Email newsletters are a valuable component of a business marketing plan. They provide an opportunity to attract attention, communicate important information, and inspire action. Be mindful of the fact that email boxes are overflowing and you are competing with the dozens, if not hundreds of messages in your target’s inbox. People are constantly receiving notifications to check their email, and it is important to make your newsletter worth their time. Below are a few tips on how to create an email newsletter that will stand out and get you noticed.
1. Set goals and know your audience
What do you want your newsletter to accomplish? Do you want to provide your customers with useful information, encourage attendance at an event, or drive readership to news stories or announcements? Once you establish the goal of your newsletter you can begin to create a calendar of when you want your newsletter to be sent out. Setting a consistent time such as the first Wednesday of every month at 11 a.m. builds expectation among your audience and helps you to structure your calendar.
2. Create a compelling subject line
The subject line of your email is the first part your target audience sees and can determine whether or not they open the email. Your subject line needs to let your readers know what to expect from the newsletter, but it also needs to be creative enough to catch their attention. For more information on how to craft a subject line, check out our article Subject Lines: Art or Science?
3. Share content that’s relevant
Promoting your own business is okay sometimes, but the point of your newsletter should be focused around information that can benefit your audience. Think about questions your target audience might have or information they would be most interested in. Do some research and see what topics are relevant and trending. Tips, checklists, how to’s, and trends are often popular approaches to share content. Be sure not to include too much content, considering newsletters are a time to break down content and direct readers back to your site for more information.
4. Use images that compliment your content
Images help to draw in your readers as well as reinforce the information provided in the newsletter. Include images that can be quickly understood and that relate to the content. Be sure to consider what type of device your users will be viewing the email on to ensure that your image loads properly with the rest of the content in the newsletter.
5. Have a call-to-action (CTA)
What do you want your readers to do after they have read your newsletter? Do you want them to share your content via social media, go to your blog for more information, evaluate your business idea, or use your free download offer? Whatever you want your call-to-action to be, make sure it is clearly defined and easy for your readers to complete. For example, if you want your readers to share your newsletter on social media, include sharing buttons for each social media site.
6. Test your newsletter
Once you have you have sent out newsletters, experiment to find out what is working. For example, run an A/B test (also known as split testing) on subject lines. This will help you to determine which of the two options is more effective. You can also change up your call-to-action copy and experiment with the images you include. The information you can gain through testing will be valuable in determining what works best with your specific audience as you move forward with your future newsletters.
When crafting newsletters, keep these tips in mind in order to build readership. Just like social channels, email should be used to give your audience what they want or what they find useful.
What strategies work best for your business’s email newsletter?
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