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An email marketing newsletter is an effective way to engage with your customers and build long-lasting relationships with them. A successful email newsletter can help you increase customer loyalty, generate more leads, and ultimately drive more sales for your business.

Frequently, business owners decide to create a newsletter but don’t create a plan for success. This is your number one mistake. You need to understand your audience and carefully plan your newsletter if you want it to succeed. Slapping a signup box on your website is unlikely to drive newsletter subscribers, and occasionally sending an email without thoughtfully planning the content won’t drive leads either.

Instead, plan your newsletter with your audience in mind to get more subscribers and drive them to your website.

  1. Define Your Goals
    The first step to creating a successful email newsletter is to define your goals. What do you want to achieve with your newsletter? Are you looking to increase sales, build customer loyalty, or generate leads? Your goals will determine the content, frequency, and tone of your newsletter. It’s important to be clear about your objectives so you can create a focused and effective newsletter.
  2. Know Your Audience
    Your email marketing newsletter should be tailored to your audience. You need to know who your readers are and what they’re interested in. Conduct market research to understand your audience’s demographics, interests, and pain points. This will help you create content that resonates with them and keeps them engaged.
  3. Choose an Email Service Provider
    To create and send your email newsletter, you’ll need an email service provider (ESP). There are many ESPs to choose from, such as Mailchimp, Constant Contact, and MailerLite. Consider the features and pricing of each and choose the one that best suits your needs. Remember, these are services and you may have to pay to use the one that best fits your needs.
  4. Build Your Subscriber List
    Your email newsletter is only effective if you have subscribers. Build your list by offering incentives to join, such as exclusive content, discounts, or freebies. Use social media, your website, and other marketing channels to promote your newsletter and encourage sign-ups. Keep in mind that there are rules for adding subscribers to your list, and you have to have permission to add subscribers. You can’t add people whose emails you happen to have or you find online. (And don’t buy subscriber lists!)
  5. Create Engaging Content
    Your content is the heart of your newsletter. It needs to be interesting, informative, and relevant to your audience. Use a mix of text and images to keep your readers engaged. Use headlines, subheadings, and bullet points to make your content easy to read and scan. Add text links within your content to drive traffic back to your site.
  6. Choose a Consistent Frequency
    Your email newsletter should be sent out on a consistent schedule. Choose a frequency that works for your audience and your business. Weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly newsletters are common. Make sure you can commit to your chosen schedule and that your readers know when to expect your newsletter. Many business owners are super ambitious and create a plan for a frequency they can’t maintain. Don’t overwhelm yourself, plan for what you know you can achieve.
  7. Use a Clear Call-to-Action
    Your newsletter should include a clear call-to-action (CTA). Whether you want your readers to visit your website, make a purchase, or download an ebook, your CTA should be prominent and easy to follow. Use buttons or links to make it easy for your readers to take action.
  8. Optimize for Mobile
    More than half of all emails are opened on mobile devices. Make sure your newsletter is optimized for mobile viewing. Use a responsive design that adjusts to different screen sizes. Use short subject lines and pre-header text to make your newsletter easy to read on small screens.
  9. Test and Measure
    To improve the effectiveness of your newsletter, test and measure your results. Use A/B testing to try different subject lines, content, and CTAs. Track your open rates, click-through rates, and conversions. Use this data to improve your newsletter over time.
  10. Segment Your List
    Segmenting your email list means dividing it into smaller groups based on different criteria, such as demographics, interests, or past purchases. This allows you to send more targeted and relevant content to each group. Use your ESP’s segmentation tools to create custom campaigns for each segment. Learn more about segmenting options at MailChimp.
  11. Personalize Your Content
    Personalization is a powerful way to connect with your readers. Use their name in the subject line or greeting. Use dynamic content to show different content to different segments. Use past purchase history to recommend products or services they may be interested in.
  12. Keep Your Design Simple
    Your newsletter design should be simple and easy to read. Use a clear font and a simple color scheme. Use white space to make your content stand out. Avoid clutter and excessive graphics or animations that may distract from your message.
  13. Make it Shareable
    Be sure your readers can share your email easily and encourage them to forward it to friends or colleagues who may be interested in what you have to offer. Remember, word of mouth is the most powerful sales tool.

A regular email marketing newsletter is a great way to keep your brand in front of your customers and remind them what you have to offer, but it takes time and thoughtful planning to do it successfully. Follow these tips and you’ll be on your way in no time. And hey, while you’re at it, sign up for our newsletter. 🙂

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Amy Masson, Web Developer
Owner/Developer

Amy Masson

Amy is the co-owner, developer, and website strategist for Sumy Designs. She's been making websites with WordPress since 2006 and is passionate about making sure websites are as functional as they are beautiful.

1 Comments

  1. Ashley Allen on March 6, 2023 at 7:22 pm

    There are some great tips here! I’d never considered trying A/B testing with emails. That’s something I’m definitely going to have to try out. Thanks!

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