Email newsletters have been around for a long time. It’s easy to overlook them when your audience may be bombarded with a plethora of communications. A newsletter is an extension of your marketing brand. It’s a gentle reminder of your goods and services, field of expertise and exciting news about the strides that your company has made.
Here are five tips for creating a newsletter people will actually want to read.
1) Give your newsletter a purpose – original, useful information
Readers are inundated with information and emails. Establish yourself as an industry expert and give your subscribers a reason to reference your information. Do you sell gluten-free products? Share your ideas for hosting a party with gluten-free options. A non-profit rolling out a new campaign aimed to reduce food waste? Offer your readers tips to store berries to prolong their life. Once your readers know that you are providing useful content and adding value to their lives, they will look forward to reading your newsletter.
2) Content Strategy
You want to create content that invites readers to open, read and engage through your newsletters. These 3 simple tips are some best practices.
a) Subject Line — A strong subject line should be compelling and give your readers the urge to “open” that email to find out more. According to MailChimp, personalization is shown to increase open rates for most users.
b) Keep it Short — HubSpot suggests keeping your copy concise—just enough that they want to click and learn more. Constant Contact analyzed customer emails and found that twenty lines of copy or 200 words is the sweet spot for keeping reader interest.
c) Action words “read more” “learn more” “schedule a meeting” — Including a Call to Action (CTA) tells your readers what you would like for them to do. When your subscribers know what you want from them they are more likely to engage.
3) Make Sure it Looks Good
Your newsletter design should be clean and clutter free with enough white space so that it’s easy to follow especially when viewing on mobile. It is easy to feel like you need to add in every piece of information, but you want to aim to give your subscribers a taste of your content—just enough that they want to click and learn more. Email marketing platforms have built in tools to test send your emails. Here’s your chance to send your campaigns to make sure it’s easy to read on mobile and desktop.
4) Be Consistent
Stick to your brand including tone, colors, and template, and establish a publishing schedule. It’s important to remind your audience of your company and consistency will ensure that. It reaffirms your identity and keeps your brand accountable. Medium emphasizes that the ultimate key to growing your newsletter audience comes when you can turn its consumption into a habit for readers.
5) Test and measure the effectiveness of your newsletter
Testing is how you learn the effectiveness of your newsletters. Most platforms offer testing options to improve your Return On Investment (ROI). A/B testing can lead to higher open rates and more conversions for your emails. You can consider testing:
a) Subject lines: About 47% of email recipients open email based on subject line alone. A/B test your emails to learn what resonates with your audience.
b) Body: Test personalization, length, placement of buttons and images, and calls to action.
c) Send time: Test different times of day and day of week to help determine the best time of day to increase open rates. Consider segmenting your list by location or groups.
A newsletter can be a powerful marketing tool. Quality communication and newsletter design can gain you more traction and keep your customers engaged. If you would like a strategic guide or help with your newsletter design, the aJuxt troupe is ready to jump in.
Written by Lynsie Slachetka || Chief Executive Juxtaposition Officer & Founder