This guide walks a Canadian business through its first newsletter, from gathering subscribers the right way to reading the results. It assumes you are using Mailpro, but the principles apply whatever tool you choose.
Step 1: Define the purpose and frequency
Decide what readers will get and how often: a monthly roundup, a weekly offer, a seasonal edition. Put that promise in your sign-up form. Under CASL, express consent must state its purpose, so “monthly news and offers from Maple Street Bakery” is both good marketing and good compliance.
Step 2: Build a list with valid consent
Add a sign-up form to your website and checkout, with an unticked consent box and a short explanation. Enable double opt-in so each subscriber confirms by email and you keep a time-stamped record. Existing customers who bought from you in the last two years can receive messages on the basis of implied consent, but invite them to confirm. See our guide to subscription forms for Canada.
Step 3: Choose a template
Open the editor and pick one of more than 600 templates. Choose a clean layout with space for a header image, two or three stories and a clear button. You can also build from scratch with the drag-and-drop newsletter builder.
Step 4: Write the content
- Lead with the most useful item, not the company news.
- Keep paragraphs short for mobile readers.
- Use one primary call to action, built with the button builder.
- Use Canadian spelling and conventions: colour, centre, dates like “October 12”, prices in dollars.
Step 5: Produce the French version
Duplicate the finished newsletter and translate it fully, including the subject line, preheader, image alt text and footer. Have a native French speaker review it; Canadian French has its own vocabulary (courriel, magasiner, fin de semaine). Send the French version to subscribers who chose French, particularly in Quebec.
Step 6: Add the CASL footer
Include your business name, mailing address, a phone number, email or website, and an unsubscribe link. Mailpro adds the unsubscribe link automatically and processes requests immediately.
Step 7: Test and schedule
Send a test to yourself and a colleague, check it on a phone, and click every link. Then split your list by time zone and schedule each segment for mid-morning local time: 10 a.m. in Halifax is 6 a.m. in Vancouver, so one national send rarely suits everyone.
Step 8: Measure and adjust
After 48 hours, review opens, clicks and unsubscribes. Compare English and French editions and different regions. Use what you learn to refine subject lines, content and send times for the next edition.
Content ideas for Canadian newsletters
- A seasonal guide: winter driving tips, spring cleaning, cottage opening, fall harvest.
- Local events and community sponsorships in the towns you serve.
- Staff or supplier profiles, especially Canadian-made products.
- Answers to common customer questions, in both languages.
- A holiday edition timed for Thanksgiving in October rather than the US date in November.
Growing the list after the first edition
Add a “forward to a friend” line and a sign-up link in every issue so new readers can subscribe themselves. Offer sign-up at the till with a tablet form, on receipts with a QR code and at events. Avoid adding contacts from business cards or trade-show scans unless they clearly agreed; under CASL, when in doubt, ask for express consent rather than assuming it.
Where your newsletter data is kept
Mailpro stores your lists and designs in a Swiss data centre, outside US jurisdiction. That matters for PIPEDA accountability and for the privacy assessment Quebec’s Law 25 requires before personal information leaves the province. When you are ready to go further, explore HTML newsletters or return to the newsletter creation overview.