Add any link to a newsletter by highlighting text or an image, clicking your editor’s link icon, and pasting the URL, mailto: address, or tip link destination. Three rules matter more than the tool you use: always use HTTPS, write anchor text that describes where the link goes instead of “click here,” and test every link on a phone before you hit send. Keep the total link count to roughly two to five, with your main call to action placed early.

TL;DR:

  • Using descriptive, specific link text with concrete expectations boosts click-through rates compared to generic phrases like “click here.”
  • Limiting your newsletter to two to five links maintains reader engagement and prioritizes your main call-to-action at optimal positions.
  • Branded domains for tracking links improve your sender reputation and avoid spam filters, unlike publicly shortened URLs like bit.ly.
  • Place your primary CTA at the end of sentences for better visibility, and ensure all links load over HTTPS with minimal redirect hops.
  • Incorporate optional tip links after valuable content, tagging them with UTM parameters to measure their performance separately from your main links.
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Table of Contents

Every major newsletter editor, whether that’s Mailchimp, ConvertKit, Substack, or beehiiv, follows the same basic pattern for inserting a link. The interface changes, the workflow doesn’t.

Here’s the process, step by step:

  1. Highlight the text or select the image you want to turn into a link.
  2. Click the link icon in your editor’s toolbar (usually a chain-link symbol).
  3. Paste the destination URL or choose a link type from the dropdown if your editor separates web links from email links.
  4. Decide whether it opens in a new tab. For anything that pulls the reader away from finishing the newsletter (a social profile, a long-form article), open in a new tab. For your main call to action, letting it open in the same window is fine.
  5. Save or apply the link, then preview the email to confirm it rendered correctly.

Button links work best when you want one link to visually dominate the email, typically your primary offer or the single action you want most readers to take, like creating landing pages on an all-in-one platform for online educators. Inline text links work better for secondary references, like linking a stat to its source or pointing to a past newsletter issue. Don’t turn every sentence into a button; it clutters the layout and buries the one CTA that actually matters.

For a mailto: link, the format is mailto:you@yourdomain.com. Select your text (say, “reply to this email”), open the link tool, and paste that address instead of a URL. Most editors detect the mailto: prefix automatically and route it correctly.

Image links need alt text and, where your editor supports it, an aria-label describing the destination, not just the image. “Photo of the author” tells a screen reader nothing useful if the image is actually a button linking to your podcast.

Write Link Text That Gets Clicked, Not Skipped

“Click here” is the weakest anchor text you can write, and it’s worth retiring for good. Descriptive, specific link text outperforms generic phrasing because it lets readers decide whether the link is worth their time before they click it, an approach Media A La Carte’s guide to newsletter link copy backs with concrete before-and-after examples.

Compare “click here to read more” with “read the full pricing breakdown.” The second version tells the reader exactly what’s waiting on the other side. Numbers help too: “see the 12 tools we tested” beats “check out our recommendations” because it sets a concrete expectation.

Place your primary link at the end of the sentence when possible. Readers scan left to right, and a link buried in the middle of a sentence gets less visual weight than one that closes it out. “We cut our churn by switching providers, and here’s exactly how we did it” reads more naturally, and clicks better, than a sentence with the link stuffed in the middle.

For accessibility, avoid ambiguous pronouns like “click this” or “read it here” since screen readers often list links out of context, without the surrounding sentence. If your link text is just an icon or a symbol, add an aria-label describing the destination in plain language.

Write Link Text That Gets Clicked, Not Skipped — overview diagram

Two to five links is the range that performs best across most newsletters, based on MailerLite’s analysis of email link counts.

The number that matters: Newsletters with 2 to 5 links consistently outperformed single-link emails on click rate, while also pulling stronger open rates, according to MailerLite’s link-count analysis.

That doesn’t mean single-link emails are wrong. They work well for narrowly targeted, single-offer sends, like a flash sale email or a webinar reminder where every reader gets the identical ask. The mistake is treating every newsletter like a link buffet.

Build a simple hierarchy instead. Your primary CTA gets the most visual weight and the earliest placement, and it’s fine to repeat it once further down. Secondary links (related articles, supporting resources) come next, with less prominence. Footer links (unsubscribe, contact, policy pages) sit at the bottom and stay purely functional. Resist the urge to link five different domains in one short email; it dilutes attention and gives your reader too many exits.

Most email service providers automatically rewrite the links you paste into your newsletter, swapping your visible URL for a tracking link that routes through their servers before redirecting to the real destination. This is normal and invisible to most readers, but it does affect how your domain reputation gets evaluated. Mailflow Authority’s guide to link patterns and deliverability recommends pointing a branded subdomain (like links.yourbrand.com) at your ESP’s tracking system using a CNAME record with HTTPS enabled, so the tracking domain reinforces your own brand’s reputation instead of a shared, generic one.

Public URL shorteners like bit.ly or tinyurl carry real risk in raw email bodies. They’re heavily associated with spam and phishing campaigns, and corporate firewalls often block them outright, killing your click before it happens. A branded short domain avoids that flag entirely.

Redirect chains matter too. Every hop between the link a reader clicks and the page that finally loads adds latency and a small trust penalty. Keep chains to two hops at most, and make sure any redirect in the chain uses a proper 301, not a temporary redirect that confuses crawlers and some spam filters.

Email link redirect paths and trust points

Pro Tip: If you use a short link alongside your ESP’s own tracking, you’re intentionally creating a two-hop chain, ESP tracking, then shortener, then destination. That’s fine as long as you tag the short link with UTM parameters so you can compare click data from both systems and catch bot noise that inflates one dataset but not the other.

A mailto: link can prefill more than just the address. Adding ?subject=Feedback%20on%20Issue%2042 after the email address prefills the subject line, and &body= prefills message text, using %20 for spaces. Keep prefilled bodies short. Long prefilled text breaks in some mail clients and looks sloppy in others.

Payment and tip links behave differently from a standard content link. A well-built one collects payment in a single click, without forcing the sender to create an account, using wallets like Apple Pay or Google Pay for near-instant checkout. Present a tip link inline, in a closing line, when you want it to feel optional, or as a small dedicated button when you want it visible without being the loudest thing on the page.

UTM parameters are the tags that tell your analytics platform where a click came from. The three that matter most are utm_source (the newsletter itself), utm_medium (usually “email”), and utm_campaign (the specific issue or promotion). Attach them to the final destination URL before it gets wrapped by your ESP, so they survive the redirect and show up correctly in your analytics dashboard.

Run through this list before every send, not just the big ones:

  • Hover over every link in the desktop preview to confirm the destination URL matches what you intended.
  • Click-test each link on at least two mobile email clients (Apple Mail and Gmail’s app cover most readers).
  • Confirm redirect chains stay at two hops or fewer and that every destination loads over HTTPS.
  • Check that UTM parameters actually arrive in your analytics dashboard after a test click, not just in the raw URL.
  • Verify the unsubscribe link works and that your footer includes any required policy links.

Skipping the unsubscribe check is more common than it should be, and it’s a real regulatory issue, not just a courtesy. The CAN-SPAM Act requires a working, easy-to-find unsubscribe mechanism in every commercial email, and burying or breaking that link increases spam complaints in ways that hurt future deliverability, a point Mailflow Authority’s deliverability guide also flags directly.

A freelance writer closing out a deeply researched issue might add one line at the bottom: “If this issue saved you time, you can leave a tip here.” The link routes to a Tipper page that takes Apple Pay, Google Pay, or a card, and the sender doesn’t need an account to send it. That’s the whole flow. No signup wall for the person tipping, no lost momentum between “I want to support this” and actually doing it.

Treat the tip link as a secondary CTA. It goes after the value content, uses optional, low-pressure language, and never competes with your primary link for attention. Tag it with its own UTM parameters, distinct from your main CTA, so you can compare tip-link clicks against your other links and see whether tipping performs better in certain issues, like a deeply reported piece, versus a quick roundup. Small businesses running paid newsletters have found similar placement rules work well for promoting tip links effectively without disrupting the reader’s flow.

Vague anchor text and public shorteners are the two habits that quietly cap click rates. Swap “click here” for descriptive text, and swap bit.ly for a branded tracking domain, and most of the improvement takes care of itself. Beyond that, pick one dominant CTA per issue, keep tip links optional and secondary, and never trust a single analytics source. Reconcile your ESP’s click data against shortener data before drawing conclusions about what worked.

— Tipper

Some digital tipping platforms offer a one-click way to say thanks, with no account required on the sender’s end, supporting Apple Pay, Google Pay, and card payments.

Tipper

Setting one up takes a few minutes: create your personalized Tipper link, customize your tip page with a short note about why you write, and drop the link into your newsletter footer or a closing line after your best content. Watch two numbers over your first few sends: click-through on the tip link itself, and how that compares to conversions on your main CTA. If tipping clicks trend upward on your most valuable issues, that’s a signal to keep the placement.

For a deeper look at collecting support without forcing anyone through a signup flow, Tipper’s guide on collecting tips with no signup required walks through setup and privacy details in more depth. Set up your link, add it to your next issue, and see how it performs before deciding whether to make it a permanent fixture.

Sources

For deeper technical grounding, see Mailflow Authority’s deliverability guide, MailerLite’s link-count research, and Sleeknote’s guide to growing a quality subscriber list.

FAQ

Are Newsletters Still Relevant in 2026?

Yes. Email remains one of the few channels a creator fully owns, unaffected by algorithm changes, and newsletters with well-placed, purposeful links continue to outperform social posts on both engagement and reader trust.

How Do I Send an Anonymous Tip to a News Outlet?

That’s a different kind of “tip” than what this article covers. Most newsrooms publish a dedicated tip line or secure submission form on their contact page, separate from any newsletter tip or payment link discussed here.

What Are the Essential Parts of a Newsletter?

A strong newsletter typically includes a clear subject line, a preview line, a short intro, your main content, one primary CTA, secondary links if relevant, a signature or sign-off, and a footer with your unsubscribe link and required policy links.

What Is the 3-2-1 Newsletter Format?

It’s a popular structure where each issue shares three ideas, two quotes or insights, and one actionable takeaway or question for the reader. It works well for curators who want a repeatable format instead of long-form writing each week.

Two to five links tends to maximize click rates without overwhelming the reader, based on MailerLite’s analysis of email performance. Single-link emails work better for a narrowly targeted, single-offer campaign.