10 Tips for Creating an Effective Email Newsletter

Smart email marketing is one of the best ways that you can serve your existing customers, tap into new demographics, and get promotions and sales materials in front of those who are most likely to buy. Additionally, a well-thought-out email newsletter can be an excellent way to establish industry credibility. Learn how to put newsletters to outstanding and lucrative use with these simple steps.

10 Tips for Creating an Effective Email Newsletter

1. Think About the Kind of Content Your Customers Want

One of the best things about email newsletters is that they’re an effective way to stay on your customer’s radar; but only if you’re giving them information that they find valuable. Separate yourself from the spam by creating a thoughtful newsletter tailored to your customers’ style.

For example, if your business embraces a more cutting-edge and hip vibe, you will have a little more license to be creative and edgy in your newsletter content. In contrast, if you’re in a more straight-laced industry, you should adopt a tone that is appropriate to that sector. If you’re unsure, play around with different ideas and then check your analytics to see what’s most effective.

2. Explore New Markets of Growth

While you can certainly use your email marketing campaign to interact with existing customers, it can also be an excellent exploratory tool to find different demographics and open up new markets. When tapping into new markets of growth by demographic, location, or any other qualifier, it’s essential to remember that providing value and establishing yourself as a trusted authority in the industry is critical.

3. Make Sure That All of Your Email Marketing Efforts Are Mobile-Friendly

These days, people use their phones for absolutely everything, including opening your email newsletter. Make sure that your newsletter is fully optimized and conforms easily to a phone screen so that your customers don’t have to zoom in to read it. Doing so shows that you’re up with the current digital trends and that you care about making your newsletter accessible for all devices.

Additionally, you will want to focus on making it graphically engaging on a phone. Having the visuals match your branding and style will go a long way in making your emails more attractive to open and reach those coveted existing and potential customers.

4. Keep the Branding Consistent  

Every piece of marketing, be it website content, social media posts, or your newsletter, should reflect your brand and the image that you want to put out into the world. Keeping the content in line with your company’s personality and consistently reinforcing your value proposition or what you bring to the table that’s unique is a great way to stay on brand.

You can keep the branding consistent by brainstorming content and newsletter ideas in advance and creating a content calendar that aligns with your mission and objectives. This content calendar should be flexible enough to incorporate last-minute ideas or promotions while maintaining a backbone of content you’ll draw from week to week.

5. Stick to a Regular Schedule

If there’s one thing that can truly keep you top-of-mind for your customers and establish you as an industry leader, it’s consistency. Your customers will start to expect and look forward to your newsletter content, and you’ll be able to establish certain patterns to keep things interesting.

For example, if you send out a newsletter twice a week, your first newsletter could have an inspirational or educational message, and the second one could focus on a sale or promotion. Over time, people will start to anticipate your sale newsletter arriving at a particular time of the week, and you could see much more engagement.

6. Work in Some Customer Testimonial Content 

When it comes down to it, you can talk about the great aspects of your business, but there’s something utterly compelling and even more reputable when an existing, happy customer does it. Start soliciting testimonials from your existing customers and showcase them in an exciting format in your newsletter.

You can incorporate written mini testimonials, videos of your customers, or custom graphics featuring short quotes from some of your biggest fans. As an added bonus, as you start to add different media and visuals to your newsletter, you’ll break up the text and lend a lot more aesthetic interest, which makes it even more interesting to read.

7. Add in Some Kind of Call to Action

One of the best ways to measure the success of your newsletter campaign is to incorporate a smart call to action. For example, you can ask your customers to visit a certain page on your website, fill out a form, or email you for a promotion or sale. Calls to action don’t necessarily have to be all about generating revenue; in fact, your newsletter should be a valuable resource just as much as a way to attract more customers into your sales funnel.

8. Think About Your Subject Lines

Your email subject line is a huge determining factor in whether or not someone will open your email, so make sure that yours is snappy, engaging, and clearly indicates what readers can expect from the newsletter content. If your email newsletter offers some kind of promotion or sale, put that in the subject line, and if it’s must-know industry news, try to encapsulate the message and clearly state it right away.

It’s also helpful to play with different kinds of formatting, such as putting questions in your email subject line to get people thinking. You can also sparingly use words like “urgent” or “important” in your subject line for emails that genuinely qualify. Avoid overusing these words, though, as they can start to lose their potency if you apply them too often.

9. Keep an Eye on Your Metrics

Email marketing can be one of the most effective tools for growing your business, but it’s imperative to ensure its success by monitoring email open rates and seeing how many people follow through on your calls to action.

Monitoring your metrics can help you to customize your campaigns to make them more effective and stop spending your time crafting newsletters that aren’t working. Metrics can be tricky to interpret, which is why partnering with a digital marketing agency focused on your growth and knowledgeable about the world of digital marketing is an intelligent play.

10. Allow Your Customers To Opt Out

Your newsletters won’t appeal to everyone, and that’s okay. It’s essential to allow people to unsubscribe or opt out of your newsletter if they wish. Doing this accomplishes several things, including streamlining your sales funnel to include only people who are interested in hearing about your company and your offerings. It can also cut back on spam complaints and show that you care about your customer’s time and wishes.

Implementing a successful newsletter campaign takes work, but it’s all worth it in the long run. Many companies start to see excellent results as their subscriber list grows, and they reach new audiences through thoughtful, targeted campaigns. We can help you get started with a personalized approach that focuses on measured growth. Ready to elevate your brand? Contact us to learn how you can take your email marketing to the next level.