With digital marketing techniques having taken over the industry, many companies are taking their first steps into the world of email marketing and social media. One particular method of communication that has retained its appeal and effectiveness over time is the use of email newsletters.
While there are several ways to communicate with your audience online, the power of email as an integral marketing tool should not be underestimated. More adults are likely to check their email than they are to check other online updates. Which is why an email newsletter might just be the most effective way to get your message across to your target audience.
If you’re a business looking to keep constant contact with your customers and want them to think of you whenever they go online, a newsletter is the perfect way to go. When you send a regular email newsletter, you are displaying to your market that you have fresh, new content to provide them with. You are also communicating that you’re making an effort to build a connection with your customers, by keeping them up-to-date on your endeavours.
If you’re stuck asking yourself whether you should start an online newsletter, keep these benefits in mind:
- A newsletter helps drive more traffic to your website
- It is a quick, efficient way to establish good relationships with your customers
- It allows you to maintain a good reputation with your target market
- It allows you to offer insider information that the reader may find valuable
But how do you go about creating an effective newsletter? There are two main attributes that go into a successful online newsletter campaign:
- An engaging, vibrant design
- A series of effective marketing strategies
This blog will serve as a quick, easy-to-follow guide to help get you started on running an efficient online newsletter campaign.
1. Start with an engaging design
The first step to the creation of a fun, engaging newsletter is the design. The visuals, content, and overall appearance of your newsletter will play a key role in determining how well received it is by your audience.
– Select a theme that matches your brand identity
The first decision you need to make in terms of the design of your newsletter is what theme you’ll be choosing. The theme of your newsletter is integral in that it defines how well your message will be connected to the overall image of your brand.
To ensure that your newsletter and your brand image are in sync with each other, you need to ask yourself the following questions: Can my newsletter be directly associated with my brand? Is the color-scheme, format, and visual appearance of my newsletter directly related to what I’m selling?
To be able to answer yes to the questions above, the first thing you can do is make sure the colors of your newsletter are vibrant and in line with the colors in your brand logo. Sendinblue is a company that ensures that its product newsletter features the color blue to highlight important points in their content. The blue tones not only enhance the emphasis placed on their product offerings, but also directly match with their own logo and branding. This allows readers to form a direct connection between the company and the newsletter.
– Focus on quality content
Once you’ve figured out a theme for your newsletter, the next step before creation is to make sure that you’re writing and delivering meaningful content. Not only should your content be informative and relevant, but it should also be concise and engaging enough to not lose the reader’s interest.
If you’re advertising your product or service, make sure you’re not adding extra information that is irrelevant to your reader. Some important tips to follow for engaging newsletter content include:
- Keep your product descriptions short, simple, and fun to read
- Give the reader important tips that they would not be able to get otherwise
- Make use of images and visuals to emphasise your points
Your content can make or break the engagement of your readers, so make sure you optimize it in the best way possible.
– Find the right template to fit your content
The final step in the creation of your newsletter design is to find or create a template that will be appropriate for your audience to look at and read.
To do this, you do not need to go through the hassle of creating a newsletter entirely from scratch. The good thing about the internet is that it provides you with the tools you need to make your work easier. Look up online design tools like PosterMyWall and find a wide range of customizable newsletter templates that you can edit and personalize to your heart’s content.
Find the right fit for your theme and your content, add your logo at the very top to enhance brand recognition, add some visuals to match your message, and your newsletter is ready to be sent out!
2. Ensure proper outreach with effective marketing
Once you’ve created your newsletter, the real challenge begins. It is not just enough to design a good newsletter and call it a day. The next crucial step is to see how to market this newsletter in a way that will ensure your content is being read by your target audience.
Delivering your newsletter to your target market could be the biggest challenge you face in this campaign. Luckily, with the help of the right online tools and strategies, you can optimize your communication channels in a way that ensures that your newsletter is well received and doing its job. We’ve shortlisted some of the most effective techniques to market your newsletter the right way.
– Advertise benefits of your newsletter to your target market
A newsletter is supposed to offer special inside information that customers cannot attain from any outside source. To make sure your customers know what they can gain from your online newsletter, create a series of online advertisements using Google Adwords pay-per-click advertising. This cost-effective method will help make sure you’re targeting the right benefit toward the right customer, and engaging them enough for them to be a permanent subscriber.
– Promote through social media
Social media makes for a great communication channel in today’s world. Target your social media audience to make sure that every follower you have on your Facebook or Instagram account is also subscribing to your newsletter.
If someone has followed your page, keep them engaged with frequent posts that inform them about your regular newsletter and invite them to subscribe.
– Offer exclusive information
One effective method of marketing your newsletter is to use your audience’s curiosity to your advantage. Many customers are intrigued by the prospect of being privy to insider information that only they can get.
The main selling point of a newsletter is that it offers content no one else can provide. So take advantage of this by offering the promise of exclusive industry secrets and insider tips in your newsletter for all permanent subscribers. This will create an incentive for your customers to subscribe and will help you create a better connection with long-term customers.
– Offer benefits to your subscribers
There is nothing an average customer loves more than a good deal on a purchase. Adding a small discount offer or a coupon for all customers who subscribe to the newsletter will help generate more subscriptions.
Dropbox is a company that grew significantly in terms of outreach after offering free extra space to their subscribers and affiliates, and you can do the same by providing your subscribers with offers they can’t refuse.
In today’s world of digital marketing, the reach and effectiveness of an online newsletter should not be underestimated. It may seem difficult to maintain an audience for your newsletter. But just follow these simple tips on design and marketing strategies to ensure that your campaign puts you on top and keeps you ahead of the competition.