6 Ways to Improve Your E-Newsletter

Your company email list is one of the most valuable assets you own, which is why it's so important to give your e-newsletters the attention they deserve. People who subscribe to your list are primed and ready to spend money with your company and to share your services with others — failing to capitalize on this resource is one of the biggest mistakes you can make. Even if you have a solid marketing strategy in place, take the time to assess your current newsletters and make changes where needed. Here are six ways to improve your company's e-newsletter. 1. Make It Personable It's important to make your e-newsletter as personable as possible, without bordering on creepy. It's a tricky balance — your customers want to know there are actual people composing your newsletters, but they don't necessarily want to be called by name when they know you're sending out a mass email. To make yours more personal, consider including employee bios or personal snippets from some of your company leaders, or ask one leader to write a personal note to include in each of your e-newsletters. You can also ask questions or source feedback from your subscribers to highlight the natural give-and-take of an online conversation. 2. Include Images or Videos The online world is incredibly visual, so use powerful images or videos to highlight your message and really drive it home. To make your e-newsletter more personal, include headshots of the people you're writing about, or share a video of employees testing new product. If you can knock out half of your text by including a single, high-quality image or video, do it. Rarely will anyone read every word your write. 3. Write Stellar Subject Lines Before anyone sees your e-newsletter content, they see your subject line. If the subject looks spammy or uninteresting, your e-newsletter is going to end up in the trash. Keep your subject lines short enough so that the entire message is displayed (usually about 40 to 50 characters), and include your company name or an employee's name in the "from" line. Then, succinctly state the purpose of the e-newsletter. If you're offering a sale, mention the discount. If you're releasing a new product, let people know. Just remember not to give away the cow - make your subject compelling in a way that leaves readers wanting more. 4. Include Testimonials Another way to boost the quality of your e-newsletters is to include customer reviews, comments or testimonials. Prospects will love reading other customers' actual experiences, and a few quotes can serve as great fill when you're struggling to come up with content. 5. Beef Up Your Content Remember, no one's going to read every word you write, so keep your message short, sweet and valuable. Get straight to the point, and try tying your content into a current event to catch a prospect's interest. For instance, if you're running a sale, run it in conjunction with a holiday, even if it's something weird like International Talk Like a Pirate Day. 6. Make Sure It's Responsive Your readers and followers are at least as likely to access your e-newsletter through smartphones or tablets, as they are through a desktop computer. Make sure your e-newsletter is formatted so it's readable across all devices, making it responsive. If you're using an email newsletter provider, such as MailChimp, you should be able to preview your newsletter on mobile and traditional platforms before sending it out to your subscribers. You may also want to take a look at how often you send out your e-newsletter. Sending an e-newsletter each week can keep subscribers engaged, but if you have nothing new to say, then you'll end up losing subscribers. You'd be better off sending fewer e-newsletters with more compelling content, than sticking to a hard schedule. So, how do you keep your e-newsletters fresh and interesting? Let me know in the comments! Tom Phillips writes regularly about marketing for a variety of online publications.

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6 Ways to Improve Your E-Newsletter

Tom Phillips

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Tom Phillips