You can create a newsletter in Outlook with Outlook Newsletters, a publishing tool built into new Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web. Open the Newsletters hub from the left-hand bar, create a newsletter, then build and send editions from templates. It handles owners, contributors, subscribers and analytics, so for an internal update you probably don’t need Mailchimp or anything like it.
Most people I show this to have no idea it’s there. If your team sends a regular update by copying last month’s email and editing it, this is already sitting in new Outlook and does the job properly.
What Outlook Newsletters does
Each newsletter is a home for its editions, with tabs for editions, subscribers, analytics, deleted items and an about page. The hub on the left adds Explore, your drafts, your published editions, the newsletters you own and the ones you subscribe to.
It’s for audiences inside your organisation only.
How to create a newsletter in Outlook
- Open the Newsletters hub. In new Outlook, select Newsletters in the left-hand bar.
- Create a newsletter. Choose Create newsletter and add a cover image, a logo, a name and a description. Mine was Copilot Corner, a newsletter on getting the most out of Copilot.
- Add owners. Anyone who should manage the newsletter alongside you.
- Choose visibility. Private, Unlisted (only people with the link can find it) or My organization.
- Decide on subscriptions. Toggle whether people can subscribe. With organisation-wide visibility, people can find it through Explore.
- Save.
How to build an edition
Choose Create edition, pick a template or start blank, and give it a title. Editions are built from sections and components. If you’ve built SharePoint pages, you already know the model: sections are page sections, and components are web parts.
Expect to rework whichever template you pick. The one I picked was product-focused, so I rewrote the welcome, deleted the sections I didn’t need and added a “What’s new in Copilot this week” section with a banner image. Copilot drafted the content for two sections, a getting-started prompt for new users and a couple of recent updates, which needed tidying (citations out, bullets in) before they were ready to send.
Adding contributors
Add a contributor to an edition or to one section. They get an email with a button to edit the edition, which opens it in their own Newsletters hub, and the preview shows them as the author of their section.
Sending an edition
Choose recipients when you’re ready. Subscribers are added as BCC by default, and you can add specific people too. You can show other editions in the email footer and allow comments and reactions. Then send.
The edition arrives as a formatted email. Readers can react, comment, unsubscribe, or open the Newsletters hub to read past editions.
Subscribers and analytics
Readers find organisation-wide newsletters through Explore, open them and select Subscribe, or share a link. Owners see subscribers on the Subscribers tab, and Analytics shows total views, emails sent and subscriber numbers. From the menu you can share, export or delete the newsletter.
Where I’d use it, and where I wouldn’t
Good fits: a Copilot tips bulletin from your champions network, IT change notices, a monthly update from leadership, a project newsletter for a long rollout, anything regular and internal that a few people write.
Poor fits: anything for customers or partners, anything that needs automation or segments, and anything where design control matters. The analytics stop at views, emails and subscribers.
Decide who creates newsletters before people find it. It’s on by default, so anyone can start one. Without a little guidance you’ll end up with a pile of half-abandoned team newsletters nobody subscribes to. Agree which ones are official, who owns them, and keep visibility to My organization only for those. Admins can limit access with the OutlookNewslettersAccessLevel setting on Outlook on the web mailbox policies: ReadWrite, ReadOnly or NoAccess.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the Newsletters hub in Outlook? In new Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web, select Newsletters in the left-hand bar.
Can I send an Outlook newsletter to people outside my organisation? No. Outlook Newsletters is designed for internal audiences only. Use a dedicated email platform for customers or external subscribers.
Do contributors need to be owners? No. You can add someone as a contributor to a single edition or section. They get an email inviting them to edit and are credited on what they write, without managing the newsletter.
How do admins turn Outlook Newsletters off? It’s on by default. Set OutlookNewslettersAccessLevel on the Outlook on the web mailbox policy to ReadOnly to let people read but not create, or NoAccess to turn it off.
