The short answer
For a restaurant, a newsletter has one job: filling tables when they’re empty. You collect emails at the table and with bookings, with a QR code and a reason to sign up; you write rarely and at the right moment (the seasonal menu, an event, the quiet nights); and you let two automations do the work, the welcome and the birthday. Unlike social media, the list is yours: no algorithm decides who sees you.
Why your email list is worth more than your followers
On Instagram, the algorithm decides how many people see your post. With email, you decide: Thursday’s event lands in the inbox of everyone who signed up. And the list stays yours even if a platform changes its rules tomorrow.
There’s more: people who give you their email have already eaten with you, or are thinking about it. They’re not followers: they’re customers you can invite back.
How to collect customers’ emails
- A QR code on the table, on the menu or on the bill: “Sign up and dessert’s on us next time.”
- Bookings: if you use a booking system, add an unticked box to hear about news.
- Your website: a simple form with the reason to sign up in the headline.
- Events: people booking an evening leave their email for the confirmation; ask for consent for news too.
- Birthdays: ask for day and month on the form. It’s the automation customers remember most.
Consent has to be asked for clearly and separately: we explain how in our GDPR guide.
What to write to restaurant customers
- This week’s or this season’s menu, with one dish described well.
- Events: tastings, live music, themed menus, with the real number of seats left.
- The quiet nights: “On Tuesdays the second main is half price”, for subscribers only.
- The big dates: Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Christmas parties, to book well ahead.
- Behind the scenes: your cheese supplier, the new flour, who’s in the kitchen.
Short emails with one button: “Book a table”. People read on their phones, often standing up.
When to send
Send the email before the moment people decide where to eat:
- for the weekend, on Thursday or Friday morning;
- for lunch, mid-morning;
- for big dates, two or three weeks ahead, with a reminder a few days before;
- for an evening with few seats, as soon as bookings open.
One or two emails a month, plus the special occasions, is a rhythm customers welcome (how often to send a newsletter).
The automations that bring people back to the table
- Welcome: thanks, the promised gift (dessert, a drink) and how to book.
- Birthday: best wishes and an invitation, on their birthday. People rarely celebrate alone: it often turns into a table for four.
- After a booking: the confirmation and, a few days later, a thank-you with an invitation to leave a Google review.
- Win-back: one email with a genuine invitation to people who haven’t opened in a while.
In Spedito these are ready-made templates: pick one, change the text, switch it on (automated emails). Your form has its own QR code to print, and up to 500 contacts it’s all free.
Frequently asked questions
Can a restaurant send newsletters to its customers?
Yes, to people who consented. Someone who only booked can receive emails about that booking, but promotions need consent, asked for clearly and separately.
How many emails should a restaurant send?
One or two a month, plus special occasions. Better few and welcome than many and ignored.
Newsletter or WhatsApp?
They do different things. WhatsApp is handy for short, personal messages; a newsletter lets you write to hundreds of customers, with clear consent rules and without the limits on bulk messages. Many restaurants use both.
What should I give people who sign up?
Something that costs you little and means something to them: a dessert, a coffee, a drink on their next visit. It works better than money off the bill, because it brings them back to the table.