Email marketing is an essential component in your digital marketing plan. Without a doubt, the best way to achieve success in this category is by crafting a powerful newsletter.
Gone are the days when marketers could create sensational headlines and dupe unsuspecting subscribers into opening their content. Today’s subscribers do not tolerate such trickery. They will only open a newsletter from a trusted source that they opted-in to and when the subject compels them.
So, are you curious to learn the best email marketing practices that aid in your ultimate victory?
Read on to our rundown of 6 tactics that will help you create newsletters that readers find irresistible.
1 - Plan with Intent
Before you sit down to craft that masterpiece, think carefully about both your audience and the intent of your newsletter.
First, identify which subscribers you wish to send this content. Your email marketing provider should enable list segmentation.
For example, you might want to build repeat business by sending a special discount code to past customers. Or, your goal might be to convert subscribers who haven’t made a prior purchase into buyers with a free shipping offer.
Planning your newsletters with intent is key, here. Consider the exact message you wish to convey. Some reasons to send emails are:
- Sharing general information about your business.
- Thanking customers for their support.
- Telling subscribers how to use your products in new ways.
- Creating top of mind awareness of your company in the minds of the consumer.
- Making special offers that trigger sales.
The best email marketing campaigns are planned carefully and only executed after meticulously understanding the audience and intent.
2 - Write a Compelling Subject Line
Now that you have planned the intent of your newsletter and identified your target audience, it’s time to get writing. Start by penning a powerful headline that will entice subscribers to open.
In fact, the email subject line is probably the most crucial component of this content. No pressure.
You want to intrigue the readers, so they feel compelled to click on the email and open it; however, you don’t want to give away the entire gist of the newsletter.
Additionally, you must focus on the subscriber, their needs, and the problems they wish to solve. Quite frankly, that’s all most people are interested in reading.
Here are five practical pointers on how to lure your subscribers and connect them to the content of your newsletters:
- Solve a problem. Example: 6 Hints for (the problem that needs solving).
- Pose a question. Example: Do you know how to (resolve problem x)?
- Solicit an opinion. Example: What’s your opinion on (subject matter)?
- Check on their satisfaction with your site: Example: Did you find what you needed on (Website X)?
- Be helpful. Example: We want to help you (solve problem X).
3 - What Content Should You Share in Your Newsletter?
People love to feel “in the know,” and your subscribers are no exception. They opted in to receive valuable content such as how-to information, special events, new product information, and everything “new” about your business.
Make your newsletters the first place that you announce new information and relate it back to how it helps your subscribers.
Here is an example.
Brand X proudly announces the promotion of Jane X to the role of Assistant Customer Experience Manager. This move allows Jane to improve the user experience for our clients continually.
This will make your readers feel as if they have the inside scoop on Jane’s accomplishment while reinforcing Brand X’s commitment to customer service.
Doing this keeps your email content fresh and new; share all your product releases, important calendar dates, and other “secrets” in your newsletters before releasing them to social media, your website, or other media.
Had Brand X shared Jane’s promotion on social channels first, the newsletter would not have the same impact.
You’ll keep your subscribers from unsubscribing and also attract new subscribers when sharing fresh content in your email marketing first.
4 - Check and Double-Check Your Content
Once you have drafted your newsletter content, edit vigorously. Eliminate inactive verbs, weak adverbs, and passive-voice phrases and sentences. Scrutinize every single character to ensure there is not even a single typographical error. Run it through not only your built-in spell- and grammar-checking system but also through Grammarly.
After you’ve completed that editing, double-check it again. Read it to yourself out loud to ensure you don’t stumble upon awkward or out of turn sentences. Have a colleague proof it before you send.
Why does this matter?
You are investing valuable resources—time and energy—into a marketing piece that represents your business. Mistakes might go unnoticed by some readers, but others will see these common errors as a discredit to you and your company.
Consider your newsletter as if your very livelihood depends on it—because it does!
5 - Set Expectations for Email Marketing Frequency
Your subscription form probably invited users to sign up to receive a monthly or weekly newsletter. If you already set that expectation, that’s great! If you did not specify a frequency, be sure that you are sending emails with a predictable level of intensity.
For example, FullContact tells to-be subscribers that they send newsletters every Friday.
We’ve all shared the experience of being bombarded with too many emails; don’t to that to your own subscribers. On the other hand, too infrequent emails are overlooked or marked as spam.
Depending on your industry and the needs of your subscribers, you should plan newsletter at a weekly or monthly pace. Be reliable and keep the promise that you made by sending out newsletters on schedule.
6 - Be Mobile Ready
If you use an email subscription service such as MailChimp or Constant Contact, you’ll be glad to know that they offer mobile-enabled email. With an ever increasing number of people replacing their laptops with tablets and smartphones, this critical factor can make or break your newsletter delivery efforts.
If you use a third-party provider to send out your email marketing, check in with them to ascertain whether your emails deliver in a format readable on mobile devices.
The Bottom Line
The best email marketing plans drive profitability and margins. A newsletter is an effective and budget-friendly tool that you must master. When used consistently, this digital marketing tool creates a positive impact all the way around.
Deborah Tayloe
Deborah is a blogger and freelancer who often writes for EmailMeForm. When she’s not blogging, you’ll probably find Deborah working on DIY projects around her home in North Carolina.
