A newsletter is essential for maintaining customer relations. Eight out of ten internet users are subscribed to at least one newsletter. Email is also the first choice of customers to learn more about brands and communicate with them. There are tips to make your strategy more effective and to create a successful newsletter.
The planning phase
Creating a newsletter is easy, with the right advice. This involves defining the objective, tone and format.
Defining the objective of the newsletter
The objective of a newsletter is to encourage the audience to take action. This includes inviting them to make a reservation, purchase a product or visit a predefined platform.
A newsletter allows you to send information messages. It’s an opportunity to talk about an upcoming event and give the public the desire to attend and look forward to it. However, promotion is not the primary objective of a successful newsletter. The main goal is to provide regular content to maintain the attention of the audience. There are also several KPIs to follow when conducting email marketing.
Choosing the tone
Knowing how to address the audience is an art. Each tone corresponds to a specific target. It’s up to each person to find the style they want to use based on their audience.
The tone can be professional, serious, familiar, pleasant, selective, inclusive or other. There are different styles depending on the company’s objective. This criterion determines whether to use the familiar or formal address and the type of language to use.
The degree of familiarity depends on the type of activity. The Sendinblue platform offers companies the possibility to compare different styles before making a decision.
Excluding certain terms
Anti-spam filters are becoming increasingly used. Similarly, certain promotional words can be censored. It’s important to choose the right expressions to use. Desired expressions include: spam, profit, money, easy, free and special offer.
Choosing the model to follow
Writing and sending the first newsletter automatically raises many questions. These include the structure, content, images and others. Consulting the newsletters of competitors is interesting to find your own marks. However, it’s not about copying the models seen, but rather taking inspiration from them.
It’s enough to subscribe to interesting newsletters or visit platforms that offer models.
The content writing phase
The objective of a newsletter is to convey a message. However, the content must be well structured and written.
The purpose of the newsletter
Time is precious and internet users can quickly lose interest. The first goal is therefore to encourage them to open the message. The subject must be captivating enough to stand out from other advertisements. Essential information must be visible even before the email is opened. Some content may be interesting, but with a subject line that is not catchy, it will never be read.
The subject is a summary of the content of a successful newsletter. It must be short and striking. E-commerce companies will highlight their offer to spark the interest of the recipient.
A striking message contains a key figure or a striking expression. This information must be distinct from other content: in color, italicized, bold, underlined, etc. It will spark the interest of the recipient who will be more inclined to read to the end or take action (click-to-action).
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A striking introduction
After the subject, it is the introduction that the reader sees. It must push them to continue reading. Little-known but important information, an emotional topic, or a touch of humor is enough to initiate the subject.
The introduction can be the only text in the newsletter and can be accompanied by an image and a click-to-action button. It must be persuasive and informative enough to give the reader the desire to take action after a few lines. It is also more practical given the number of emails a person can receive every day.
Illustrations
Simply sending trendy newsletters is not enough. The messages must meet the expectations of customers. Pinterest gives excellent ideas for illustrating messages. You can filter searches by theme. The platform AnswerThePublic also allows you to find questions that interest the public on a specific keyword. A company can thus steer the content towards different areas, while staying in its context.
The button to click
The choice of button is also important. Action verbs replace traditional titles like product names. In this case, the verb “discover” is more appropriate. The urgency of the situation also allows for a faster decision-making process: the last available pieces, book now, etc.
Precision is also more interesting. It is not necessary to display “click here”, but to directly specify the products to be offered, the event to register for, etc. The verb is often conjugated in the imperative or present with the first person singular to involve the reader. The button must stand out from other content, whether in terms of location or color.
The optimal length
A good newsletter should be clear, striking, well-structured, and ideally short. For those who want to share longer content, they can for example include a link to a blog.
The role of the newsletter is to announce the essentials. Technical words should however be used with caution. The reader may ignore the meaning of certain expressions, forcing them to consult Google. The information should be clear, without the need to translate. They are limited to the essentials, unless the goal is to share entire articles.
No matter the length of the content, there should be no spelling or syntax errors. The slightest negligence puts the company’s reputation at risk. A meticulous rereading and correction tools are sometimes necessary.
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The optimization phase
Once the content is written, it must be organized and optimized.
The choice of format
The newsletter is not just a means of disseminating information. It also reflects the image of the company. The choice of tone, communication style responds to a well-defined digital strategy. It must be consistent for all the supports used by the company.
The content and display must be optimized to suit different reading supports. 600 pixels is for example the maximum dimension for the width of the message. One should not rely too much on images that may not be displayed sometimes.
The visual aspect must not be neglected in a newsletter. This concerns both the font, the structure of the content and illustrations. Some users consult their emails directly on mobile. A responsive function should also be studied to reach a varied audience. The HTML format is quite appropriate. It also allows to indicate the click rate.
Note that most newsletter software allows for sending test messages to check the final appearance on the messageie.
The customization of the message
Visually, newsletters are identical and sometimes lack interest. It is therefore important to find a way to stand out. The message should not only inform, but also allow the recipient to participate. It is possible to integrate a survey, a game or other original ideas.
Diversification is also a way to retain your audience. It is perfectly possible to share your interests and talk about other themes, without straying too far.
Effective communication is personalized. The recipient’s age, marital status and buying behavior, for example, determine the tone to use and/or the products to offer. A birthday email, an exclusive promotion or a gift also please.