Email newsletters are cost-effective, encourage customer retention and are a must-have for businesses that have a tight marketing budget. If you already produce a regular email newsletter, maybe this is a good time to review it and see if a refresh is in order.
email newsletter tips
Here’s our top ten tips for writing a successful email newsletter:
1. Compelling content – keep the content brief and relevant so you don’t need to scroll down too far. Get to the point quickly and always check your spelling and grammar.
2. Headlines count – grab the reader’s attention with a sharp headline to encourage them to click on your email and to persuade them to read on.
3. Potted summaries – create summaries that link to the full article or webpage, up to 75 words per summary. And check the links work before sending.
4. Easy on the eye – good design helps it stand out in the inbox and easy navigation encourages multiple clicks. Make good use of white space, bullet points, bolding, sub-headings and images.
5. Keep on-brand – use an appropriate tone of voice that is consistent with all your other company branded communications. Strike a tone that is warm, inviting, personal and professional.
6. Call to action – use active language to encourage a sense of urgency e.g. ‘learn now’ instead of ‘learn how’ and ensure it is linked correctly to you ‘contact us’ page.
7. Be on time – frequency is important. Find out how often your customers want to receive a newsletter – daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or quarterly. The most popular mailing cycle is monthly.
8. Creative linking – if relevant, link content to videos, podcasts, social profiles, discussion groups.
9. Promote socially – extend the life of your newsletter and share on social networks and encourage others to do the same. Remember to add social networking links in your content too.
10. Add a subscribe form – ensure that if someone stumbles across your newsletter they can sign up to future editions.
Remember to be passionate about your subject. Passion combined with expertise and knowledge will jump out from the page.
If you have any other ideas about email newsletters, share them in the comments section below or on Twitter.
