In today’s highly digitized world, email marketing is no stranger to most of us. The newsletter, as a tool used by companies to communicate with the network of customers and prospects, is its integral part. If your company isn’t sending out a newsletter yet, it’s high time to change that. Why? And – equally important – how to do it right? You will find the answer to these questions in our article.
What is the newsletter?
A newsletter is a kind of an online bulletin – in practice it is simply an e-mail sent, usually regularly, to our subscribers, providing them with information about the offer, new products, promotions, or changes regarding our brand. Today, the newsletter is the basis of marketing – currently, e-mail is used by as many as 3.9 billion users daily (Statista, 2020). So, the newsletter is a great tool for generating sales, if only we can use it skillfully.
Interestingly, our current marketing strategies have their roots back in ancient Rome. At that time, newsletters were exchanged between officials and friends. In turn, medieval newsletters used by merchants contained information such as the availability and prices of goods, and political news that had a direct impact on trade. These trade newsletters were also the first “serious” news medium from which newspapers later evolved. Although the newsletter functions in a completely different way today, its purpose has remained the same – to provide information. Currently, however, we are facing an additional challenge – we are overloaded with information and that is why a well-thought-out marketing strategy and good design of our newsletter are so important. All this so that the e-mail we send does not get lost in dozens of other messages that fall into our recipients’ inboxes every day.
Why should you introduce a newsletter?
Email marketing provides the highest ROI of any marketing channel. The newsletter is the cornerstone of any email marketing strategy, and it benefits both large corporations and smaller businesses. It is a great tool for informing about news and products. It also allows you to build relationships with recipients and increase brand awareness. Moreover, compared to other advertising media, creating a newsletter is relatively cheap. So if you are wondering if the newsletter is an option for your company – the answer is: YES. But…
… what does a good newsletter mean?
To maximize its effectiveness, it is necessary to ensure a good strategy, i.e. that our newsletter is tailored to the needs of the recipients and visually attractive. When creating it, it is worth asking yourself why we decide on it (“because everyone does it” is not a good answer!) And what we want to achieve. First of all, it must have a clear purpose, both for your business and for the reader. Consider also whether your newsletter will sound like an interesting message from a friend or an insistent sales e-mail. You definitely want to avoid the latter option.
What is worth paying special attention to when creating a newsletter?
> Personalization of content
the newsletter should be addressed to each subscriber by name and/or surname, and the content must be relevant and valuable. Consider what is of interest to a given audience. Make them feel like the time they spent reading your email wasn’t wasted.
Segmentation of your customer base will be useful here – it will allow you to personalize what you send even more – and Salesforce Marketing Cloud is one of the tools that will help you do it!
> Frequency
We recommend that you send out your newsletter at least once a month and no more than once a week – unless you have a really good reason to do otherwise. By sending the newsletter less than once a month, you risk that people will forget about you. In turn, flooding the clients’ e-mail boxes, the only thing you will “gain” is their irritation.
> Headlines
After all, it’s the first thing the recipient comes across, and often deciding whether to open your message or throw it in the trash. As with color magazines, your newsletter should have a distinctive headline that is consistent with your branding. It also needs to be catchy to encourage further reading.
> Logotype
Your brand logo should be visible to remind readers who is responsible for the valuable content in their inbox!
> Graphics
Eye-catching newsletters contain photos and/or illustrations related to their subject, harmoniously integrated into the text.
> Content layout
The use of headers and subheads will make the newsletter clear, and the readers will be able to navigate easily and quickly understand its content. Also, remember that the text should not be too long, as this can easily discourage the recipient.
There are also legally relevant elements that should not be forgotten. The newsletter should contain information about our use of our readers’ personal data and our contact details. The button to conveniently unsubscribe is also very important – give your recipients the right to say “no”, and there is a chance that you will remain trustworthy and unobtrusive in their eyes.
Conclusion
Regardless of the industry and business model in which you operate, you can only benefit from the newsletter. But remember that your content should be valuable for the recipient! Of course, there are more important elements of the newsletter than those mentioned today. However, it would be difficult to describe them all in one article.
The good news is that our team is ready to tell you everything they know about the newsletter … and more! Contact us and we will advise you on how to create an attractive newsletter and what tools to use to send it. We will also suggest how to measure the effects of email marketing activities.
Article by Anna Biduś.
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