THE MAIN THING

 📈 3 Scary Newsletter Examples

Yes, scary newsletters exist.

The content isn't necessarily frightening, but the design and formatting horrors below make my eyes bleed like Robin Williams' character in the movie One Hour Photo. [Warning: Graphic].

I'm not going to 'name and shame' them (one of the examples is an incredibly popular editorial-style letter that is well written).

So, what makes these newsletters scary? I'm glad you asked.

Example 1: Nightmarish links 

3 reasons this is grim:

1.  It overwhelms attention.

Every link is a “click me” invitation. When there are too many, your reader’s brain has to decide what’s worth clicking, and this kills their focus. Instead of reading your message, they scan, skip, or abandon it.

2. It looks spammy.

A wall of blue underlined text screams “sales email.” It breaks the visual rhythm and makes the copy feel jumpy and cluttered. Good newsletters flow.

3. It messes with trust and tracking.

Too many outbound links (especially with tracking parameters) can make readers suspicious or trip spam filters.

Example 2: Ghostly contrast

3 reasons this is grim:

1. It strains the eyes and kills readability.

If your text color is too similar to the background, it's hard work to read. Most people won’t even bother; they’ll just skim or close the email. 

2. It reduces accessibility.

Low contrast can make your newsletter unreadable for anyone with vision impairments, color blindness, or even just a bright screen. If people can’t comfortably read your email, they won’t engage, and you risk alienating part of your audience.

3. It weakens your design hierarchy.

Good contrast helps guide the eye and show what’s most important. If everything blends together, readers can’t tell headlines from body text or links from plain text. 

Example 3: The message massacre

3 reasons this is grim:

1. Visual overload.

Readers scan, not study. When they see a dense block of text, their brain screams “too much work,” and they move on. This happens even if the content’s good.

2. You lose your rhythm.

Without breaks, subheadings, or white space, the eye has nowhere to rest. Important points get buried instead of standing out.

3. It hides your voice.

When everything blends together, your tone and personality get lost. Short paragraphs make your writing feel more conversational and human.

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THINGS IN BRIEF

1. Spooky newsletters

There is an entire genre of spooky, creepy, and grisly newsletters online. 

Many of these letters have huge followings for their tales of murders, mysteries, and the macabre.

Darren Marlar hosts the award-winning Weird Darkness podcast and writes a newsletter where he tells true stories about strange and sinister deeds.

Would you dare subscribe…?

2. Disturbing beasts

What more is there to say, except maybe watch out for headless cats tonight?

3. Killing your darlings

When creators give up on their newsletters…

• 14-16 weeks (3.5-4 months): The critical quitting period

• 45%: Percentage of all Substack newsletters that go inactive

• 500 subscribers: The common plateau where many writers burn out and quit

The data clearly shows that making it past the 3-4 month mark is the first major hurdle after starting a newsletter. The next critical test for newsletter survival is sustaining through the 500-subscriber plateau.

Keep going!

4. Yahoo says "reply all" is scary

Tip: Turn the sound down a little for this short clip.

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ONE LAST THING

☝️ A psychological trick

Here's a trick to increase your newsletter open rates (I bet you haven't tried this yet).

Try capitalizing only the FIRST word of your subject line. This is a psychological trick based on the Von Restorff Effect.

In simple terms, our brains are wired to notice when something is different or out of place.

So, the more something stands out, the more likely people will pay attention to it.

You can't do this every time you send a newsletter, but I'd encourage you to give it a try.

If it increases your open rate, please tell me! I'll give you a shoutout in a future letter.