Newsletters are a powerful tool for businesses of all sizes and industries. Last year, 77% of email marketers saw an increase in email engagement, and with 4 billion daily email users, this is a channel you want to tap for your business growth.
Newsletters allow you to communicate directly with your customers, build brand awareness, and drive sales. If you want to explore the benefits of newsletters for businesses, the different types of newsletters you can create, and the best practices for creating a successful newsletter--you're in the right place.
What is a Newsletter?
A newsletter is a regularly scheduled email sent to a list of subscribers. It typically includes a mix of content such as company updates, promotions, and industry news. Newsletters keep your customers engaged and informed about a business's products or services to build brand awareness and loyalty and drive sales.
Newsletters are also a cost-effective marketing strategy that allows you to reach a large audience in a targeted way and measure your marketing efforts' success.
Why Do You Need a Newsletter?
Newsletters are a wonderful and powerful thing. And yes, we know that you're asking, "what is the purpose of a newsletter?" Yep, we got answers.
- Announcing promotions, sales, and discounts
Newsletters are a great way to announce and promote sales, discounts, and special offers to your customers. You can drive sales and increase revenue by informing your customers about upcoming promotions and discounts.
Image taken from Strikingly
- Providing valuable information
Newsletters can provide industry news, how-to guides, and tips on using your products or services. You can establish yourself as an expert in your field and build customer trust by providing valuable information.
- Generating leads and driving conversions
Newsletters can be used to generate leads and drive conversions. You can encourage your customers to purchase or sign up for a service by including calls to action in your newsletters.
- Enhancing customer relationships
Newsletters can help your business strengthen customer relationships. By staying in regular communication with your customers, you can build trust and loyalty and encourage your customers to return and, maybe, bring their friends and family with them.
- Building a sense of community
Newsletters can be used to build a sense of community among customers. By encouraging your customers to provide feedback, you can create a sense of engagement and participation among your customers and make them feel like they are part of the business.
How can Newsletters Benefit My Business?
Newsletters are still a popular way of keeping in touch with anyone and everyone. We've all seen sales emails from large companies; many of our family and friends like to send them. People with websites, blogs, or eCommerce stores often use newsletters for advertising their products and content or engaging in remarketing campaigns.
More than that, newsletters offer the following benefits:
- It keeps your customers engaged and informed
A newsletter is a great way to keep your customers informed about new products, services, and updates from your business. Plus, it's a great way to build a relationship with your customers. You can include helpful tips, share industry news, or even feature customer testimonials. It's also a great way to drive sales by including exclusive deals or promotions for your subscribers. And let's be real, who doesn't love getting a little something extra just for being a loyal customer?
- Building brand awareness and customer loyalty
You can easily keep your customers constantly aware and promote customer loyalty through newsletters. Regular communication with customers reminds them of the value they offer your business while keeping your brand top-of-mind in case they need a service or product like yours in the future.
- Cost-effective marketing
I don't want to save--says no business ever! Newsletters are a cost-effective marketing strategy that allows you to reach a large audience without breaking the bank. Compared to other forms of advertising, email marketing is relatively inexpensive, making it accessible to businesses of all sizes.
- Targeted communication
You can create a targeted campaign using newsletters. Using Strikingly's newsletter feature, you can send newsletters to specific segments of your audience, like those who purchased from your store or are paid members of your website. You can send personalized messages to your customers when you segment email lists based on specific user demographics, actions, purchase history, or other data.
- Measuring the success of marketing efforts and ROI
Newsletters make it easy for you to measure the success of your marketing efforts and calculate your return on investment (ROI). With email marketing software, businesses can track open and click-through rates, and make data-driven decisions about future campaigns.
Types of newsletters
Are you wondering what sort of newsletters you can send out to your email list? You'll find that here six different types of newsletters, each designed for different purposes.
1. Promotional newsletters
As the name suggests, promotional newsletters focus on promoting your upcoming (or ongoing) sales and discounts. They usually include information about upcoming sales, new products or services, and special offers. They are designed to drive conversions and encourage customers to make a purchase.
Promotional newsletter examples:
- a clothing store may send out a promotional newsletter announcing a sale on winter coats
- a crochet craft store sends out a promotional newsletter for an upcoming craft fair with discounts for the first 50 buyers
2. Informational newsletters
Informational newsletters provide your customers with company updates and industry news. Most businesses use informational newsletters to keep their customers informed and engaged with their business. This type of newsletter includes information about new products, services, or updates to the industry.
Informational newsletter examples:
- a software company may send out an informational newsletter announcing the release of a new version of its software
- a beauty parlor sends out a newsletter about the newest trends on hair color
3. Educational newsletters
Educational newsletters provide valuable information, such as how-to guides or tips on using your products or services to establish your business as an expert in its field and build customer trust.
Educational newsletter examples:
- a fitness equipment company may send out an educational newsletter with tips on using their equipment to get the most out of your workout
- a restaurant sends people who signed up for their newsletter how to cook their one item from their menu
4. Transactional newsletters
Transactional newsletters are triggered by a specific customer action, such as making a purchase or signing up for a service.
Transactional newsletter examples:
- an online store may send a transactional newsletter to a customer who made a purchase to inform them about the shipping status and tracking number
- a members-only website sends a newsletter to their new members that contains username, password, and tips on how to navigate the website
5. Relationship-building newsletters
Relationship-building newsletters build and enhance relationships with customers. You can use these newsletters to announce upcoming events, show customer testimonials, and other content designed to encourage customer engagement.
Relationship-building newsletter examples:
- a local restaurant may send a relationship-building newsletter to customers with information about upcoming events and special deals
- a music store may send out a newsletter to thanking people who joined them in their recent music event
7. Digest newsletters
Digest newsletters provide a summary of important information and updates. These newsletters are usually sent less frequently and aim to keep customers informed without overwhelming them with too much information.
Digest newsletter examples:
- a news website may send out a digest newsletter with a summary of the top news stories of the week
- a website builder may send out a digest newsletter listing the newest features they released for the month
How to create a successful newsletter
Creating a successful newsletter requires a bit of planning and strategy. Here are the steps you should take to create a successful newsletter:
1. Define your audience
The first step in anything is defining your audience. You haved to understand who your customers are, their needs and interests, and what type of content will be most relevant to them. Knowing your customers help you to create content that is personally tailored to your audience and increase the chances of your newsletter being well-received.
2. Choose the right content
Once you have a clear understanding of your audience, you can choose the right content for your newsletter. Brainstorm newsletter ideas with your team or research topics yourself. The content should be relevant, useful, and engaging. It should also align with your business goals and objectives.
3. Design and layout
The design and layout of your newsletter should be:
- clean and easy to read
- visually appealing
- consistent with your brand's design guidelines
Your layout should be structured to make it easy to scan and find the information that the customer is looking for.
4. Decide on timing and frequency
The timing and frequency of your newsletters are crucial factors in determining their success. Choose a day and time when your audience will most likely be checking their emails, and send your newsletters regularly.
It would help if you also considered the frequency of your newsletters. Sending them too frequently can lead to unsubscribes, whereas too infrequently, the audience may forget about your newsletter.
5. Personalize and segment your newsletters
Personalization and segmentation are critical to a successful newsletter. Personalization means addressing the customer by name, and segmentation means dividing your email list into different groups based on demographics, purchase history, etc.
When you break down your audience into smaller groups, you can send specific messages to each group. This way, you can make sure that your customers will actually read the newsletters you send out.
6. Optimize your newsletter for mobile
With more and more people checking their emails on mobile devices, ensuring that your newsletter is optimized for mobile viewing is essential. You have to use a responsive design that adapts to different screen sizes and test the newsletter on various devices to ensure it looks good and is easy to navigate.
7. Testing and optimization
Once your newsletter is ready, it's essential to test it and make any necessary adjustments. You should test the newsletter on different email clients and devices and use A/B testing to try different headlines, layouts, and calls to action. This will help you to optimize your newsletter and increase its chances of success.
Best Practices for Email Newsletters
Email newsletters are a great way to stay connected with your customers but can also be a huge pain. You've got a lot of things on your plate: you're trying to run a business, keep up with social media, manage customer relationships, and maybe even get some sleep.
What happens when you have to send out an email newsletter? Do you just throw together some text and send it out? Or do you want something that looks professional that will make people sit up and take notice?
Well, we've got good news for you: there are plenty of ways to make sure your email newsletter doesn't turn into an eyesore. And here are five best practices for sending email newsletters:
1. Make sure you have a good subject line
The subject line of your email newsletter is the first thing people will see, so make it count! If you're sending out a group email, consider adding some context (like "Everyone in your department!") before sharing more details about what's inside.
2. Keep it short and sweet
Your email newsletter should be no more than a few paragraphs long, so don't feel like you have to fill up every inch of space with text! Try using bullet points--they'll save you time when writing and make your newsletter easier for readers to digest.
3. Include a compelling call-to-action
Your readers want to know what you want them to do next, so be sure to include a call-to-action in your newsletter that will get them excited about reading it (and doing whatever action you ask of them).
4. Use images, videos, and infographics
You have a lot of space to fill, so make sure you use every square inch to your advantage. Include images that help illustrate what you're talking about or give readers more information on the topic.
5. Use a template for consistency
If you're using a newsletter service, you'll have access to templates that will make it easy for you to create consistent newsletters. For example, if you want your readers to click on an image to learn more about something in your business, use the same graphic and link every time this happens, so they know what they're looking at.
Use Strikingly Newsletter to Grow Your Business
Strikingly's newsletter feature is super easy to use and can help keep your audience engaged and informed about your business. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to use it:
1. First, log into your Strikingly account and go to the "Newsletters" tab in the dashboard.
2. Next, you'll want to create a new newsletter by clicking the "Send a Newsletter" button.
Image taken from Strikingly
3. Give your newsletter a title, and then start designing it by adding text, images, and links. Strikingly provides a simple editor, so it's easy to customize the look and feel of your newsletter. Feel free to add images!
Image taken from Strikingly
4. Once you're done designing your newsletter, you can choose a specific group from your audience.
5. Now it's time to send your newsletter! You can either schedule it to send at a later date or send it immediately.
6. After you send your newsletter, you can track how many people opened it and clicked on the links within it. This will give you a good idea of how well your newsletter is performing.
Image taken from Strikingly
That's it! With Strikingly's newsletter feature, you can easily keep your audience informed and engaged with your business. Give it a try and see the difference it makes!
Are you ready to take your business to the next level? Then it's time to start or improve your newsletter strategy. We're sure you have a lot of newsletter ideas in mind. Start or improve your newsletter strategy today and watch your business grow!
