How to Make Your Newsletter Count

If you do it right, your newsletter will be short, sweet, and effective. Here's how to do that. 

Keep it Simple

People tend try to cram far too much into a newsletter which can make it overwhelming to the recipients, and result in a high bounce rate. When planning how you want your newsletter to be constructed, pick a few key things you would like to focus on and communicate to your subscribers. Sticking to 3-5 subjects will provide easy skim ability, and make your content feel approachable. By keeping it short, users are most likely to notice if there is content they would like to engage with.

Provide Value

When deciding what 3-5 subjects to broach in your monthly newsletter, it is important to evaluate your audience. What are they looking for from you? Whether it be updates about your business or educational content, it is important to deliver this content to create interest, value, and prevent unsubscribes.

Have a Clear Objective

The next step is to figure out how to incorporate the interests of your recipients with your own personal goals for your newsletter. What are you hoping to achieve with your newsletter? It is important to set your objectives realistically. Is your newsletter to build trust with your prospects, inform them of monthly company specials, to have your prospects follow a certain call to action? Newsletters are a great way to stay on the forefront of your customers minds and provide a soft touch. While the impact of your newsletter may not be dramatic, it provides the opportunity to leave a positive impression on your prospects and existing customers.

Stick With Your Email List

With so many privacy laws being instated and updated over the last year (for example, GDPR), it is more important than ever that you distribute your newsletter to exclusively interested parties.While it can be tempting to send your newsletter to every address in your CRM or mailing list, or a list you’ve bought (which is a big no no!), but it is important that you only contact people who have explicitly opted in to receive your newsletter. If you don’t, you may be reported as spam or receive an influx of unsubscribes. If your email domain receives a lot of spam complaints, this could result in your domain having a low score and essentially being discredited. If your email spam score raises above 5.0, you will have a low deliverability rate, and your emails may go to users spam folders by default.

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When distributing a newsletter it is important to consider these 4 points to ensure your email has direction and isn't simply being produced for the sake of it. While perhaps not the most monumental aspect of your marketing efforts, your newsletter can play an influential part in shaping your clients and prospects perception of your business, and aid in developing your relationship and reputation.