E-Newsletter Best Practices
Reach out to your customers and contacts so they don’t forget about you. A sales coach once told me “Activity produces activity.” When you stay in contact, new orders usually come in.
E-Newsletter goals range from brand awareness to generating leads and selling, to driving traffic to the website. A common mistake is to use your newsletter as a sales flyer. You should first write about something that offers real value, like solving a problem, and later, transition to your product or service and how it helps.
How relevant and compelling your content is proves to be the most important elements when gauging email effectiveness. Another element is the quality of your subscriber list. Invite people to join from a sign-up area on your website. It’s a good idea to segment your list so you can target your messages.
Our top tips and best practices:
- Clearly display your brand and put contact information above the fold. Keep the layout the same with each issue. People are comfortable when the email is in order and they know where to click.
- Make sure it is mobile ready. So many people read their email when they are on the move.
- Your content should be easy to scan. Use short paragraphs, links, and “read more” to allow the reader the choice to dig deeper. Avoid too many articles. Keep it simple and easy.
- Gorgeous images will make the content jump off the screen and draw readers in. People love interesting pictures.
- Add social media buttons to encourage sharing, and add a sign-up area in hopes of engaging a new reader.
- It’s okay to call it a newsletter in the subject line, but add more words to entice us with an expectation of what’s inside.
- According to research by GetResponse, the best days to send out emails are on work days, with Thursday early afternoon being the best, and Monday morning the worst.
- When in doubt, test.
Don’t stress if your newsletter is a mess.
We can help your newsletter shine its brightest. Contact VIA to discuss the effectiveness of your newsletter and how to make improvements.