The newsletter is one of the oldest web marketing tools. The versatility and the many advantages (speed of sending, ease of finding the recipients, traceability, etc.) that these medium offers were very clear from the beginning.
The newsletter thus became a tool that everyone started to use, clogging spam inboxes without restraint. And at the time newsletter was then buried by spam, and no one remembered what it was.
At some point, however, the anti-spam filters have become sharp, unsubscribing from newsletters has become easier and our mailboxes are back to normal. Thus, the newsletter has rediscovered enamel and this has happened, I would say, in the last few years.
However, to make sense an effective newsletter must be useful, pretty, really informative.
So, writing an effective newsletter means, in most cases, being able to convince recipients to perform a specific action (the purchase of a product, the click of a link, and so on): it is the so-called call-to-action.
But what are the tips to put into practice to write an effective newsletter? First, it is preferable to avoid using Outlook or using any other type of program not specifically designed for newsletters: these solutions, in fact, although successfully used in the office for multiple purposes, are not suitable for newsletters because they are not very flexible and quite limited in terms of style choices.
The ordinary mail clients are not recommended especially if you have the need to send a newsletter mailing list very significant because they may prevent the sending of e-mails for some time. In the event that many messages are sent all together, in fact, you can run into the danger of being reported for SPAM.
There are no problems, instead, if we use an ad hoc program, created and developed for the management of sending newsletters: everything is programmed and executed through the servers and the mailings are optimized.
Another secret to improving the effectiveness of newsletters is to send them only to those who want to receive them. It seems a piece of trivial advice, but it is not so: on many occasions, the sending of newsletters to non-interested persons represents a waste of time for senders and recipients and could lead to an alert for SPAM. And it is true, an unwanted e-mail message is a real SPAM, which is rubbish: you must never forget it.
For the same reason, an effective newsletter must clearly specify what needs to be done if you no longer want to receive messages, and therefore to unsubscribe from the list of recipients: everything should be done in the simplest way possible, with a click on the unsubscribe link.
If you want to improve the effectiveness of your messages, it may be useful to set up a confirmation email to cancel the request to specify the reason why you decided to opt out of the newsletter.
Obviously, the most important part of an effective newsletter is its content, both graphically and from a textual point of view. The quality of writing is a very significant factor that influences the probability that a recipient opens or not the emails. The qualities to be sought are the synthesis and clarity: it is necessary to go straight to the point, without unnecessary turns of phrase to lengthen the stock. The reader appreciates a message in which he/she is immediately told what he/she needs, without superfluous preambles or style exercises that are only meant to satisfy the narcissism of the newsletter writer. One most important fact is to attract attention: and to achieve this goal it is essential to carefully evaluate the titles as well.
7 tips to create an effective newsletter
If you are still reading then you already know how to write an effective newsletter, but it is time to be more specific in terms to create an effective newsletter. You can find many free email marketing tools available to create an effective newsletter. But before that I suggest you to read these 7 tips and keep in your mind, if you really want to create an effective newsletter to grow your business.
If you are working with a corporate blog then no doubt you know the strength of social media. But sometimes it is the newsletter that makes the difference : sometimes it is this tool – one of the most used and exploited in the history of the web – to draw a clear line, to bring good results. The newsletter is still today one of the most effective tools of web marketing.
The reason? Because it reaches the public in the email box, because it is based on an agreement established a priori that sees the user interested in the contents that revolve around the newsletter and accept the subscription to the list. So the newsletter remains an effective tool in principle. But is it always so?
Obviously not. Behind email marketing, there is a world of attempts, trials, successes and failures. Above all failures. Because reaching your contacts via email does not mean having the certainty of interest and certain actions. Getting the contacts – clearly and crystal-clear – is the first step. Here are 7 tips to create an effective newsletter for your business.
1. Object
That is the text string that allows the reader to understand what the subject of your email is. The subject of the newsletter is the pass for your email marketing business: most emails fall in front of this obstacle. Why? Object too long, it is cut from the device. But also not very explanatory, cumbersome, unnecessarily long.
The advice for an effective newsletter: go to the point, don’t waste time on useless talk, use as few words as possible. But at the same time do not skimp on information: enter the most important aspects of the object at the beginning of the object field. So even if some monitors cut the text you can count on the first lines that communicate everything.
2. Create your design
If you use one of the main platforms to manage email (Mailchimp) you can create defined templates and always use those based on your needs. Do you have to make a list of resources? Do you have to write an extra post to distribute only via newsletter? You already have the templates ready. This way you can save time and avoid reshaping the sections every time, but above all, you can build a standard image of your email.
Obviously, these templates can be customized: here is the right opportunity to turn the newsletter into a key element of your brand. Use images, fonts, logos and colors that characterize your online and offline presence. The personalization of these tools is fundamental to allow your brand to reach the email accounts.
3. Call by name
There is a detail that you can find in all the big newsletters: they are personalized. That is, they have content that reflects the needs and details of the recipient. They are cut around individual needs. It is not easy to reach these levels: you have to work well with segmentation. But you can start this way: greeting with the name and surname of the recipient. Of course, you don’t have to do it for every newsletter subscriber manually.
Each newsletter program has a function that allows you to achieve this result. In principle, you must have the name and surname of the subscribers and insert a variable at the beginning of the email. Type “Hello * [fname] *” on Mailchimp.
4. Increase enrollment
To increase subscriptions to your newsletter you have a simple and effective way ahead of you: creating quality content. In this way, you can attract new visitors to your blog and take advantage of the various forms (you can insert them through the newsletter code or with dedicated plugins) to get contacts spontaneously and without forcing. Then?
Always riding the wave of quality content you can donate something in exchange for the email: an e-book, a module dedicated to a professional activity, a collection of free images, a tool you have studied and that can solve a problem of your niche. There are many ways to exploit this direction, but a condition must not be missed: it is useless to remix known contents and hope to get something back. The number of contacts that will decide to enroll in the book is directly proportional to the quality of the content you have decided to give.
The more you get from the more, this is the rule.
5. Care for the contents
There is a specific reason why people decided to follow your newsletter: THE CONTENTS. Because there is a difference between signing up and following. In the first case, I sign up – as suggested above – to get something or because I’m curious and I want to see what it is. In the second, instead, the right attention to publications is soon given. Maybe I click on the proposed links and become a user able to create conversions.
This is the point of arrival, right? But to achieve this you need to turn your email into a container of interesting news, in a collection of valuable content. There are also promotional offers, the newsletter serves this purpose. But don’t forget to turn the newsletter into an expected moment.
6. Readability is important
Exactly, readability is important online, when you write articles for your blog but also when you create the newsletter. Avoid word blocks, use subtitles to introduce topics and bulleted lists to bring order to the primal chaos you are about to publish. And pay attention to the images: a text-only newsletter becomes boring, choose the best images to enrich the text. Another tip: to reduce the chances of crossing spam filters, avoid capitalizing words and words of spammer jargon: all for free, click here!!!!, special offer.
7. Watch out for shares
Many tools to create newsletters allow you to insert share buttons. And then to turn your newsletter into a sort of public post. An optimal solution from a certain point of view (your brand moves, opportunities for subscribers increase) but risks losing the exclusive effect: if you publish content only for newsletter subscribers you should not facilitate sharing.
Conclusion
These are the basic tips to create and write an effective newsletter for your business: personalization, effective object, quality content, content exclusivity. Now it’s up to you, now you have to work on your newsletter. Have you already started to improve the layout and texts of your publications? What program did you choose to send newsletters? I await your comments!
