Email newsletters remain a high-ROI marketing tool, driving engagement and sales. Research shows that for every $1 spent on email marketing, businesses see an average return of $36. Nearly 99% of email users check their inbox daily, and 60% of consumers prefer to receive promotions via email. Newsletters are far more effective at acquiring customers than social media ads, and they help nurture leads and retain existing customers. However, crafting a professional, engaging newsletter every week or month takes time and specialized skills. Content planning, writing, design, sending, and analyzing each issue can overwhelm busy executives and entrepreneurs. Outsourcing these tasks to skilled support staff – whether virtual assistants, executive assistants, or project managers – can free up time and significantly improve newsletter quality. By leveraging remote staffing and AI-powered tools, founders and C-level leaders can “boost their newsletter game” without burning out.
Email newsletters offer huge ROI: on average $36 return per $1 spent. But writing, designing, and sending them consistently requires time and skill.
Email newsletters are essential for business growth. They keep customers informed, build authority, and drive sales. Studies consistently show email’s power: it influences purchase decisions for 59–60% of consumers and is roughly 40× more effective at customer acquisition than Facebook or Twitter. In an era of remote work and digital channels, every entrepreneur and business owner should harness email. Yet many small teams struggle to produce regular newsletters. The average professional spends over 28% of their workweek on email – about 13 hours each week on mostly low-value tasks. Just keeping up with an overflowing inbox can take focus away from strategic work.
To put it in perspective, that’s 81 full working days per year wasted on email triage. No wonder email marketing often gets neglected. Without dedicated help, important opportunities get missed: headlines go untested, segments go unbuilt, and reader feedback goes untracked. In short, businesses leave money on the table. By contrast, companies that consistently publish high-quality newsletters see improved customer loyalty and measurable ROI. Given the stats, the real question for fast-growing startups and busy executives is not why to send newsletters, but how to do it efficiently.
Key newsletter tasks include: content research (finding ideas and relevant stories), copywriting, graphic design (templates and images), scheduling sends and automating follow-ups, managing subscriber lists, and analyzing performance metrics (opens, clicks, etc.). For example, a modern newsletter might repurpose blog posts or social media updates, A/B test subject lines, and send targeted offers to segmented lists. Each task can become a full-time job on its own. For entrepreneurs scaling their businesses, hiring extra talent – or outsourcing – becomes a game-changer. Virtual and executive assistants can take on these tasks so leaders can focus on vision and strategy.
Virtual assistants can manage diverse newsletter tasks – from admin work to design and project management (see illustration above). Delegating routine tasks to a VA frees up founders to focus on strategy.
Virtual assistants (VAs) are especially well-suited to handle content creation and related admin. A content-savvy VA can research topics, draft copy, and proofread, ensuring each issue is polished and on-brand. According to MySigrid, top VA tasks for content include research, writing, editing, graphic design, SEO, social media management, email marketing, and performance tracking. In fact, Indeed’s VA task list explicitly includes “write internal newsletter copy” and other communications. A VA can also design attractive email templates, insert graphics, and ensure brand consistency. They can populate subscriber lists and schedule sends in your email platform, so your newsletter goes out on time every week or month. After launch, a VA can track open/click rates and compile reports, highlighting what content resonates.
Below are some concrete ways to outsource newsletter work:
By delegating these tasks, you achieve professional-quality newsletters at scale. Instead of cramming newsletter prep into late nights, you get a consistent, reliable output. As Time etc. CEO Barnaby Lashbrooke points out, entrusting email marketing to a VA means your campaigns “never fall by the wayside” and you spend more time on core business. In short, a skilled VA acts as a virtual project manager for your newsletter process. This can dramatically improve email marketing results while saving you dozens of hours each month.
Behind every successful newsletter is effective administrative and executive support. Busy founders and CEOs often underestimate how much day-to-day business admin can eat into their time. On average, people spend about 28% of their workweek just reading and replying to emails. Only around 38% of those emails are important or relevant, meaning executives waste at least 13 hours/week on low-value tasks. By handing off email triage, meeting scheduling, and other admin to a VA or EA, leaders can reclaim that time.
For example, a VA can filter your inbox – flagging urgent client messages and archiving the rest – so you only see what truly matters. They can set up rules or labels (a form of smart sorting) to keep the inbox organized. They can also manage your calendar and appointments: scheduling calls with partners, booking travel, and even coordinating lunches or events. Meeting minutes and follow-up emails can be transcribed and sent by your assistant. All of these reduce context-switching and improve focus.
The impact is huge. Industry reports suggest that business owners using VAs see up to 40% increased productivity and often free up around 15 hours per week. In practical terms, that’s roughly 3 full workdays back every week – time you can spend on strategy, product development, or rest. Virtual assistants also cut costs: unlike full-time staff, they work remotely, so you save on office space and benefits. One analysis found using VAs can halve operating costs while still boosting revenue by ~25%.
It helps to think of a VA as your on-demand executive assistant or project manager. They act with initiative to ensure nothing falls through the cracks. Many entrepreneurs find that once they delegate routine work – from data entry and research to customer inquiries – they achieve better work-life balance and business growth. In the words of one VA provider, “outsource some of your tasks to a virtual assistant can boost productivity and help you maintain a healthy work-life balance.”
Examples of admin tasks to delegate:
By contrast, trying to wear all these hats will leave you overworked. Trusting a virtual or executive assistant (even part-time) is one of the simplest ways to apply the time management for executives philosophy: delegate low-level tasks so you can focus on high-value work.
To truly scale your newsletter and business, consider remote staffing and outsourcing as strategic pillars. In 2025, global outsourcing is enormous – projected to surpass $731 billion by 2034 – and many startups use distributed teams to grow faster. Outsourcing isn’t just about cutting costs; it’s about accessing talent and agility. As Insignia Resources notes, businesses now use outsourcing to “scale faster, stay agile, and compete globally”. In practice, this means hiring VAs or agencies across time zones so your operations run around the clock. Studies show about 82% of small businesses plan to maintain or increase their remote work capacity.
Key considerations for remote staffing:
Building a remote team is key to scaling: project management tools (e.g. Trello, Asana) keep everyone aligned, and a distributed VA staff can work across time zones. Research shows VAs significantly cut costs and boost productivity.
Overall, delegating and outsourcing work liberates you to focus on growth. Whether via freelancers, remote full-timers, or specialized agencies, the goal is to outsource non-core tasks. This is often more cost-effective than hiring in-house staff (“outsourcing vs. in-house”), and in many cases better than moving work entirely overseas (“outsourcing vs. offshoring”), since you can balance cost with control.
Today’s best support blends technology and human expertise. AI tools can automate parts of your newsletter workflow. For instance, AI email assistants (like Microsoft Copilot or Superhuman) can draft messages from prompts, summarize threads, or sort your inbox. Zapier reports that while AI can understand and generate language well, it’s still not ready to work completely on its own. In practice, AI might draft a newsletter outline or suggest subject lines, but a human should refine and approve the final content.
Here’s a winning formula: use AI for draft work, but rely on your VA for quality and nuance. For example, MySigrid recommends letting an AI writing tool draft a blog or newsletter post, then having your human VA edit and personalize it. This speeds up production (AI handles the bulk, VA adds the “human touch”). MySigrid calls this synergy the “human premium” approach – pairing skilled people with cutting-edge technology. The human premium means the context, creativity, and relationship-building that an in-person or virtual assistant provides can’t be replaced by AI alone.
In summary, AI-powered virtual assistants (or AI-augmented workflows) are emerging, but the most effective strategy is a hybrid one. Let AI handle repetitive parts (like initial drafts, basic analysis, or scheduling), and have humans do the complex, creative work. This balances efficiency with quality.
Here are some tips and tools to make the most of your support team:
By combining the right people, processes, and tools, you turn newsletter production from a chore into a smooth, ongoing operation. This boosts readership and frees you to focus on big-picture growth.
In today’s competitive landscape, no business can afford to skimp on newsletter marketing. The good news is you don’t have to do it all yourself. By leveraging remote staff – whether virtual assistants, executive assistants, or a remote content team – you supercharge your newsletter and maintain consistency. VAs and admin assistants handle the day-to-day content creation, scheduling, and follow-ups, while AI tools speed up repetitive tasks. Together, this blend of technology and the human premium means higher-quality newsletters and more time for you to lead the company.
Ready to take your newsletter to the next level? Book a consultation with MySigrid – a remote staffing expert – to discuss how a dedicated assistant or team can support your content and admin needs. You can also connect with Paul Østergaard, founder of MySigrid, for insights on scaling with remote professionals. Unlock your time, engage your audience, and grow your business with the right support in place.