We are all familiar with email newsletters that’s a waste of time and downright spam.
Very few brands seem to have a proper content strategy in place, a strategy that includes the content of their newsletter. Sending a newsletter just for the sake of doing it, does not add value for the brand or the recipient. What works is value exchange. Your subscribers need to know that they can trust you to provide them with valuable and relevant information. That being said, you should only send newsletters to subscribers that opted in to receive marketing communication from your brand.
A newsletter can be a very powerful marketing tool, if utilized correctly. It’s important that the marketer knows exactly what marketing goals he or she wants the newsletter to achieve. Do you want to drive traffic to your website or get recipients to download a free report or ebook? Or do you want them to enquire about a product or make use of a special? With these marketing goals in mind the rest of the newsletter’s content will follow. That being said, while you want to entice readers to take a certain action you also have to make it worth their while – there has to be something in it for them.
Tips to improve your email marketing conversion rate
An effective subject line is the first step in getting your email newsletter opened. If your subject line is weak, your email may never be opened. To help you produce a higher open rate, here are some subject line tips to keep in mind:
- Keep the subject line’s length less than 50 characters (spaces included).
- Make it actionable, memorable and intriguing.
- Avoid spammy words like “guarantee”, “call now”, “free” and “urgent” otherwise your newsletter may end up in the recipient’s spam inbox.
- If possible, include your company or brand name so that recipients know who the newsletter is from. You can easily do this by making the ‘from’ name your company name.
As mentioned, another way to ensure a successful email newsletter is to get people to take action in the newsletter so that you can reach your marketing goals. Here are a few tips on how to do this:
- Run a special and encourage people to click on the link to purchase the product or to find out more.
- Enourage recipients to forward the newsletter to friends and family if they find it useful.
Include a call to action button, something visually attractive and eye-catching. - Create an attractive opt-in form that sits in your newsletter, this can help build your audience.
An example of a strong call to action (CTA) is creating buttons in your email newsletter along with written calls to action. Visual calls to action like buttons can help to increase the click through rate. Make sure your call to action button is specific but brief, and people should know what is going to happen when they click on the button.
The key to email marketing success is knowing what your audience likes. Nobody likes spam, so make sure your content is relevant. Be smart and do your research before you send out newsletters.