Anytime you visit a site, and a window pops up asking you to sign up for updates, they’re essentially asking you to sign up for their newsletter.
Just so we’re clear, we’re not talking about those annoying newsletters that convert your RSS feed to emails and clutter up your inbox. We’re talking about sending out actual, personalized emails to a list of subscribers.
Many brands are still sleeping on the importance of newsletters. There are a ton of misconceptions out there about newsletters:
- They’re one way and not conversational enough
- They’re an outdated form of communication
- Social media has made newsletters redundant
Newsletters can play an essential role in developing your brand name. Let’s look at some of the reasons why you should have one in your digital marketing repertoire.
4 Reasons Why You Should Run A Newsletter
Email ranks as the top activity on smartphones. People check their emails first thing in the morning, even before their social media feeds. They are a great avenue to reach out to people, and here’s why:
Offer High Return On Investment
In a study by Monetate, email marketing converted 4.24% of visitors to buyers, as opposed to a 2.49% conversion rate from search engines and a 0.59% conversion rate for social media.
Newsletters have a high ROI that can make a real impact on your bottom line.
Develop Brand Loyalty
Newsletters allow you to develop a personalized relationship with your subscribers in a way that you can’t do with digital marketing. Customers will always give their business to a brand they can trust.
NYTimes experienced that people who subscribe to a newsletter first are 2x more likely to become paid subscribers.
A newsletter can effectively build up your brand’s credibility even before customers go ahead and make that first purchase.
Pro-tip: Connect with your subscribers through your newspapers and avoid pitching to them directly.
Keep In Touch With Customers
Your email marketing strategy doesn’t have to be one-sided. Newsletters can be a great way to get valuable feedback from your subscribers.
When you’re announcing a new service or product, a newsletter can let your customers know beforehand about the launch.
Pro-tip: Allow your readers to give ratings on your products through your newsletters.
Get The Word Out Easily
Small brands don’t have the budget to go for advertisements. But if you have a steady base of subscribers, you can skip the ads and let them know about new products and services through your newsletters.
Pro-tip: Offer discounts or coupons in your newsletter for easier publicity of your products.
How To Run A Good Newsletter?
Let’s go through a few pointers to ensure that your newsletter grabs the most attention.
Get A Good Subject Line
Your email subject line is one of the few things that can make or break your newsletter. It is the first impression your subscribers get of your newsletter, and it will stay with them. Often, a subject line decides whether a subscriber opens your email or not. In fact, 47% of email recipients open emails based on the subject line alone.
Here Are a Few Techniques You Can Adopt For Better, Effective Subject Lines:
. Simple Subject Lines:
Minimalism is vital when catering to audiences online. You do not want to bog down users with long, hard to understand subject lines.
. Funny Subject Lines:
If you can make your audiences laugh, you’ve already piqued their interest. A witty line can stand out from generic subject lines and make your reader want to read further.
. Controversial Subject Lines:
All publicity is good publicity. Controversy sells, and it can certainly help you grab eyeballs.
. Listicles/ Number Subject Lines:
Subject lines with numbers instantly get the reader’s attention. Buzzfeed incorporates these techniques often in their headers.
Use PosterMyWall to make your subject line stand out on smartphones. Remember, 69% of users are likely to mark emails as spam because of the subject line alone.
Choose Eye-Catching Designs And Layouts
Images matter!
Readers will always prefer pictures over long boring blocks of text. That makes it essential to include the right designs in your newsletter.
However, you don’t want to drop random images into your email.
It’s always wise to use a theme that you can link to your content. A well-designed email newsletter will keep the user reading your content. If you keep delivering on attractive designs, customers are less likely to hit unsubscribe on your emails.
How you frame your newsletter design and layout lets your readers know your brand ethos and personality. There is room to let your brand values shine through by incorporating different design elements.
Here are a few factors to look out for:
Color Gradients And Pops
Colors set the mood and elicit different emotions. Strategic use of color blocks and pop can be used to reinforce certain attitudes. Be sure to use colors that reflect your brand personality well.
Fonts
Different fonts can be used for footers and headers to position content strategically. Use smart use of fonts to drive home important points. Strategic positioning of fonts is a way designers create a sense of importance in the content.
White Space
White space is the area between design elements. It allows your brain to scan and break down these components. Allowing for white space is necessary to break down your content and give the readers room to analyze it. Make strategic use of white space to emphasize your content.
Break Up The Newsletter With Lists
Reading a wall of text can be challenging for your subscribers. You must make your content fresh and appealing to the eye. And that’s why it is imperative to include graphics and lists that break the monotony of text. Here are some ways you can do that:
Animations
Use GIFs that are relevant to your content. Make sure to use videos that are short and structured. Other forms of animation can also be used to highlight your content. Choose from a wide range of videos and GIFs at PosterMyWall to enhance your newsletters.
Images And Infographics
Images can drive home your product’s essence and importance more than words. Using relevant images, you can add much value to your newsletter and make a big statement. Add pictures to reinforce your content.
Subscribers don’t have the time or patience to read walls of text. You can use various images, such as stock photos, screenshots, and background images, to break the monotony.
You can head over to PosterMyWall for a vast library of images to pick and choose for your content. You can sift through images for Facebook posts to Instagram stories to Youtube thumbnails
Do not overdo your content with images – they should be up to 20-40% of your total content. If you go beyond that, it will make your content difficult to read and get tagged as spam.
Infographics can be a great way to add an informative touch to your newsletter. They can be used to inform readers about a particular topic in a concise manner and lead them to a call to action. Readers find it easier to absorb information in a listed form.
Segment Your Audience
Breaking up your audience into smaller groups based on specific criteria allows you to send personalized emails to each.
We can categorize audience segmentation as demographical, geographical, and behavioral.
Segments help you compose your content according to each group. Taking personal details from the subscribers can help you with audience segmentation. They allow you to adopt a customer-first strategy in your newsletter.
Use Lead Magnets
Lead magnets are freebies you give in exchange for visitors giving you their email address. These can include free webinars, audio files, PDFs, or eBooks. If you want to generate leads, you certainly need lead magnets.
People are not going to give you their emails until they see some value in it for themselves. And it’s on you to provide it to them.
A good lead magnet should be something that the visitors consider to have value. It should be enticing enough for the customer to click on and convince them to buy from you.
Email Marketing Mistakes To Avoid In Your Newsletter
Here are a few conventional email marketing practices that have been overused and no longer garner results:
. Avoid Popups:
Popups are quite outdated and end up annoying the users. Use the less intrusive popovers that are customizable and can be displayed to the new visitors only.
. Take Permission Before Sending Emails:
It is annoying for visitors to be bombarded with emails from your site without them asking for it. It will do more harm than good for your brand.
. Do Not Sell Too Hard:
It is essential to develop a relationship of trust with your customers. You do not want to come across a salesperson. Create something of value for your customers instead of the usual sales pitches.
. Send Emails At The Right Times:
Send emails at a time when your audience can read it. Avoid sending emails at odd hours of the day. Sending emails early in the day typically fares well for brands.
. Not Having a Clear CTA:
Do not bury your CTA somewhere deep in your email. Make it stand out with the right font and colors. Use the right words to drive home the point. If it’s possible, reinforce the message a few times in your newsletter.
Key Takeaway
Email marketing is the most effective way of connecting with prospective leads and converting them to customers. Optimize your email newsletters with the best templates and images and ensure you get the highest conversion rates out of your leads.
