Newsletters are one of the best ways to keep in touch with customers, encourage repeat purchases, and boost engagement. However, like any marketing technique, there are things you need to do to ensure their success.
If you want to step up your monthly email newsletters to make them more effective, follow the brief guide below…
1. Make sure you are providing value
The goal of your newsletter shouldn’t be to directly advertise your products and services. Instead, it should provide value to the reader.
Think about the topics your audience are currently interested in. What issues do they have right now that you could help them to solve?
The more valuable your newsletters are, the more likely your audience will be to open them.
2. Don’t forget to add personalization
Personalization is a must when you are sending out emails to your audience. From including their first name, to tailoring the content to match their preferences, without personalization your newsletters won’t perform as well as they should.
A great tip is to let your audience choose which type of emails they receive when they subscribe. That way, you know you aren’t bugging them with content they couldn’t care less about.
3. Avoid sending too many newsletters
While you want to engage your audience with your newsletters, you don’t want to annoy them. Sending out too many newsletters is a sure way to see a drop in subscribers.
So, how many times should you send them? This will ultimately depend upon your audience, but a weekly newsletter tends to work well. Some local businesses may find that monthly newsletters perform better, so you may need to experiment to see what works for you.
You should only send out a newsletter if you have something valuable to share with the reader. That could be helping them to solve a timely issue or letting them know about up-and-coming products and services.
4. Keep them short and simple
Sometimes, sending out a longer email can provide a ton of value to your audience. However, for the most part you’ll want to keep them short and simple.
Don’t try and add too many visuals to the newsletter. Yes, you want it to look great, but the most important part of your newsletters is the content. Keep visuals to a minimum as they could slow down the loading time, as well as frustrate your audience.
5. Include third party content
If you want to provide maximum value to your list, consider providing them with third-party content. That is, content from an influencer or leader in your niche.
You could produce an opinion piece, conduct an interview with an industry leader, or provide tips from an influencer. This kind of content isn’t being produced by your competitors, helping you to really stand out.
6. Make them unique
Your newsletter shouldn’t just provide a round-up of content published on other channels. Instead, it should be a standalone piece of content that delivers value to your audience.
Make sure your newsletters are unique and they provide new information and tips for your audience. The more unique they are, the better the click-through rate will be.
7. Avoid being sent to the spam folder
No business wants to end up in a user’s spam folder. However, that’s exactly where you’ll be if you make a few simple mistakes.
Familiarize yourself with common spam filter trigger words. These include things like “additional income”, “opportunity”, “buy now” and “click here”.
These spam filter words won’t just get picked up in the subject line, the content will also be scrutinized for any sign of spam.
8. Create catchy subject lines
By far one of the most effective ways to improve your monthly newsletter is to create catchy subject lines. Keep it short, catchy, and clear.
You will need to experiment with different subject lines to see which ones perform better. Personalizing it with the recipient’s name often encourages a higher click-through rate. Similarly, using numbers or figures and action words can also prove highly effective.
If you follow these 8 tips, you’ll be able to improve your monthly newsletter and boost results. Like any form of marketing, it is a matter of trial and error figuring out what does and doesn’t work.