plugging your terms into creative naming formulas.
Brainstorm words related to your content
The words you end up choosing have a significant impact on what potential readers assume about your brand. You need fuel to make newsletter formulas work, and at this stage, there are no bad ideas.
Start making a list of words that include your name, niche, and unique perspective. Sometimes, looking through lists of adjectives, phrases, and adverbs can help. Don’t worry about editing at this stage. Even if you don’t love a term, write it down, because it may inspire a different idea.
If the flywheels aren’t turning, think about who your target audience is, how you want them to feel, and how you want to help them.
We've come up with a few theoretical newsletter names for different audiences in the same niche to illustrate this. As you review them, think about who each would target and what their perspective might be:
- Bashful Baker vs. Baking Without Borders
- Parents Who Podcast vs. The Podcast Professor
- Glamorous Gallivant vs. Have Budget, Will Travel
Khe Hy, who has been called the “Oprah for Millennials” and writes for more than 20,000 subscribers, said:
“I’m from New York City, and I grew up as a fan of skateboard culture and surfing. I always had a kind of ‘chilled-out’ West Coast vibe to me even though I’d never lived there. I worked in finance and knew a lot of older, important people, and I thought it was just so funny that I could force them to say the word “rad.” As a writer, I love alliterations, so I added Reads.”
Khe Hy, founder of RadReads
Try your words through these formulas
If your brainstorm list looks messy, don’t fret. To help you out, we compiled a long list of our favorite newsletter names and asked, “what do these have in common?” The result is eight formulas to try on for size.
Formula #1: The [adjective] [noun]
The first formula is the simplest. All you need to do is take an adjective of choice and attach it to who you are or what you do.
Here are our favorite examples:
- The Thrifty Homesteader by Deborah Niemann
- Bake Club by Christina Tosi
- Dense Discovery by Kai Brach
- Unmistakable Creative by Srini Rao
- The Butter Half by Abbey Rodriguez
Formula #2: Puns and play-on-words
Life is fun when you use more puns. A clever play-on-words is sure to catch your reader’s attention and stand out in their mind.
Examples of this type of newsletter name are:
Formula #3: Your perspective
No matter how saturated you think your niche is, there’s nobody exactly like you. Having a unique perspective or alternative opinion helps your target audience think, “hey, that sounds like me!”
Perspective-based names include:
- Sleeping Should Be Easy by Nina Garcia
- Fewer Better Things by Per Håkansson
- Timeless and Timely by Scott Monty
- Noticing by Jason Kottke
Formula #4: Phrases with a twist
If you like longer newsletter names, look to these “phrase with a twist” examples. Taking a phrase and swapping a word or two can encapsulate a big idea in a small sentence.
Wrap your head around these twisted examples:
- My Forking Life by Tanya Harris
- The Blog Abroad by Gloria Atanmo
- Culture Study by Ann Helen Petersen
Formula #5: Your name
You don’t need to be someone you’re not in your business. In fact, being yourself makes you more authentic. We noticed that plenty of newsletters are named after the creator or inspired by their name. Establishing it under your name is a good option if you haven’t chosen a topic yet.
Some creators that use this naming method include:
- Austin Kleon
- XayLi Barclay
- Total Annarchy by Ann Handley
- Ann Friedman Weekly
Ann Handley, a Wall Street Journal bestselling author and marketing leader, shared:
“I wanted to make it feel like a personal message from me to you, with an ‘insider’ feel. So the ‘Total’ says it’s All Me — it’s not written and sent by anyone other than me. And the play on my name with ‘Annarchy’ creates a kind of community, world view, and perspective.”
Ann Handley, founder of Total Annarchy
Formula #6: Your blog’s name (or a subsidiary of it)
If you’re creating a newsletter after establishing a blog or brand, you might carry the theme to the inbox. You can either go by “The [Company Name] Newsletter,” or a subsidiary phrase.
Here are some examples:
- Daily Brew by Morning Brew
- Tuesday Tribe by Teela Cunningham of Every Tuesday
- The DO Newsletter by The Do Lectures
- Unemployable by Brian Clark
- Swiss Miss by Tina Roth Eisenberg
- ConvertKit Newsletter, by you guessed it 😂
Formula #7: Alliteration
Attention, all alliteration addicts, these examples are up your alley. Simple phrases with the same leading letters roll off the tongue and are the newsletter name of choice for these creators:
- RadReads by Khe Hy
- Wait But Why
- Maker Mind by Anne-Laure Le Cunff
- Creative Caffeine by David Sherry
Formula #8: Time-based
Consistency is critical for a successful newsletter—putting the send day or frequency in the name sets expectations early. The only thing to keep in mind if you’re thinking of using this naming formula: choose a time you can commit to. Here are our favorite time-based names:
- The Sunday Dispatches by Paul Jarvis
- The Friyay Fuel
- Sunday Brunch with Allen Gannett
5 places to include your newsletter name
After you’ve chosen a name, it’s time to shout it from the rooftops! Or, more realistically (and probably safer), your landing pages and signup forms.
Here are five essential spots you should share your new-found identity:
Landing page
Think of your newsletter landing page as the front gate into your magical kingdom of content. This is the spot where you’ll let potential subscribers know what to expect from your emails and give them a place to sign up. The example from Eric Friedensohn's newsletter Extra Paint below tells you how often you’ll receive it and the type of content to expect.
And if you want to show off your favorite or most recent newsletters on your landing page, you can set up a Newsletter Feed.
Think of this feed like your blog or an Instagram feed- your audience can get more insight into who you are as a creator as they read through your content, giving them more opportunity to trust your insights and increases the chances they’ll join your email list.
Sign up form
Another spot to include your newsletter name is on the sign up form. These smaller blocks won’t have as much information as a full landing page, but you’ll have plenty of room to present your value proposition.
ConvertKit's form builder lets you choose a form that’s inline with your page, pops up on your site, or slides in as someone browses your blog. The Butter Half newsletter signup is inline with the content on the home page.
Sender name / Subject line
Once someone signs up for your newsletter, you need to carry your branding into the inbox. The first place to include your name is in the subject line or as part of your sender name.
For example, Chaitra Radhakrishna includes both her name and business name in the “from” section. “Chaitra from PinkPot” puts her front and center as the creator, while also giving context about her company.
Another example of putting your newsletter branding front and center is Khe Hy’s subject line, “Welcome to RadReads.”
Top of email
Once a subscriber gets into an email, you can include your branding at the top of the message in a header image. In the example from Sleeping Should Be Easy below, the message starts with the blog’s logo. Adding a header image is a simple way to add personality. Just make sure to add alt text to preserve deliverability.
Footer
If you want to make your emails feel more personal and connect your face to the brand, consider a stylized footer. Austin Saylor uses a photo in his email footer to humanize the message. The footer is also a great place to build anticipation about what’s to come or link to useful pages like your best content or paid resources.
Ready to start something new? ConvertKit can help
A great newsletter name is important – but it also needs to deliver compelling content over time.
Luckily, ConvertKit makes it easy to launch your newsletter, collect subscribers, and grow your business online.
Sign up for your free account and start growing your audience today!
