How I Make Beautiful Email Newsletters
Full transparency: I'm a Flodesk affiliate. If you decide to sign up through my link, you'll get 25% off your first year and I'll earn a commission at no additional cost to you. I've been a happy paying customer of Flodesk since their inception. ☺️
I left social media 4 years ago and focused on Flodesk instead
As someone who has quit social media, my email newsletter is the number one way that I generate a steady stream of sales week after week in my business.
No ads.
No Facebook.
No Instagram.
Just a simple weekly newsletter that rounds up the latest news in my life and business.
I knew that when I left social media, I needed to take my email marketing to the next level. For me, that meant sending emails that would feel like Christmas in people's inboxes—something people would actually look forward to opening rather than immediately deleting or marking as spam.
I needed a platform that would make it easy to create emails that were visually beautiful, genuinely valuable, and aligned with my anti-hustle approach to business. Something that wouldn't require me to spend hours wrestling with complicated features or feel like an obligation weighing me down.
And that's where Flodesk has been the perfect fit.
Flodesk is intuitive and beautiful
Let's start with the most obvious thing: Flodesk is gorgeous. As a creative entrepreneur, I value using tools that make me feel excited to get creative.
I’ve used nearly every other email marketing platform out there (Mailchimp, Mailerlite, Convertkit) and none have felt as easy and fun to use as Flodesk.
It’s a big part of the reason why I’ve been able to send out at least one email every week without fail - it’s an enjoyable experience for me.
Flodesk’s interface is clean, intuitive, and designed with the understanding that aesthetics aren't frivolous—they're essential to the creative process.
Flodesk’s email builder includes the ability to:
upload your own custom fonts
easily access your own brand colors
insert count down timer (eliminating the need for a third party tool!)
upload your Canva designs directly from inside Flodesk’s email builder
utilize advanced segmentation to make your emails more targeted and personalized
and of course so much more - without sacrificing simplicity and ease of use
Flodesk + Canva = a perfect combo
I'm a visual person. So when I sit down to write my weekly newsletter, I want to include beautiful visuals that enhance the experience. I actually write very little text in my emails - just a couple of sentences under each image with a bright call-to-action button.
I think my use of images in my emails have played a huge role in why people love them. My subscribers tell me all the time that they actually enjoy receiving my emails, that they look forward to them. This is probably because my emails are so easy to read, process, and act upon - thanks to the use of images. It’s true - an image IS worth a thousand words.
Flodesk is genuinely image-friendly in a way that other platforms just aren't. I can always trust that my emails will actually look good when they land in someone's inbox. No weird compression or fighting with alignment issues.
Recently, Flodesk rolled out a Canva integration that has enhanced my workflow even more. I can now create graphics directly in Canva and pull them into my Flodesk emails without the awkward dance of downloading, saving to my desktop, finding the file, uploading it again. It's seamless. It respects my time. It removes friction from the creative process.
My favorite time saving feature
One of my favorite features in Flodesk is the ability to save a whole library of images and layouts that I can quickly retrieve and reuse in my newsletter.
There are certain images and layouts that I use again and again for testimonials, courses, affiliate recommendations, etc.
When I sit down to write my weekly newsletter, I'm not reinventing the wheel. I'm pulling from my library of proven elements and focusing my creative energy on the actual content—the stories I want to tell, the promotions I want to highlight, and the latest news and updates I want to share.
As a mom to two kiddos with no team and a six-figure business to sustain without social media, this kind systematic efficiency is everything. I'm not cutting corners or producing lower-quality work—I'm removing unnecessary decision fatigue and technical friction so I can show up without sacrificing my time, energy, or creative joy.
Here’s my whole 30 minute process for sending my email newsletter:
Save news and ideas to Notion throughout the week for my newsletter
Duplicate last week’s newsletter in Flodesk to edit for my next newsletter
Switch out the content using layouts and graphics saved to my “Favorites” library in Flodesk
Add any new graphics from Canva
Add text and call-to-action buttons
Hit “SEND”
More than just pretty emails
Even though I clearly love Flodesk because of the “pretty factor”, the reality is that I also need my email marketing to make money. And it does!
With Flodesk’s analytics, I can dig even deeper into what’s working and what’s not - and yes, even the analytics dashboard in Flodesk is pretty too! 🥰
In Flodesk’s analytics, I can see…
Which sign up forms are actually working - not just views, but which ones are growing my list
How my emails are performing - open rates, click rates, and subscriber growth at a glance
The best times to send - based on my actual audience behavior, not generic "best practices"
Flodesk Actually Wants You to Make Money
Another way that Flodesk shows that they care about the small, creative business owner is they make it possible for you to make and sell your own Flodesk templates!
If you're a designer, a creative entrepreneur, or someone who just loves making things beautiful, this is a genuine income stream.
On top of that, Flodesk makes it super easy for their customers to be affiliates as well. In fact, the way they support their affiliates is truly top-notch. The owners of Flodesk are focused on creating a community culture where you actually feel like a valued customer and partner in the business, not just another number in their system.
Why does this matter?
This creator-friendly approach tells you something important about Flodesk as a company: they're not just extracting value from small business owners. They're creating multiple ways for us to thrive within their ecosystem. Whether you're selling templates, earning affiliate commissions, or simply using the platform to grow your email list and generate sales, Flodesk is designed to support your success.
The Bottom Line
Here are some facts from Flodesk:
On average, every $1 spent on email marketing returns $40
Flodesk emails get seen 17% more than industry average
Brands with well-designed emails can see up to 200% more conversions
If you value beauty and simplicity, if you want your email platform to feel like a creative tool rather than a corporate obligation—Flodesk may be your new favorite business buddy.
After four years without social media and relying entirely on my email list to generate consistent sales, I can confidently say that choosing the right email platform matters. Flodesk has been that right choice for me, and it might just be the missing piece in your anti-hustle business strategy too.
