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How to Create the Best Email Marketing Newsletters
Emailing a newsletter to your database can be a great way to keep in touch, build relationships and encourage referrals. Still, it can also be a colossal waste of time if not done correctly. You need to consider these factors if you want to create a newsletter that works. The best email newsletters are relevant, interesting and valuable for your readers. We’ve put together a checklist of dos and don’ts to help you connect and engage your readers.
Tips to Create Your Best Marketing eDMs
Best time to send Your newsletter
The best times to send marketing emails depends on your readers. There is no firm rule. The best way to find the perfect send time for your particular audience is to test it. Trial your newsletter at different times on different days to find what works best for your audience.
Have a consistent eDM schedule
Set up a schedule for your email marketing newsletter and stick to it. Ideally, your readers should look forward to getting an update every month. This frequency also establishes trust that you’re here for the duration. Have the same look and feel each month, so all you need to do is drop in the content. A consistent theme makes it easy for you to put together and easy for the reader to find what they are looking for.
Too much can be a bad thing
Plan your newsletter campaign ahead so you can manage its frequency and ensure relevant content is arriving at the right time of the year. If you send your eDMs too often, you could be cluttering inboxes with too many emails. Consider sending out information in the newsletter rather than in ad hoc emails.
How to improve your eDM content
Make sure your newsletter gets opened. Think about your subject line. An email’s subject line can make or break the success of your newsletter campaign. When writing your email marketing subject lines think of the reader. Consider what subject line emails are likely to be opened.
Entice your audience
Once opened, you must draw the reader deeper into the content with a compelling opening line. Many email browsers display a portion of the message directly in the email browser. Make sure what they read captures their interest. The key is to understand your target audience in order to create better content for your eDMs.
Provide value
Your newsletter should include a healthy mix of interesting content and solutions, along with special offers or product promotions. It would be best if you didn’t use it to bombard readers with sales-type messages.
Be unique
Give your readers a reason to open your e-newsletter. They will not open the newsletter if, every month, the content is the same information. Your newsletter should provide your audience with something they can’t get from your other channels.
Be personal
Add merge fields to drop in the reader’s first name. You may also want to target specific newsletters to identified segments of interest. This will make it more relevant and effective.
Have a clear focus
The focus of your newsletter will be crucial to how engaging it will be. Understanding your reader will help you understand what that focus should be and plan your content around it. You can include an article, case study/testimonial, handy hint or promotion around one theme. If you include too many topics and messages, your audience will be confused and your eDM will lost its impact.
Include a call to action
Be clear in what you want your readers to do. If you include a feature on an event, service or product, also include a strong call to action that makes it easy for your reader to sign up or purchase. Make that call to action straightforward to enact.
Be concise
Don’t assume people will read everything in your newsletter. Put the important things at the top, include a summary with links to longer articles and your website. Keeping your eDM short and to the point is the key to success!
Proofread your content
Nothing turns off readers more than mistakes, and it reflects poorly on your business. Don’t rush sending it out and have a couple of people read through it to check spelling, grammar and any offers you have included. Don’t forget to check for broken links included in the e-newsletter.
Things to avoid for your marketing newsletters
Sending without an unsubscribe or opt-out option
Not only is this illegal, but it’s also annoying. Over time it can damage your brand’s credibility. Make sure to keep your unsubscribe list up to date at all times.
Trigger spam filters
While we’re talking about spam, make sure your messages aren’t setting off spam alarms and never making it to your recipients’ inboxes. Make sure your content is relevant to your target audience.
Forgetting to measure your results
Performance reports can offer insights about how many times your message was opened, how many times it was clicked, what links were clicked, and how many subscribes and unsubscribes you have received. This information is valuable data that can improve your email newsletters over time.
Create a newsletter that succeeds
These simple guidelines will help you create the best email newsletters for your business. Webcentral can help you manage all your email needs with Microsoft 365. Learn more about Microsoft 365 here. We also offer a full portfolio of email hosting plans to meet every business need.