Every few years, the same question comes around.
Are newsletters dead? Is email marketing finished? Has social media or AI or whatever TF comes next finally killed it off?
Well, in 2026, the answer’s still a resounding no.
Newsletters haven’t gone the same way as webbed surf gloves. That said, a lot of the ways people have been using them are 100% cactus (aka dead).
And that’s the bit that matters. Because most of the frustration around newsletters doesn’t come from the channel itself. I repeat… most of the frustration and bad juju that gets thrown at newsletters ISN’T from the channel itself.
It comes from inboxes being full of emails that never really needed to be sent in the first place.
It comes from taking the wrong approach to the right marketing methodology.
Why newsletters feel dead to a lot of people
If newsletters were working as effortlessly as they once did, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.
Open rates feel harder to earn. Clicks are less predictable. And inboxes are crowded with emails that all look and sound the same. Then you add AI into the mix. Emails get summarised, filtered or quietly ignored if they don’t earn attention quickly. So when people say newsletters are dead, what they usually mean is this:
Sending generic emails because you feel like you should doesn’t work anymore
But honestly… is that such a bad thing?
What actually changed
The channel didn’t change. Expectations did.
Three years ago you could send a fairly average email and still get decent engagement. There was less noise. Fewer people fighting for your clients’, guests’ or customers’ attention.
But in 2026, everything is shifting. In fact, it’s already past the point of no return.
Every email has competition and your reader decides in seconds whether opening it is worth their time. They’re not thinking about your send schedule or your open rate. They’re thinking one simple thing: is this going to be useful or interesting or entertaining right now?
If the answer isn’t clear, the email gets skipped. Or opened once and ignored forever after.
This means WHAT you put in your email is now more important than ever.
Here’s why nobody reads your emails.
The newsletters that still work in 2026
The newsletters that are doing well now feel more like a person talking than a brand broadcasting.
They’re specific, opinionated and written with a clear reader in mind. You can tell what the writer believes and what they’re trying to help with… even if you don’t agree with everything (which is peak writing, IMO).
They also respect the reader’s time!
There’s less filler and fewer emails sent just to tick a box. Each one has a reason to exist. It explains something, reframes a problem or shares a perspective that actually feels earned.
And they don’t try to do everything on their own either. Social content brings people in. The website adds depth. The newsletter sits in the middle and builds familiarity over time.
That’s super important.
You can’t rush a genuine relationship. You need to build it. Shape it. Give it time to bloom.
Where AI fits into all of this
AI didn’t kill newsletters. It raised the bar.
When anyone can spin up a half-decent email in minutes, generic advice loses its value fast.
What still cuts through is experience, judgment and clarity. AI can help you move quicker, but it can’t replace the sense that there’s a real person on the other side who knows what they’re talking about. It can’t replace your specific opinion.
If anything, AI inbox tools are forcing newsletters to get better.
The ones that survive are usually the ones that feel intentional, human and worth paying attention to.
AI can even help you grow your email list.
The real mistake people make with newsletters
The biggest mistake I see is treating a newsletter like a traffic channel instead of a relationship. People expect immediate clicks or sales and when that doesn’t happen, they assume email is broken.
But social platforms are for discovery. Your website is for evaluation. And your newsletter is for a little thing called trust.
Say it again out loud, please. Newsletters are for T-R-U-S-T.
Once you see it that way, things shift. You stop chasing hacks. You write fewer emails but better ones. You say what you actually think instead of what you think you’re supposed to say.
And that’s usually when email starts working again.
So are newsletters dead?
No. But the idea that you can send average emails and get strong results definitely is.
In 2026, newsletters work best when they sound like conversations rather than campaigns and when they’re built around a clear point of view instead of a content calendar. They’re not about reach or virality. They’re about staying top of mind with the right people. And if you’re willing to approach them that way, newsletters are still one of the few channels you actually own.
In a world where almost everything else depends on someone else’s algorithm, that makes them more valuable than ever.