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A kickass newsletter is a great way of keeping in touch with your clients/customers and will ensure your brand stays fresh in their mind.
A Nielsen Norman Group study of online newsletter subscribers found that e-newsletters form a greater bond between reader and business than a website can (NNG, Email Newsletter Usability, 2011). Building a relationship with your clients/ customers is crucial for eventually boosting your sales.
So, what exactly is an email newsletter?
An email newsletter is an email communication that’s sent out to inform your subscribers of various things including:
- Your latest news
- Useful tips
- New product launches and updates
- Upcoming important dates
Email newsletter marketing provides a great return on investment and should be an essential part of your digital marketing strategy. According to the experts, you can use email marketing to convert leads, re-engage old customers and strengthen brand loyalty.
However, before you begin writing your kickass newsletter you need to choose an email marketing tool like Mailchimp or GetResponse. Testing should also be a core component of your email newsletter campaign efforts. You can test virtually any aspect of your newsletter but the main things you should focus on are the subject lines, send times and content.
Top 10 tips to help you write a kickass email newsletter
By following our top 10 tips below you will be able to nail the process of writing a kickass newsletter that your clients/customers will love!
Tip 1: Begin with an attention-grabbing subject line
Start with a powerful newsletter header that immediately piques the reader’s attention and curiosity. Don’t just write ‘October Newsletter’. Bland, boring copy is likely to end up in the trash folder and never see the light of day! In fact, statistics show that email open rates go down by almost 19% when the word newsletter appears in the subject line. This is because people tend to think of dull, traditional newsletters, not a modern newsletter packed with valuable, kickass content!
According to the stats, 33% of people decide whether to open an email, based only on the subject line. Keep is short, catchy, and non-spammy while teasing what’s inside. This will hook the reader and encourage them to open the email. Aim for a subject line that’s between 6 and 10 words in length.
Campaign Monitor has some great tips for writing inspiring newsletter email subject lines.
Tip 2: Personalise your newsletter
Did you know that over half of opened emails are deleted in 2 seconds? But don’t worry because personalisation is your secret weapon! Begin by greeting your subscriber with their first name. Another very effective way to personalize your newsletter is to use dynamic content. This is content that can change depending upon the actions, interests, and preferences of the user. According to Salesforce, 84% of customers say that being treated like a person, not a number, is key to winning their business. Furthermore, Aberdeen Group has found that personalized emails increase click-through rates by 14% and conversion rates by 10%.
Tip 3: Include news about your brand but also share curated content
Your newsletter should be used as an opportunity to connect with your subscribers and increase brand loyalty. It can also be used to supercharge sales. However, use the majority of your email newsletter to promote content that will help your subscribers – don’t fill it purely with self-promotion.
But, if you have a really irresistible offer you know your subscribers will love then go for it. Just remember you don’t want your subscribers hitting ‘unsubscribe’ because they have special offer fatigue!
One suggestion worth considering is to help your subscribers solve a problem which…TA DAH… you just happen to have the perfect solution! So, it’s possible to use your e-newsletter as a lean, mean, selling machine but just try not to sound too salesy!
Curated content helps establish you as an authority in your niche and saves your subscribers time as you are only sharing the gems with them! There is so much content out there to consume but a curated newsletter only showcases the most valuable content which reflects the needs and wants of your customer.
Curating kickass content will help you create newsletters your subscribers want to open and read. You will also have an engaged group of subscribers which will increase brand love and ultimately brand loyalty.
Tip 4: Use a friendly tone of voice
Using informal language with a friendly tone of voice will help you sound human and not robotic! It will also help you create an emotional connection with your reader. Imagine your customer is your friend and you are chatting with them over a cup of coffee and this will help you sound natural. Avoid corporate-speak and jargon. Remember you want to create a relaxed vibe.
Tip 5: Use an appealing template design – and pay attention to visuals/format and fonts.
Email marketing platforms like Mailchimp provide a great range of templates that you can use as a starting point for your e-newsletter design. Canva is also worth checking out.
When it comes to images I recommend Unsplash or Pexels.
Just make sure your newsletter visuals, format and font reflect your brand identity and remember that your brand image needs to be consistent across all platforms.
Interestingly, many digital marketing gurus including Neil Patel now only use text-based templates to send email newsletters, as they find them more effective.
Customers receive so many emails you want to make sure your email newsletter screams OPEN ME!!
Tip 6: Keep it short and to the point
Try and keep your email newsletters short and sweet.:
- Use bullet points to make the content easy to read,
- Create a table of contents
- Summarise a story or article then include a ‘read more’ button
- Edit your newsletter to make sure it reads well
Tip 7: End with a powerful Call to Action (CTA)
CTAs in your newsletter tell your reader what action you want them to take. To be effective they need to be easy to locate and understand. If there’s any ambiguity in what your reader needs to do, they won’t take any action.
Psst! If you have a limited edition/special offer and want to create a sense of urgency then include that in a P.S. or Psst!
Tip 8: Include a footer in your email newsletter
Including social sharing buttons in the footer of your email newsletter will help supercharge your social media followers. They will also remind your subscribers that your brand is part of an active social media community.
And don’t forget to add your contact information in your email footer design. This could include a link back to your website, your postal address and contact email address.
Tip 9: Make sure it’s easy to opt out for subscribers
Under GDPR, complying with consent rules means you need to make it as easy as possible to unsubscribe from your email newsletters.
I would suggest adding an ‘Unsubscribe’ link to the e-newsletter footer. MailChimp and other email marketing services offer this as an added option within their templates.
Tip 10: Proofread your newsletter
Finally, make sure you proofread your newsletter! This means checking through your content thoroughly. You need to make sure it’s free from spelling mistakes, ensure the grammar is spot on and there are no typos! If there are mistakes in your email newsletter it will damage the credibility and reputation of your brand. And kickass newsletters don’t have any mistakes. Simples!
P.S. If you need help writing a kickass newsletter please email annie@bijouconcierge.co.uk for further information about our newsletter packages.
