Why should you send newsletters?
There’s no denying the popularity of social media. Whether you run a marketing agency, e-commerce company, or small business, your ability to self-generate a newsletter or shareable company content can directly impact your business. This could range from attracting a broader customer base to developing meaningful relationships with your regular customers.
In this online landscape, it’s easy enough to think of the humble newsletter as a rotary phone in a world of shapes. contemporaries to connect. with the world. And if that’s what you’re thinking, you’re wrong. To overlook the positive impact your newsletter can have on your business would be a huge mistake.
Here’s an insider tip from Hubspot’s inbound marketing experts: your return on investment (ROI) with email is sitting pretty at around 4200%. If that hasn’t convinced you, Statista’s consumer data and marketing professionals have crunched the numbers, and the email user group just isn’t giving up. Their projections say that email users will reach 4.6 billion by 2025.
If you haven’t started thinking about capturing email addresses as part of your business practices, you should start. Clearly, every email address you buy has financial merit, and that value has staying power. Let’s get on that list so you can walk away armed with best practices for updating your newsletter.
1. Create or Choose a Design
When it comes to eye-catching content or newsletter design, you should consider what the newsletter actually looks like. Your first newsletter design should make a great impression on your audience. So open up your favorite design apps or start browsing through the myriad of templates out there. The appearance of your newsletter will have a direct bearing on how credible, useful, or entertaining people find what you’re sharing with them.
If you don’t know where to start, remember who your target audience is. If your readers are teenagers, go with bright, bold colors. You might want to use a more neutral, light background if you’re targeting your parents.
But whoever your readers are, you want to stand out from the 120+ newsletters and business solicitations that hit their inboxes every day. . Show your logo in the header. Use a background color that matches your brand identity. Or dive into neuromarketing: colors, contrasts, and nuances can evoke particular emotions and feelings. Use it to improve your engagement rate or tweak your message.
And when you get to your email template, think mobile. Today, more than 50% of emails opened are read through a mobile device. You don’t want to lose those recipients due to incompatible design.
Mailjet has plenty of email templates to help you stand out whether you’re just starting out or want to save some time.
2. Manage Your Data
You’ve figured out what your newsletter will look like: the color scheme and overall vibe are under control. But now, consider this: Where is the list of your customers and consumers? Because the only way you’re going to be able to design the best possible newsletter (even if you always keep in mind who your target audience is, which you’ve already done right?) is by keeping the best database you can.
We know you’re busy, and sometimes that manifests itself in a few tasks that you keep putting off on your to-do list. But when it comes to managing your client list, a messy spreadsheet can be a deal breaker for you. It’s time to become a consolidation expert and organize that database. Take a moment and assemble your directory, removing any deactivated or disinterested email addresses. Sending to users who don’t want to receive email is a great way to end up in internet marketer jail: the ISP block list. Update your email list routinely to prevent this from happening.
Now that that’s resolved, it’s time to segment that database. It’s time to get even more granular within your target audience. Create another column to group people from leads, current customers, high spenders, high priority, and whatever else is relevant to your content. No need to get too crazy here: we just want to stay organized so you can optimize your newsletter, and so the right people actually see the content you’ve put so much effort into. en.
Pro tip: remember that when you are capturing email addresses, you need to make it very clear to your audience that they are opting in to receive content from you. If your newsletter arrives in their inbox as a surprise, they are much more likely to unsubscribe. Also, even though it may seem counterintuitive, you should always make your unsubscribe policy as simple as possible. Try to keep your email subscribers happy.
To help your audience sign up with all the information, we suggest using a signup form to let your email clients know that they are giving you their contact information and that they will receive your newsletter content .
3. Create a Content Plan
Welcome to the juicy section: Mapping what content you’re writing in that marketing campaign newsletter. Start by asking yourself: What is your email marketing strategy? The best way to think about this is to think about what you want to tell someone when they ask about you, your brand, and your business goals.
Because this is a saturated market (think about how many newsletters you landed in your Gmail or Outlook inbox before breakfast), you need to give people a reason to join your world. By keeping your information relevant, your subscribers will stay engaged and you’ll be able to drive traffic wherever they go to increase conversions.
If you’re launching a new product or service, be sure to remind your audience of your eventual launch .
Your headlines are what your readers will see, and readers spend an average of just 51 seconds scanning and reading your newsletter. So, once again, you have to get their attention. Choose powerful (but still legible) fonts. Keep your writing concise and engaging.
Break it into several parts to make it as easy as possible for your audience to read your own newsletter. Obviously, one section will be more important than the others (usually the one with the big picture in the first half of your message). Again, keep the writing short and readable.
If you want to generate leads and clicks to your website or landing pages, put long descriptions and more information for these pages somewhere else. Instead, get straight to the point in your email campaigns and make readers want to click your links to learn more. A block of text should not exceed 1,000 characters, so choose your words wisely.
4. Choose Relevant Images
Images are an excellent marketing tool and can have a significant effect when used properly. We recommend carefully considering the number of images you use in your newsletters. As a general rule of thumb, we recommend sticking to a 60/40 ratio with your text and images, respectively. Because? Because creating image-only emails is a bad practice associated with spam activity. You don’t want to be seen as annoying as a spammer. And, depending on the device your email is being read on, an image-only newsletter may not display correctly.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use images in your newsletter. By following the 60/40 rule, you’ll maintain an ideal ratio of text to images to grab your readers’ attention without being seen as suspicious. Your images will be the first thing that catches your readers’ attention, so placing them in the first half of your newsletter will ensure that your readers see them.
Try inserting an image below your header or below your first block of text. Make sure your photos are relevant and consistent with your written content. After all, they should reflect your business. Take the time to make them look great. People often judge a book by its cover, and they may judge your email by its image.
5. Write a concise subject line
If you don’t expect an email, what will make it stand out? The answer is an email subject line that practically runs across the screen, drawing you into its exciting quality. You need to give people a reason to choose to click on your content over someone else’s.
One of the key ways to do this effectively is to customize your theme. This may take longer, but personalization has been shown to be a way to increase email opens and open rates among users. To do this effectively, try using automation to target people on their birthday to take advantage of special offers, a tutorial, or another service.
Another way to liven up your subject line is to use descriptive words. You may think that being succinct or using alliteration is critical, and it can be, but don’t miss out on the details. Include the reasons why someone should open your email to encourage someone to open your newsletter and click on your CTA.
6. Write Great Content
After your images, your headlines are what your readers will see. Remember, you only have 51 seconds. That’s not a lot of time. You need to get their attention. Choose powerful (but still legible) fonts. Have a concise and attractive writing. And remember: no typos.
As we mentioned, there are tons of newsletter templates if you need a point of reference. Sometimes they’re so customizable that they offer a drag-and-drop editor so you can quickly add your content where you need it.
Your content strategy should help ensure that every email you send is original yet relevant. content.
7.Stick to a schedule
Consistency with your message is crucial. Your audience should think of your email as a reliable weekly notification. Sending newsletters sporadically or, worse, too often, is simply annoying and invites your audience to think of your newsletter as spam that they should unsubscribe from as soon as possible.
How much time you spend writing the most unique and captivating copy and that undeniably enticing subject line is useless if your audience doesn’t actually open your newsletter. Sending your newsletter at the right time will ensure that it hits your reader’s inbox when it will stay at the top, preparing them to open it.
In addition, sending your newsletter at the right time can improve your CTR because you have calculated when your audience will be interested in interacting with your email, increasing your click-through rates and reaching your CTA.
8. Include a call to action
This is what it all comes down to. Your newsletter is meant to inform your readers, but it should also generate leads for your website. Think hard about your CTA. It could be a classic button, a clickable image, or a link at the end of a block of text (“Learn more”, “Find out how”, ” Let’s get started!”).
Either way, make it easy for your readers to click on them to get something meaningful, whether it’s great content, promotional offers, or a reward for subscribing.
Moving Forward
You now have the keys to creating a fabulous newsletter. If you’re new to the email game, don’t be afraid to try and learn by doing. Soon, your messages will reach a wider audience.
Now your readers have spent more time reading your message, but the journey doesn’t end here. Try to generate more interaction with your readers through social media (with clear share buttons) or even through other emails. The more your readers casually respond to your newsletter, the better your deliverability.
Want more? We’ve provided an ultimate step-by-step guide to creating your own ezine and offer stellar templates to run your email marketing campaign with. Get started with Mailjet email service today.
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