If you are a business owner, you want your company to attract as many potential clients as possible. There are many ways you can ensure that your brand reaches your target audience, and they all involve marketing. From TV ads and billboards to social media, every marketing strategy can have a long-lasting impact on the people that you are trying to reach.
One of the most effective and reliable marketing strategies involves email newsletters. Even though email marketing is an old form of advertising, most industry giants still use it.
But if you are on the fence about them, you’ve come to the right place. This article will take you through the ins and outs of newsletters in order to better understand their effectiveness. And to top it off, it will also give you a few tips and tricks on how to build your own email newsletter. But before all that, you first need to know what email newsletters are.
What are Email Newsletters?
Email newsletters are a way for businesses to let their subscribers know about updates regarding the company. The updates can range from recent news to promotional campaigns. What’s unique about email newsletters is that you can use them for a variety of marketing purposes. For instance, they can improve the loyalty of your customers while also increasing brand awareness and sales.
Are They Effective?
It’s important to understand that, according to data, over 4.2 billion people use email. And, with over 300 billion emails sent every day, it’s clear that, when used correctly, email newsletters can be highly effective.
But here’s why email newsletters are still so successful and relevant in our day and age:
- They are personalised. When creating email newsletters, marketers have to tailor them based on the customer’s preferences. And while that takes some research into your target audience, the approach pays off as customers are more likely to purchase from a brand that caters to their individual needs.
- They are affordable. Most reliable marketing campaigns usually cost millions of pounds. However, email marketing is much more affordable, which results in a large return on investment.
- They maintain credibility. Email newsletters are an excellent way to share upcoming trends in your industry. Doing so will create credibility and increase the likelihood that your target audience will do business with you in the future.
- They can help build a relationship with potential customers. Newsletters are a great way to improve the relationship with your customers. That’s because they help you keep in touch with your clients. And, since you can use email newsletters for advertising sales, you constantly remind people about your company, further improving their opinion of it.
How to Start Your Own Email Newsletter
Are you looking to create a newsletter but don’t know where to start? These tips will give you a head start and help you develop your own email marketing strategy.
When to Send It?
First, you should decide when to send your email newsletter. Generally speaking, there’s no ideal time or day when you should do it. However, be careful not to send them too frequently, or you’ll annoy your recipients and push them away from your brand.
Keep in mind that the timing depends on your audience, more specifically their age. For instance, if you are targeting college students, you should avoid sending your newsletter early in the morning or late in the afternoon, as they might be unable to open it. So, make sure to test out different times of the day and see which one attracts the most customers.
Design
Another thing you need to consider is how you’ll design the newsletter. Why is that important? Simply put, without an intuitive and attractive design, your recipients will delete your newsletter immediately. For example, if your customers need to scroll all the way down to read a couple of words about a new promotion, they will never check any of your newsletters again.
You should go for a 600px width as a rule of thumb, as that’s the standard email size for any device. And while you can adjust the size later, it’s always a good idea to test it first to make sure that it is displayed correctly on your recipient’s resolution.
Content
Many companies believe that a wordy newsletter is more effective. But in reality, the more words you use, the more you lose your customer’s attention. Usually, you should put vital information above the fold, as the average reader’s attention span is eight seconds. As such, most people will delete the email if it’s too long and wordy.
Subject Line
Last but not least, make sure to come up with a unique and attractive subject headline. Otherwise, people will avoid clicking on your newsletter and just throw it in the spam folder. From a question to a single word or full sentence, there are no limits to how you can format your subject line, as long as it’s intriguing.
What Should You Avoid Doing?
If it’s your first time coming up with a newsletter, you might accidentally make a couple of mistakes. Here’s what you shouldn’t do when giving email marketing a try.
Lack of Consistency
You need to send your email newsletter on a consistent basis. It doesn’t really matter if you are sending it daily or weekly—you should always do so at the same time. If you fail to do that, your subscribers might forget about you and mark your message as spam by default.
Skipping the Testing Phase
Email testing is an important step you shouldn’t skip when creating your newsletter. In fact, HTML email messages need to be tested on a variety of email platforms in order to guarantee the consistency of their design. It’s also a great way to make sure that your links work.
Spam
And finally, you need to check if your email newsletter is setting off spam alarms. If yes, try to change its subject line or content to avoid it being sent directly to spam. Words like free, cash, money, and win are known triggers that email providers search for when filtering messages. So try to use fewer buzzwords and personalize your content as much as you can.
Create Your Email Newsletter Today
Overall, email newsletters are an important part of any email marketing strategy. Not only are they affordable, as you won’t have to pay for advertising space, but they are also effective, as billions of people use email daily. And with the help of our tips and tricks, you’ll be able to create a winning email newsletter that will convert more leads and grow your business.
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