Newsletters in all their forms (paper, email, website) are effective marketing tools for businesses and organizations to communicate their products, services, and activities. Using principles of graphic design, some basic knowledge of HTML, and software like Word, Apple's Pages or Adobe InDesign, you can produce a quality newsletter based on one of many high quality newsletter templates available free for download.
The following are among the best sites for free newsletter templates. You can customize these templates with your own logo, images, and other content. A few of these sites may require a free registration but all them offer 100% free downloads.
1. Carbon Graffiti [No Longer Available]
One of the more basic and straightforward sets of HTML templates can be found on Carbon Graffiti. Click on the preview of each layout to get a better view. The templates on this site include basic, advanced, and custom formats for traditional, RSS, and promotional newsletters. These free newsletter templates are a direct download, requiring no site registration.
2. Campaign Monitor
Compaign Monitor, an email distribution service, has a wide selection of HTML newsletter email templates. It offers several dozen templates that the company says have been tested for all major email clients, including Outlook, Gmail, and Yahoo! Mail. Most of the newsletters are of the two-column format.
3. Buytemplates
Buytemplates sells premium HTML templates, but it also offers a handful of free very high quality newsletter templates. The designs go well beyond the traditional two-column format and are great for professional email marketing campaigns. You have to provide a valid email address to get the download link for templates.
4. FreshTemplates
FreshTemplates offers a free set of straight forward newsletter templates that consist of two-three column layouts. These templates can be edited in Microsoft Word.
5. Stocklayouts
Stocklayouts of course sells professional high quality layouts, but it also offers a great set of free newspaper templates that include matching business cards, posters, brochures, and postcard layouts. The files are fully editable, so you can replace the fonts, images, and of course the filler text with your own copy. You can either print out the finished layout or downsize it for email distribution or web posting. You have to create a free account to download the templates.
6. Microsoft Word Templates
Wordtemplates includes sets of free newsletter templates and links to other sources. These HTML templates are a direct download, and don't require sign-up. For similar Word templates, check out the best sites to download Microsoft Word templates.
7. Aweber
Aweber is another email distribution service that features some easy to customize free templates that you can download without being a paid customer. The following are a few of their free options.
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For tips on how to use newsletter templates in Microsoft Word and Apple's Pages, check out our other MUO articles. If you know of other great sources of free newsletter templates, please share them with us.
If you weren't satisfied with the above, see our article on even more newsletter templates that are free. If you want to incorporate a newsletter for say your blog site, check out our article on starting and setting up an email newsletter.
Image Credit: Shutterstock.