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Successful e-newsletters – what is the secret?
You should have an email newsletter providing valuable content to your customers. Here are some tips to help you create a more successful e-newsletter.
E-news “from line”
The “from line” should contain the key person’s name, the name of the newsletter, or the company name. Determine what will resonate best with your customers and stick with it.
E-news “subject line”
Keep the subject line short. Capture the reader’s attention. Draw them in by telling them what they’ll get from reading your e-newsletter and make it relevant to them.
“[Company name] latest news” is not an enticing subject line.
E-news spam check
You will have more success avoiding spam filters if you avoid typical spam behaviour such as:
- excessive punctuation !!!
- ALL CAPITAL LETTERS
- speling mistakes
Spam trigger words include: free, weight loss, amazing, cancel at any time, click here, congratulations, dear friend, email marketing, for only, great offer, guarantee, increase sales, order now, promise you, risk-free, special promotion, spam & to be removed.
E-news frequency
People will get into the habit of reading your e-newsletter on a particular day of the week or month. Pick a day and time that works best… and stick to it. If you use an email campaign manager like MailChimp or EBS you can experiment by sending out your campaign on different days and at different times and tracking over time to see which timeslot gives you the best results.
E-news content – personalise it
Personalise your e-newsletter by addressing the reader by name.
The most successful newsletters are written by a person (at your company) …not the company. That person should establish a voice to connect with your audience. Link to their BIO on your website and add a photo on the e-newsletter so readers can identify with the writer.
E-news content – keep it short
Write a short blurb in the email newsletter with a link such as “read the rest of this article here” and link it to the article on your website. This brings traffic to your website and allows you to monitor which links are being followed in your e-newsletter.
E-news content – target your audience
Split your mailing list into e-newsletter campaigns; one for suppliers, one for staff, one for clients, etc.
Use one main article for all audiences, then write a few smaller articles for the specific groups. It means you write three e-newsletters, but it also means your audience is more likely to read it as it addresses their particular interest areas.
E-news content – don’t be pushy
The rule to follow is 20% advertising to 80% education.
Write how-to articles, industry reports, or top tips. This gives readers value from your newsletters and ensures they think of you as the expert. Sales will come as a result.
E-news content – video
Include a video or link to the video on your website to bring another level of humanisation to the relationship between author and reader.
Don’t just link to a YouTube video – embed it into your website and make it work to sell your products/services.
E-news layout
Keep the layout clean, simple, and consistent.
Start with your call to action or value proposition.
Don’t waste the top section of the email with huge headers or big meaningless pictures. This section of your email might be all that readers see in the preview pane before scrolling.
Most people won’t read an entire newsletter, but they will scan headings and have specific features that they look forward to each time.
E-news – images
Include relevant and attention-grabbing images, but not too many. Remember a picture paints a thousand words.
E-news testing
Test every e-newsletter to check for errors and other issues before sending the entire distribution list.
Great content is crucial
Design is important but it will not make up for inferior content so be sure to follow these 6 tips to make sure your e-newsletter content shines.
1. People do NOT like their time wasted by useless e-newsletters!
Get straight to the point. Provide a punchy descriptive summary in your e-newsletter then direct the reader to your website for the full story. This also helps you track which links are clicked.
2. People DO like to feel special.
Make sure your e-newsletter addresses the reader by name. Also, ensure the content is relevant to the reader.
3. People DO like to read about other people and current news.
Profile your staff or industry experts… or conduct customer interviews. Refer to real-world examples and share relevant industry news.
4. People do NOT like a hard sell in emails.
Don’t push sales only. If you have a product to sell, show the value and provide education. Write useful articles, share insights from industry seminars, interview experts, provide tips, showcase recent work and provide case studies.
5. People DO like photos and images.
Video content is an engaging way to communicate your message. Don’t Photos add life to your e-newsletter campaigns? But make sure they are relevant – and not the only thing in the email (text is important too!).
6. People DO like to be involved.
Conduct a survey to find out what your readers want to know… or request feedback on a new product. Try commenting on industry news, giving your personal opinion & inviting discussion and feedback.