Five Tips for Creating a Successful Email Newsletter
Congratulations: you have people who want to learn more about your company and receive updates from you in their inbox! But with great power comes great responsibility. You are expected to deliver not only timely information about your brand, but also engaging content worth reading over another brand’s newsletter.
To keep your target audience informed, entertained and returning to your website, follow these five tips below for a successful email newsletter.
Start with a captivating subject
The first thing your reader will see when they have an email from you is the subject line in the inbox. This is your best chance to achieve conversion: the right subject line will convince them to open the email, click on your link and ultimately purchase. Newsletter subject lines should be specific, relatable and just enough to inspire curiosity. Avoid common spam words like “free,” “earn” and “credit” or they may end up caught in the filter, or sent straight to the trash.
Lead with the good stuff
When compiling the copy for your newsletter, structure the text using the inverted pyramid: the most important information is first, with additional details following. Readers will get the gist of your message and what their call to action should be in the first paragraph, even if they don’t read the entire email. Ideally your strong start will compel the reader to keep going to explore supporting visuals and information related to your main point.
Personalized content
If you have the information, send target emails to customers depending on their previous purchase(s). Do you sell men’s and women’s products? Use customer data to send personalized information on new items and discounts, showing men products they’ll love and not unrelated items like women’s products.
Many email marketing platforms can help you with the personalization. You can create slightly different newsletters for each audience and send them to a subset of your distribution list. If you collect names of your customers, have the email include their name for a more personal touch.
Utilize engaging visuals
High-quality images enhance your message and grab attention quickly, making your reader more likely to stay focused on your emails. A selection of professionally photographed images of your products, high-quality branded graphics and related stock photos should be in your arsenal for building a marketing email.
GIFs are a great way to add visual interest without adding a full video to your newsletter. Something as simple as having your product move back and forth can make a standard marketing email much more exciting.
Whatever image you use, make sure it’s optimized for your template. While the marketing tool and template you use may vary, a good rule of thumb is to keep images smaller than 480 x 480 pixels. An oversized image can throw off your whole template once it hits a reader’s phone screen.
Finish with a call to action
Even though you’re reaching out via email, you ultimately want the reader back on your website. Tell the reader what you want him to do next, and create a nice big button that will let him do just that. Even if you’re emailing with a general update, encourage the reader to head to your website to read the full press release or browse new arrivals.
With IDMI.Net’s email marketing services, you can enjoy all of the benefits of a carefully crafted email marketing campaign without all of the work. At IDMI.Net we understand the value of connections and relationships, which is why we offer email marketing services designed to engage your audience in meaningful ways. Learn more about our email marketing services by contacting us today.