This guide walks through a first newsletter from start to finish, using a realistic Maltese example: a family-run restaurant in Marsaskala that wants to email regulars and summer visitors once a month. Swap in your own business as you go.
Step 1: Set a goal for the issue
Every issue needs one job. For our restaurant, the September issue’s job is to fill tables over the Independence Day weekend (21 September). Everything else, such as a new chef or a wine evening, becomes secondary content.
Step 2: Check the list
Import contacts from your booking tool or spreadsheet. Before sending, confirm that each person either opted in or qualifies for the soft opt-in because they booked with you and were offered a way to refuse. Malta’s S.L. 586.01 requires prior written consent for marketing email, including to company addresses, so leave out anyone whose origin you cannot explain. Our guide to email permission in Malta has the detail.
Step 3: Segment
Split the list into residents and visitors. Residents get the Independence Day menu. Visitors, now back home, get a “plan your next trip” message instead. If you keep a language field, create English and Maltese segments too. Mailpro’s segmentation saves these rules for next month.
Step 4: Choose a template
Pick a single-column template so it reads well on phones. Add your logo, set brand colours, and replace stock images with your own photos: the terrace at sunset, a plate of fresh lampuki in season. Real local images outperform generic ones.
Step 5: Write the content
- Subject line: short and specific, for example “Independence Day lunch: 3 courses, sea view”.
- Preheader: the line shown after the subject, used to add the key detail, such as “Tables from 12:30, book by Friday”.
- Body: lead with the offer, add one supporting story, and finish with a single clear button.
- Footer: your business name and address, a link to your privacy notice, and the unsubscribe link Mailpro adds automatically.
Step 6: Personalise
Insert the subscriber’s first name and, if you store it, their locality or last visit. See how to personalise a newsletter.
Step 7: Test
Send tests to yourself and a colleague. Check the mobile layout, click every link, and have a fluent reader proofread any Maltese text. Mailpro’s newsletter checklist is useful here.
Step 8: Schedule
Malta uses CET (UTC+1) in winter and CEST (UTC+2) from late March to late October. For residents, a mid-week morning send is a reasonable starting point; for visitors in other time zones, schedule a separate send. Use scheduled sending to queue both.
Step 9: Review the results
Two or three days later, check clicks, bookings and unsubscribes. Did residents or visitors respond better? Did the Maltese subject line beat the English one? Note the answers and use them for next month.
Why this works on Mailpro
You pay per send, not per contact, so keeping a large list of past visitors costs nothing until you mail it. Data stays on private Swiss servers, and the platform is GDPR-native. For design options, go back to creating newsletters in Malta.