Everyone has email. Today, to register in a store, buy a plane ticket or communicate with an official body, you need an email. However, it is a path that many companies forget or underestimate. Email is a network with which you will be able to reach a very large and diverse audience, given its presence in the lives of all people. Furthermore, it guarantees a direct and personal communication with your audience.
He Email Marketing It is a technique that uses sending messages via email to achieve certain objectives that are in line with the development of your business. These can range from increasing sales of your product to building customer loyalty. Within Email Marketing, the newsletter.
What is a newsletter?
Before talking about the best tips for sending a newsletter, let's start at the beginning: What is a newsletter? A newsletter is content that is sent periodically via email to your Potential customers to inform you of the news about your company. The person on the other side gets that newsletter leaving their data on your website as a subscription.
In this way, a conversion is made from visitor to lead, moving slowly through the sales funnel. A good newsletter must ensure that the user continues with the journey, passing from lead to customer. However, it is also useful for those people who have already made a purchase from your company, getting them to do so again.
The difference between the newsletter and the mailing
Like the newsletter, mailing uses email to communicate. However, there are fundamental differences between the two.
The first of them is that the mailing responds to a specific campaign, which seeks to promote a product or service. On the other hand, a newsletter is periodic. It can be daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly, but always between them there must be a regularity.
Furthermore, as we have said, mailing focuses on promoting a product or service, while the newsletter must provide value to the user, provide information that is useful and of interest to you. This is very important, since if the newsletter does not meet these characteristics, the visitor will not leave their data, since the newsletter will not attract your attention.
And here, precisely, comes the third difference: mailing does not require any subscription. The company sends the content to emails that an external database provides to the brand.
Types of newsletter
Depending on the content you are going to send, you will be using one type of newsletter or another. It is important that, when choosing the type of content, you think about your target audience and in what they want to consume.
Informative
Informative newsletters are the traditional model. It consists of creating a newsletter in which you offer users valuable information about your company or the market in which it is framed. The main objective of this type of newsletter is not to sell your products or services, but build customer loyalty, generate engagement, increase traffic to your website or position yourself as an authority among the competition.
Generally, it is usually content specific to the second stage of the conversion funnel, the MOFU. In this way, you must know the needs of your target audience, their tastes and preferences, in order to ensure that the content fulfills its function and users advance.
Promotional
The promotional newsletter is more focused on sell a product or service. It refers to offers, promotions or events. It is not good to abuse the promotional newsletter, but to know how to wait for the appropriate moment to do so, since it can saturate the user and cause you to unsubscribe.
The goal of this type of email is achieve a conversion, make people who have a special interest in your company take the final step and buy. You've been preparing them for sale the entire journey and this type of content works as a final push. In this way, it fits with the BOFU stage of the funnel.
To make it effective, you must make use of all your Big data analysis tools. This way, you can send it to very specific people, such as those who were reviewing a product, those who filled the cart and never made the purchase, or those who have not visited your website for a while.
Transactional
Transactional newsletters create a two-way communication between the user and the brand. They serve as response to an action that the user has made, whether it is a subscription, a purchase or a claim. The user, in this case, is sending a phrase of whatever type to the company and it, in turn, is taking the time to respond, whether as a thank you, welcome or concern.
Personal
Personal emails use the storytelling to tell an anecdote or story about the company to users. For example, it can be about how the company was born, how the brand came up with the invention of its star product or overcoming a bad streak. This type of newsletter achieves a closer and stronger relationship with the target audience. Besides, humanizes the company, stops being an entity and becomes a community of people with problems and needs. Lastly, it makes the user empathize.
Seasonal
You have probably received emails from brands on Christmas, Valentine's Day or Halloween with offers, discounts or promotions. Seasonal newsletters are those that use celebration of a special day. In this way, the company is present in a moment of user happiness.
Mixed
It consists of combining the different types of newsletter to achieve a original content, that goes beyond the norm and offers value to users. For example, you can tell a company story that is related to Christmas in the celebration of these holidays or give a welcome discount when a user subscribes.
Benefits of newsletters
Increase presence
You are there, in the daily life of your audience. People need to open email several times a day. Sending a newsletter you will be part of their routine. They will be aware of your news and will remember you when they need a product that your own company offers. With those who have previously purchased from your company, the newsletter will be able to strengthen the bond between both. For example, it is your birthday and you receive an email from a glasses brand that gives you a 20% discount on the model you want, just for being your birthday. With this action, the company is showing that it cares and remembers you.
Generate sales
By being present at users' important moments, sales will undoubtedly increase. Your target audience will prefer you over the competition, since you will trust the brand and feel it closer. Think about all those people who prefer to buy fruit or go to the hardware store from someone they know. When making a purchase, premium the proximity you have to the business, in addition to the quality of the product. With newsletters, you will foster this link, so sales will indirectly grow.
Sending a newsletter allows you to know your audience
Through certain tools, you will have access to very valuable information. You will be able to know what each person does with email. There will be some who open it, others who delete it and others who access your website. Thanks to this data, you will have the opportunity to improve the strategy individually. In this way, you will improve your weak points in the next newsletter, achieving better numbers.
Cost effectiveness
It is a strategy with which in short you will be doing branding. With a newsletter, you will project a positive brand image in the minds of your potential clients. To achieve this, generally, you would have to invest a good amount of money in advertising campaigns. Newsletters are a low cost content with which you will achieve the same results. In fact, there are companies with which you can send your newsletter for free until a minimum number of subscribers is reached.
Sending a newsletter improves web traffic
When sending a newsletter, users will arrive at your website, being able to see all the news and discover products they did not know about. This will increase the traffic to your page and in turn will make improve web positioning in search engines. All of this will cause your presence to increase and, therefore, all the previous benefits to be repeated.
Tips for sending a newsletter
Now that you know all the benefits of this strategy of sending a newsletter, let's give you some tips so you can make the most of everything its potential and don't end up in the trash of your clients' mail.
Think about the objective you are pursuing when sending a newsletter
There are different objectives in which the newsletter can help you, from generating a greater number of conversions to building customer loyalty. It is important that you choose the priority objective when creating a newsletter. Surely, you will be able to achieve many other positive points for your business with this newsletter, but the content and the entire strategy must be oriented towards that main goal. Throughout the creation process, Don't forget the purpose of the newsletter and don't lose focus. In this way, delete all the information that is not necessary.
Update the database
In the case of sending a newsletter, more is not better. It is very tempting to have a subscriber list with all those people who fit your customer profile. However, It is recommended that you clean the database of those who never open the emails and directly delete them. This way, you can focus on those that truly represent a growth opportunity for your business.
Think carefully about the matter before sending a newsletter
You are not the only brand that is going to send a newsletter. The normal thing is that your audience receives several throughout the week, in addition to the many misleading emails. When users receive an email, the first thing they see is the sender of the message and the subject of the message. It is the presentation of your newsletter and the reason that will make them delete it or open it. Therefore, this must be very attractive. Creates a short subject line and direct. By making it creative, do not fall into deception that make the user take the bait. The only thing this will do is damage credibility, causing users to stop trusting your brand.
To create an attractive subject line, it is important that you give a little advance of what the bulletin includes, giving free rein to the mystery. Furthermore, also It's a good idea to play with the time factor., including taglines like “last day” or “last hours.” Also, let the reader know that there is a promotion, offer or gift in the newsletter, giving you an extra reason to open it. Finally, it is also important that you tell them the value that the newsletter will provide in terms of content.
Don't forget the educational value when sending a newsletter
It's fantastic that you include offers, discounts or promotions in your newsletter. Thus, you will appreciate their interest in the brand. However, it is important that you give the prominence of informative content. The bulk of the newsletter must be of value to the user, teach them something and be of interest to them.
Make it clear to readers what you want when sending a newsletter
Within the newsletter there must be a CTA that involves what you want the reader to do, such as going to your website, downloading an e-book, or signing up for a seminar. Since you made your main objective clear before starting the writing and design, this will be easy for you. Don't overwhelm the reader with different CTAs, the only thing this will do is lose attention to what is truly important. Therefore, make a call to action in line with the purpose of the newsletter.
This should have an attractive design that stands out above the rest of the content. When designing it, think about the fact that most people open email from their smartphone. It is important that you keep this in mind, since the design button must be able to easy to press. On the other hand, don't leave the CTA message behind. This must include a action verb that invites you to press it.
Make it visually attractive
The newsletter must have a beautiful design that attracts the user's attention. However, at the same time, it should be simple so as not to saturate the reader. Use in the design Corporate colors and combine the content with white space that allows the user to rest their eyes and obtain an organized reading. As for the letters, use a simple typography that makes reading comfortable and relaxed.
On the other hand, includes graphics and images, although don't overdo it. With two images you will have more than enough. Also, add a alt text. This is important, because if the image does not load, users will be able to see what it is.
By applying all these tips and the traditional trial-error way of learning, you will be able to create an attractive newsletter that helps you achieve your goals. Multiply your presence in the lives of your potential clients and offer them valuable content that allows them to see that your brand is the right one.
