Email marketing can be a valuable tool for driving conversions, but it can also be an annoying disturbance for the recipients, if not done properly. This article has seven tips for creating a newsletter.
1. Check, double-check and then check again before publishing
Imagine sending out thousands of newsletters to your customers and potential customers, only to learn that you have misspelled an important word in the subject line. This must be on the top five list of worst-case scenarios for marketers. Because once it is out, you cannot retract it.
Thus, the first rule before sending out a newsletter is to check, double-check and then check again for any flaws. Consider using a copy editing service to improve the grammar, structure and meaning of your text. This may help you to avoid the scenario described above and save you a lot of time and hassle.
Having underlined the importance of thoroughly proofreading your newsletter, we can move on to its actual content.
2. 90% should be valuable content leaving 10% for sales
Always keep in mind that your newsletter should create value for the recipients. Otherwise, they will not read it and may even unsubscribe. To avoid this, ensure that only 10% of the content is related to sales. The other 90% should offer something interesting or useful to your readers. This means that your newsletter should, for example, teach them something new, inspire them, solve a problem or touch them emotionally.
3. The perfect subject line
But before you can create value for your readers, you must get them to open your newsletter, which means having a good subject line.
If you want to improve the chances of people opening your newsletter, the subject line has to be the right length. A good length is about seven words, since it will not get truncated, on either a phone or a laptop. But you should always do some testing to see what works best. Test different subject lines on smaller groups before sending it to the rest. This way, you get to see which subject line has the highest open rate.
Your subject line should make it clear to the recipients what they can gain from opening your email. For example: “Do not miss out on…” or “Learn about…” This signals that the content is valuable for your readers.
4. The preheader can elaborate your subject line
Besides having a catchy subject line, your newsletter should also have an interesting preheader that elaborates on your subject line. A preheader is the small text on top of the body of the email, which comes after the subject line. This is an extra opportunity to tell your readers what your newsletter is about and to persuade them to open it. Make sure your preheader is different from your subject line.
The preheader can be longer than the subject line, but it should still be short and precise.
5. Use call to actions to drive conversions
To drive conversions from your newsletter, you need to add ONE primary call to action, made salient with, for example, colour, a link or bold text.
A call to action tells people what to do when they have opened the email. They could be encouraged to read your blog post, fill out a contact form on your website to get access to an interesting ebook or buy something from your webshop.
6. Remember to add alt text for each image
This is easy to forget but, nevertheless, important to remember. Alternative text describes your images in case they are not shown in the newsletter. Most email platforms and content management systems allow you to include alt text.
7. Make it easy to unsubscribe
Finally, a very important point when using email marketing is to make it easy for the recipients to unsubscribe. You will not benefit from sending out newsletters to someone who does not want them and considers them spam.
Good luck creating your next newsletter!