Having a newsletter and investing in building a mailing list are still relevant in today’s digital marketing landscape. Despite the popularity of influencer marketing and new instruments like social media, having a strong mailing list is a great way to build good relationships. Compared to other digital marketing instruments, email marketing is still regarded as the highest-converting tool to use.
The biggest challenges of maintaining a business newsletter are gaining traction and keeping subscribers engaged. In this article, we are going to focus on the latter and talk about the simple tips you can implement to boost the effectiveness of your newsletter.
Test Your Subject Line
The subject of your newsletter is the first thing subscribers will see. More importantly, the same subject line is usually the only information that subscribers consider when deciding whether to open your email. A good subject line can make or break your campaign.
Fortunately, there are ways to test your subject line. You can run internal testing or rely on A/B testing data to see the kind of subject lines that work with your audience. Independent tools designed specifically for testing subject lines are also available.
Testing your subject line also enables you to refine it before delivery. The simple process of testing forces you to review every subject line from different perspectives. The result is a higher open rate and a more effective delivery of your newsletter content.
Add a Persona
Never send an email as a brand. This is a big no, especially when you consider just how competitive the email marketing scene is right now. Everyone is trying to compete for the attention of subscribers and appearing as a brand isn’t the way to win that competition.
If you notice popular newsletters you happen to subscribe to, you will see that brands are now switching to personas. Instead of “Brand Name”, you get “Person Name from Brand” in the Sender field. A real persona adds a touch of personalisation to your email marketing campaigns.
Don’t hesitate to use a real person too. You can include a photo and a signature at the end of every newsletter to further amplify the effect. People are more likely to read and engage with emails sent by other people than by brands.
Mind the Design
The design of your newsletter content matters more than you realise. Emails are now opened on mobile devices, so the first thing you want to do is making sure that the design of your email is responsive. Once again, many design tools automatically take this into account.
Some of the best examples of good newsletter designs always feature sufficient white space. They also work across all devices regardless of screen ratio and other limitations. Once the design is compatible with multiple screens, you can begin focusing on the content of the newsletter.
That’s actually the last important point to keep in mind: content is still king. Newsletters work best when used to deliver content that offers real value to the audience. Now that you have these tips to use, you can optimise your email marketing and newsletter campaigns right away.