Email marketing is an often overlooked marketing channel, despite its cost effectiveness and simplicity. However, poorly made newsletters can often do more harm than good for your advertising efforts. Our guide below will help ensure your newsletter is engaging and resonates with your audience.
What Is a Newsletter?
A newsletter is an email that sends periodically to your subscribers with information and updates about your business. These updates should be sent on a regular basis (weekly or monthly), and share valuable information with your subscribers. This is what separates a newsletter from a promotional blast. Newsletters are often tailored to specific audiences and segments formed from data in your mailing list. A promotional blast sends a single email to a large number of recipients, often sharing promo codes and sales rather than information. The goal of having a newsletter is to build trust and a good relationship with your mailing list. Rather than going for a quick sale, play the long game in terms of increasing customer lifetime value.
Start With a Clear Goal
If you are looking to begin a newsletter, you’ll first need to know what you want it to achieve. You may want to boost sales, build loyalty, or educate your mailing list on company updates and achievements. It’s best to think these factors through before beginning your newsletter, as you don’t want to risk people unsubscribing due to a poor first impression. This is when you can begin tailoring your newsletter to specific customers. It is recommended to always keep your reader’s needs as the main focus of your newsletter. You can segment your mailing list into major categories, and create a slightly different newsletter for each that feels more personal and impactful.
Build a Clean, Permission-Based List
A big problem for people just starting out with newsletters is the potential for getting labeled as spam. If your address gets labeled as “junk” or “spam” by email providers, it can be almost impossible to undo. This results in all of your future email attempts automatically being labeled as spam. A great way to avoid this is by only emailing individuals who opted in to your mailing list. Purchasing mailing lists from shady distributors is not only unethical, but ruins reputations with email providers quickly. If you are struggling to build an impressive mailing list without the use of data scraping, try offering value in exchange for a sign up, like discounts, free shipping, or guides with insider knowledge. If you’d like to explore this topic further, check out our blog on the subject here.
Choose a Consistent Sending Schedule
The best mailing schedule for you will be the one that keeps you most consistent. If you are able to get customers to latch onto your newsletter, just for it to not show up at the specified date, all your hard work has just been erased. Whether it is weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly, consistency is key. This is information you’ll want to share with your subscribers, if they are aware of when to look for your updates they are more likely to read them. Additionally, find a happy balance between sending too many newsletters or not enough. You can test different schedules to see what drives the most engagement, and stick to it once you find the best one.
Focus on Value-Driven Content
As previously mentioned, try to keep your emails engaging and use them to build trust rather than a quick sale. Sending monthly promo codes is nice, but people are rarely going to make a purchase every time they have a 30% off code. We recommend following the 80/20 rule: make your newsletters 80% helpful or interesting, and 20% promotional. Highlight topics like tips, guides, insider knowledge, testimonials, product highlights, industry news, and events.
Design Matters
The quality of your newsletter also matters, as people will rarely check in on low quality content. Use a clean layout/template with visual hierarchy (headline, image, body, CTA.) It is also recommended to make sure your email formatting is visible on mobile devices. Use consistent brand colors and logos in your newsletter to create a memorable experience for subscribers.
Write Strong Subject Lines
Another great way to increase engagement on your emails is to write strong subject lines that draw users in. Make sure they are compelling yet clear, the last thing you want to do is clickbait users and make them feel cheated by your marketing. Use curiosity, value, and urgency to pull users in by clearly advertising what they will get out of viewing your newsletter. Additionally, try to keep subject lines under 50 characters, as they have a tendency to cut off early when viewed through inboxes.
Include a Clear Call to Action (CTA)
Now that you have drawn your reader in with an intriguing subject and high quality content, how to close the sale? A call to action (CTA) should always be at the end of your newsletter. Even if you aren’t directly offering a discount, you can still emphasize that users should “shop now,” “read the full story,” or “book a call”.
Test, Track, and Improve
Newsletters are not a one and done channel. They constantly gain and lose subscribers, and with that comes the need to track and improve your metrics. Monitor open rates, click-throughs, and unsubscribes then adjust accordingly. Beyond that, experiment in your own ways like A/B testing for subject lines or graphics. Once you learn what content your audience responds best to, focus on that and then repeat the optimization process.
Newsletters Are a Long Game (and Worth It)
As it has been explained throughout this guide, newsletters are definitely something for the long term when it comes to marketing. It takes time to build a mailing list, segment, optimize, and build trust with your audience. Although incredibly worth the effort, it is important to know that successful newsletter focus on building relationships, and not quick sales. If you are producing consistent and high-quality newsletters, results will eventually appear.
If you need assistance with crafting your first newsletter or forming a new strategy, our team of experts are ready to help you get started! Contact Rise Marketing Group today for a free consultation!
