Creating a Killer Email Newsletter for Your Business
If you already have an email marketing campaign, you may well have dabbled with the idea of a newsletter. Depending on your business, a newsletter can be a great way to improve customer engagement and make your brand more informative. Here we look at why a killer email newsletter can expand your business and how you can get started.
The Benefits of an Email Newsletter for Your Business
Before we get stuck in, it’s important to understand why a newsletter can really improve your business and drive sales. Email newsletters are simple to make and allow all your content to be in an easy-to-read format with a clear goal. Sometimes it can be difficult to know what your next email blast should be about; a newsletter gives your emails a common structure and purpose. The newsletter should also contain links to different pages of your website, as this will improve your business’s search engine presence. The bigger your presence, the more potential for new customers to see your site. Your newsletters should always be easy to opt-out, as you don’t want to be bothering customers who don’t want to hear from you.
Don’t Ignore the Subject Line
Before getting into how to design the newsletter, you need to make sure you understand how to write a great email subject line. This is the difference between your hard work being viewed or being ignored or passed off as spam. Make this intriguing or obvious to the reader, depending on your audience. Create a few subject lines, so you have enough ideas to choose from. A good trick is to see what posts customers interact with most on social media and ensure your subject line captures the most engaging posts. This will entice your target audience into opening the newsletter.
Design
Anyone can produce an email newsletter – even those who are not qualified in graphic design or don’t come from a computer background. With the use of newsletter software, you can build newsletters that perfectly incorporate the style and branding of your company, with the help of easy-to-use tools. Your newsletters need to be eye-catching and should contain a title, subheadings, and pictures to break up the text. Email newsletters don’t need to contain all the information; too much text can look unprofessional. Cover the basics of your information in small, succinct paragraphs and add external links to the full story or product on your website. When designing an email newsletter, bear in mind that most users will see it on their mobile, rather than a computer.
Content
Content is one of the most important parts of the newsletter. Your brand must have the right voice, so your target audience is fully engaged. Feedback is crucial to creating a newsletter with the best content. Your newsletters will only remain interesting if you can offer something different from other companies, such as a freebie or a niche newsletter.
Test Everything
A/B testing allows you to test two ideas alongside one another, to see which one will work best when it comes to improving open rates for your new email newsletter. Use your social media account to carry out surveys and see firstly whether your users would enjoy a newsletter and secondly, what content they would find relevant and interesting. Don’t just trust your own instincts; you are more likely to be biased of your own work and you may not even be part of your target audience. Even once your newsletter is off the ground, add quick surveys at the end of the newsletter to see what users liked and disliked. This will allow you to constantly improve.
Growth
You’ve started your email newsletter, now what? If you want the most customers seeing your new email newsletter, you should expand your email list. Use your network and ask everyone you know to sign up and get them to ask their like-minded friends. Have an opt-in button displayed on your website, so that customers can sign up anytime. Use social media accounts to promote your newsletter and perhaps offer an incentive for those who sign up for your newsletters.
Timing is Everything
Whenever you send out an email newsletter, you should be wary of the time. Consider your target audience and what they may be doing at the time. People usually check their phone first thing in the morning and then after work. If you’re sending a newsletter full of information or containing video links, perhaps choose a weekend where your readers will have more time to view the information. Sign up for competitor newsletters and see what time they send theirs. Be sure your newsletter is sent at a different time to avoid competition. Consistency should always be your focus and once you have set a time, you must stick to this.
If you want to create a killer email newsletter for your business, be sure to follow the above guide to get started. Test everything and use an email newsletter software to make designing an effortless task.