In these changing times, communication with our customers and clients is so important. As we move in-between alert levels we need a way to tell our customers how we are operating and communicate any changes that affect them. That’s where email newsletters come in. Email newsletters are a staple in the marketing world because they can be super effective if used in the right way. It works and it’s awesome.
Evaluate do you need an email newsletter?
First thing is to look at whether you really need a full email newsletter. Can your update to your customers be posted in a small Facebook update? Do you have enough clients or customers on your email database for it to be worth sending? Email newsletters are great but they have a place, sending a small update out 2-3 times a week probably isn’t the best use of an email and will have lots of people unsubscribing pretty quickly.
So you have done some research and decided you do need an email newsletter. What next?
Create clear goals
Email newsletters are often cluttered and unfocussed, they try to tell you about every aspect of the business and don’t focus on one clear goal. Before you start it’s important to set a goal for the newsletter, what are you trying to achieve? eg.
- Drive sales
- Company news updates or changes
- Promote a new product or service
Pick the main goal for each newsletter and ensure each section supports that goal. Trying to promote everything at once will confuse the audience and most people won’t read the whole newsletter. What a waste! It’s okay, and often good, to have secondary goals within your newsletter but don’t let them overpower your primary goal. Once you have your goal in mind it will be easier to focus your writing and reduce the rambling. A clear goal will also help you set the tone in your message and the style of images you use.
Catchy subject line
Studies show that 47% of people open a newsletter based on the subject line alone (Source: AWeber). We all know first impressions are so important and this goes for your email to. To get a better clickthrough rate you need to entice the reader with catchy subject lines. Keep it short and use great buzz words such as “New”, “Alert”, “last chance”, “Must-Haves”.
Make sure to take advantage of your pre-header, too. It’s like a secondary subject line and a great opportunity to make a second good impression!
Timing
To ensure maximum engagement from your readers, timing is key. Ensure you follow and stick to your schedule. If you usually send emails out on a Monday afternoon, stick to it. Remaining consistent helps readers know what and when to expect to hear from you. In turn, this will create more engagement and keep readers coming back and tuning in each week to read more. There is a science to figuring out what time is best to send emails, and it all depends on your industry and your target audience
Analyse
The best way to make sure your email newsletters are effective is to analyse the results. Checking the analytics on your email will give you great insight into your audience such as which sections get the most clicks, what subject area are people most interested in, and what subject lines get the most clickthroughs. Key things to look at in the analytics are your open rates, clickthrough rates, and unsubscribe rates. Use this information and data to constantly update and evolve your email marketing strategy and refine your content to meet your goals.
At Mogul, we know email marketing can be tricky and difficult to get right sometimes. We can help you use email marketing to your advantage – if this is something you would like some help with, get in touch!