5 Crucial Tips for Making Your Newsletter a Success

To say that things are complicated right now would be the understatement of the century. As the world slowly retreats into their homes in the midst of a global pandemic, publishers are struggling to figure out what to do next. On one hand, everything is up in the air — ad dollars included. On the other, publishers are seeing a huge spike in traffic as more and more people seek out information or distraction. But even before COVID-19 hit, the publishing business was on the brink of transformation. With Google announcing that it would kill third-party cookies on Chrome, and Facebook and Google’s walled gardens monopolizing organic traffic, online publishing was due for a shakeup. The collision of worldwide behavioral change and evolving media landscapes presents an opportunity as much as it does a challenge. To these ends, this is the moment for publishers to embrace their audiences and to ensure direct communication with them in the future. Over the past year or so, newsletters have been in the midst of a “moment.” As attention fragments across multiple channels, newsletters have become a trusted source of curated information. More than ever, users understand the value of cutting through the noise in favor of an edited, customized content experience that comes from a trusted source. It’s no wonder, then, that newsletters like The Skimm, Morning Brew, and The Hustle have grown into businesses with millions in revenue. That said, there’s no reason for online publishers to miss out on that slice of the pie. Newsletters are both a monetization opportunity and a way for publishers to build up their first-party data in preparation for potentially turbulent times ahead. From experience, there are both good and less-than-ideal ways to go about building and maintaining newsletter programs. Here are a few of the lessons we’ve learned: 1. Establish Content and Cadence A mistake we commonly see at Keywee is publishers wanting to collect emails for the sake of collecting emails. While building up first-party data is valuable, it loses value if it’s not followed up with ongoing communication. Establishing structured and regular communication with subscribers is paramount to maintaining the health of first-party data. Before you start, take a look at the sections and articles where you have the most return visitors and organic traffic. That should be the basis for your newsletter content plan, and should be featured prominently. After you figure out the content that you’ll cover, think about the cadence: How often do you want to communicate with your subscribers — Daily? Weekly? Your instinct may be to communicate as often as possible, but you should consider how much you have to say in the first place. If you can’t keep a daily newsletter fresh in terms of the topics and stories covered, you shouldn’t have a daily newsletter. Remember that your newsletter will gain loyalty if the reader finds it valuable. Note that value does not come from repetition. It’s better to have a carefully curated weekly newsletter than a daily one with stories that carry over from previous editions. That being said, you should make a decision and stick to it. Whether you’re sending something every morning at 8 am or every third Tuesday at 3 pm, consistency is key. 2. Match Acquisition Content with Newsletter Content A challenge that publishers often see with paid newsletter acquisition is both low open and engagement rates. While your instinct here may be to change up subject lines or play around with the email format, often the culprit has more to do with the content you’re using to acquire subscribers. For example, let’s say that you’re a publisher that covers entertainment news and gossip. As part of an acquisition effort, you decide to promote a piece about a basketball player. That particular piece may attract users that are very much outside of your target audience. The result might be acquiring a bunch of subscribers that are interested in basketball rather than entertainment as a whole, and they all may have low engagement rates as a result. It’s important for there to be a throughline between what you promote and the content you create if you want to maximize your efforts and ensure user quality. 3. Make Yourself Stand Out It can sometimes be tempting to appeal to the lowest common denominator in your promoted content. That would be a mistake. Whether it’s in-depth reporting, an opinionated editorial board, or a quirky tone of voice, your newsletter acquisition and content strategy should shout your unique value from the rooftops. Everyone can cover a news story that comes across the wires. By going for mass appeal, you risk getting lost in the noise. Your unique value is what will be the ultimate driver of loyalty over time. 4. Mind Your KPIs Getting caught up in cost-per-lead (CPL) metrics is an easy trap. What you should be looking at is the cost per engaged lead. That most likely means that you’ll be spending quite a bit of time with spreadsheets and cross-referencing data. There are distribution and reporting products that will help you overcome this, but even if you’re doing it manually, it will surely be worth your time. 5. Don’t Miss Out on Monetization At the end of the day, a newsletter’s purpose should be to drive revenue for publishers. That can happen simply by driving return visits to the site, but there’s potential for much more than that. Newsletters can help boost revenue with two other key tactics: As a mid-funnel channel to drive paid subscriptions over time. Publishers with a premium content tier or other paid models find newsletters to be a great way to identify and court potential subscribers. If that is your ultimate goal, your loyal newsletter readers are the perfect audience from which to mine subscribers. As real estate for advertisers. At this point, it’s the norm to have a paid slot or three in your newsletter. Whether you’re promoting somebody’s webinar or linking to an online store that sells phone chargers, your readers won’t hold it against you. It comes with the territory. In general, there’s no shame in driving revenue, and there’s no reason not to do it if you’re consistently delivering value to your reader’s inbox. Trends in Paid Acquisition There are some content types that are reliable drivers of high-quality, loyal subscribers: Opinion pieces: Whether you agree or disagree with the stated opinion, editorializing drives an emotional reaction that makes users want to come back for more. Original reporting: As mentioned above, standing out from the crowd with original stories is critical to success. Local reporting: Local reporting is becoming rarer by the day, which is why people are appreciating it now more than ever. Local reporting ties people to one’s community, and time and again, we see this kind of content driving high engagement. Food and sports coverage also tend to do particularly well. If there’s one thing you should take away from all of this, it’s that driving value for your reader is paramount. Whether you’re a large global news organization or a small blog for foodies, it’s your unique voice that the user will find valuable and that will bring them back for more.

Publishing News

5 Crucial Tips for Making Your Newsletter a Success

Inbar Yagur

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Inbar Yagur