Newsletters are one of the most effective ways to build relationships with your customers and keep them informed about new products and services they may be interested in. However, creating an email newsletter that your subscribers and customers will find valuable can be challenging. You don’t want to just send out emails blindly. Focus instead on creating content that is helpful to each recipient of your emails. Here are some tips to help you create more engaging email newsletters that are valuable to your subscribers.
Make your message clear and attractive
You want to make sure that the content in your newsletter is straightforward. As soon as people open your email, they should immediately understand the point of your message. Drawn-out stories or explanations could drag the focus away from your main point, which could be anything from updating information about products or services to sharing helpful information. Lead with the message you wish to convey, and retain the reader’s attention with well-thought-out writing. Some creativity may be necessary here, and you can employ it in wordplay or imagery. Lastly, include your calls to action clearly, preferably as a clickable link that meets the reader at the start and the end of the email.
Try to keep it short
As you get started creating an email newsletter, the first thing you need to watch out for is its length. You don’t want to burden your audience with far more content than is necessary. The internet is becoming more fast-paced, and some research shows that certain groups of people prefer to engage with short-form content more than the alternative. Of course, brands are different, and your specific business may require you to include more content in your email newsletters. Find the perfect length through testing, starting with short newsletters of two or three paragraphs at least. Keep expanding them up until the point where your analytics indicate a drop in engagement, such as more opens but fewer clicks through. Perhaps one of the best forms of value you can provide for your subscribers is respecting their time.
Include content from third parties in your industry
Offering value to your subscribers is an essential part of creating an email newsletter that readers will want to interact with. They will be getting something out of engaging with your content, so they will most likely keep them opening your emails. However, there is no rule against having this value come from another party, just through you. The helpful content you choose to share does not need to be about your company. You could include a link to a blog, video, or podcast whose creator resonates with the same target audience as yourself. A great example of this would be a skincare business including content from an industry professional that gives general information about the nature of the skin or how to care for it. In this way, your email will still provide value to your subscribers, which still keeps them engaged, in just a slightly different way.
Give your messages a personal touch with an on-brand conversational tone
Experts have mentioned this before, but few things turn people away from an email newsletter (or any content for that matter) faster than generic, boring copy.
Surveys have found that many people prefer to feel like they’re being treated as a person instead of another number in a list. Make the tone of your writing informal, as though you were speaking with the subscriber in person, like you would usually talk. Keep it consistent with your brand image or identity as well. So if your business focuses on helping people feel great about their appearance by selling them beauty products, then maintain that positive, uplifting spirit in your email copy.
Stay topical – relate to current events
You should always be sending your subscribers content that is relatable to their needs. Segmenting your list makes it easier to create targeted email newsletters that users would find beneficial.
Don’t forget that humanity lives in the moment, many of us care about the daily happenings of the world. As a business, you should strive to relate your brand, products, or services to these current events because it demonstrates their versatility and everyday usefulness to people. Describe this in your emails, and your subscribers will be interested in reading about it.
The key to creating an email newsletter that your subscribers will find valuable is finding a balance between content that’s interesting and informative. With these tips in mind, creating a captivating campaign need not be a challenging endeavor. Couple that with an understanding of your subscriber base, and your email newsletters are sure to have strong engagement!
