If you aren’t already sending out an email newsletter to your customers, you need to get on it! Why? Well, did you know that 90% of consumers prefer to receive updates via an email newsletter? Email marketing newsletters are one of the best ways to engage your leads and customers, and will help with customer retention rates, as well as boost your sales volume. You might be asking yourself, “How do I get started creating one?” We’ve got the tips to help you get started crafting a compelling email newsletter that will ultimately grow your business.
Get Focused
Before you begin writing, take some time to focus: focus on who your target audience is, and think about what topic you can focus on that will engage that target audience. For example, you can provide tips for them, like how to stay safe from cyber attacks, or you can keep them updated on upcoming events in your community, on your company news, or on blog content you have created.
If you’re not sure how to focus your email content, use feedback from your customers to help you understand what they’re interested in, as well as analysis of your customer demographics.
Make It More Educational Than Promotional
The best way to compel people to actually read your newsletter is by making it less about selling and more about providing interesting, insightful, and useful information. Sure, you want to promote your business, but making the newsletter feel promotional in nature will turn off many people, so aim to make it more educational instead.
As we said above, you can focus on offering information about what’s going on with your business or service, but you can also include current events that your customers might want to read about, like what’s going on with health insurance and the new subsidies that can save them money. Don’t be afraid to branch out, though: statistics show that emails related to hobbies, government, and arts/artists have the highest open rates.
Use Graphics
Graphics help pull readers’ eyes to your content; your visuals should have a purpose, and should be placed strategically throughout the newsletter. Using graphics will help readers stay engaged, and provide a visual roadmap as your customers navigate your newsletter.
Keep It Short
Less is more: most people have a short attention span, and won’t read through a long email; they will eventually lose interest and might not get to your call to action. Keep in mind, as well, that the majority of customers will be opening your email on their phone, so you need to to get to the point quickly, without the necessity for a whole lot of scrolling.
When planning the layout of your newsletter, remember that white space is key, because it helps keep it from feeling cluttered and encourages readers to scroll on.
Grab Their Attention With Subject Lines
47% of email recipients will open your email based solely on the subject line. Make them want to open your email with eye-catching subject lines; you can use the same principles for writing them as you would for writing blog titles. Some of the most popular types of titles include “The Best of…”, “Why X People Do X”, scientific or bizarre facts, listicles, open-ended questions, and promises. For example, you can try something fun, like: “Bizarre real-life insurance claims you won’t believe.”
A Primary Call To Action
Adding a call-to-action button in your emails instead of simply a text link can lead to a 28% increase in click-throughs. Multiple call-to-actions are generally too much and can make the email feel clunky, so focus on one call to action, like an invitation to view a blog post, or to forward the email to a friend. Again, keep it simple!
When To Send Them Out?
After you’ve created your newsletter, you need to know the best day and time to send it out. Based on studies, Tuesday is the best day to send out emails; they are opened on this day more than on any other day. As for times, the best time to send them out is between 9 and 11 am or 1 and 3 pm.
It all boils down to this: your email newsletter should be conversational and educational, without being overwhelming, and should be sent out consistently. After you’ve researched your target audience and their demographics and picked your topics, remember to keep your content short and compelling, add graphics, and add a clickable, clear call to action. Once you’ve tested your emails to make sure all the links work and the layout looks good on both desktops and mobile devices, you’re good to go!
