Many businesses believe leveraging the use of social media is the number one way to attract new customers and keep current customers coming back. While social media is certainly important, data shows that email marketing remains the most effective drive for customer acquisition in 2021, with 80% of businesses using it as their primary marketing channel. The right newsletter can increase both new and old customer interactions with your company’s products and services.
The following newsletter ideas can act as a great introduction to this type of marketing, or give your regular newsletters the spark they need if you’ve been at it for a while but haven’t seen the desired results. Moreover, by understanding the motivating factors behind the different kinds of newsletter campaigns, you will deepen your overall email marketing capabilities.
Table of Contents
- First of all, what are newsletters?
- What results will you see by sending newsletters?
- The different types of newsletters
- Monthly newsletter ideas
- Newsletter templates for inspiration
- Ready for your newsletter boom?
First of all, what are newsletters?
Newsletters are emails that you periodically send to subscribers of your organization. Newsletters can contain a wide variety of content, such as company and product updates, promotional material, welcome messages, or behind-the-scenes takes. The point of newsletters is to keep your business engaged with your customers. In fact, 61% of consumers enjoy receiving weekly promotional emails from their favorite companies.
What results will you see by sending newsletters?
Besides connecting with your customers, there are myriad other benefits to sending out monthly newsletters, including:
- Increased website traffic: Newsletters act as the perfect opportunity to drive your customers to your site, especially if you provide discounts or other financial incentives.
- Greater social media presence: If your social media following is stagnant, you can find a boost by promoting your social media accounts on your newsletters, offering more channels for your customers to engage with you.
- A stronger reputation: Newsletters give you the chance to show the personal side of your brand, including your voice, message, and beliefs. As such, consumers see you as more authentic and are more motivated to buy your products or use your services.
Moreover, newsletters act as the perfect long-term communication channel for your customers. Knowing that a newsletter will arrive from your company at the same time every month gives customers a sense of regularity and familiarity that they will come to associate with your brand.
The different types of newsletters
When it comes to the varying newsletter ideas, you have plenty of options available that will ensure each newsletter your customers receive is fresh and interesting. Some of the most effective commonly used ones include:
Informative
These are perhaps the most common newsletters that companies send out. Informative newsletters usually contain up-to-date company or product news and let consumers know about upcoming events, product or service launches, or general news in the industry.
Helpful
Helpful newsletters answer customer questions, give insight into products and services, and offer assistance on navigating such things as your website or social media channels.
Promotional
This type of newsletter is many companies’ go-to newsletter of choice, as it usually opens the doors for more sales or interaction with products. Promotional newsletters contain such things as limited-time offers, coupons, discounts, and other financial opportunities.
Events
If your company hosts many events, such as charity drives, product launches, trade shows, seminars, or retreats, you will want to make use of event newsletters. Even if customers aren’t part of the event, they enjoy hearing about it and seeing it in an event recap afterward.
Fun
Of course, it doesn’t have to be all serious. Newsletters that encourage customer participation keep things light and ensure that you don’t fall into a rut of sales-only newsletters that will end up in people’s junk folders.
Monthly newsletter ideas
Now that you’ve got the different newsletter themes down, it’s time to choose which segments you can implement on a monthly basis. Fortunately, the choices you have are vast and plentiful. Here are the top 10 ideas for you to try out with your monthly newsletter:
1. How-to guides
Everyone loves a good how-to guide. Fortunately, they are easy to write, as you can make a how-to for just about any aspect of your business. For instance, if your company makes clothes, you can create a guide that shows customers how to accessorize with your products.
This also works well if you offer a service. If you run a tour guide service, you can offer a guide on how to find unknown gems in a certain location. Go step-by-step and offer visuals such as photos or videos. This in itself can be a great opportunity to link your Instagram or YouTube channels if you have them.
2. Top 10 lists
Quick and easy to scan, top 10 lists are almost always a sure bet for retaining a subscriber’s attention. The list format ensures you don’t have clunky walls of text and will keep readers scrolling to the end to see what’s in the number one spot. You can write about such topics as the top 10 products you offer in terms of customer popularity or top 10 things to look forward to with your company, to name two common examples.
3. User-generated content
Interaction is key to keeping users coming back for more of your content. These days, user-generated content, or content that is made by users and shared on various platforms, is one of the most effective ways to show consumers that a brand is authentic and cares about its customers.
Data shows that customers are 2.4 times more likely to trust brands that share user-generated content than those that share content they create themselves. You can share such content as a user’s photos or videos of your products or services, customer reviews, or interviews with customers. At the end of your newsletter, you can encourage customers to send you more of this content to showcase in future newsletters.
4. Round-ups
If you have a lot of events happening within your company, you could greatly benefit from a monthly round-up newsletter. This gives you the chance to summarize all that has been going on, whether it’s new products or services that have launched, company meetings or gatherings, industry changes, or simply a compilation of your blog or social media posts for the previous month. If customers missed out on something important with your company, they will have the chance to catch up.
5. Blog posts
Speaking of blog posts, a newsletter that contains your newest post is guaranteed to drive more traffic there. People who may not follow your blog are more likely to become subscribers after seeing the post featured in a newsletter, and they may even share your blog on their own social media channels. Chances are if a customer is subscribed to your newsletter, they are already interested in what you and your company have to say, so they’ll want to hear more.
6. Behind-the-scenes
Behind-the-scenes looks into the workings of companies are becoming a popular trend across the internet. Loyal customers of brands tend to grow curious over time about the operation of a company as well as who is working for it.
Sending out newsletters that feature a “day in the life” of your company will give your business a humanized touch that customers can relate to. You can show employees creating or launching a product, show off your office space, or offer profiles on various employees.
7. Your story
Another way to offer a more humanized perspective is to write about your company’s story. This usually means sharing the history of how your company was founded, including what challenges you may have faced along the way. A success story puts people in a good mood and inspires them to share it with others. To really drive the story home, have the founder or CEO of your company draft the story to give it an extra personal touch.
8. Seasonal messages
It’s always important to keep up with the times, and that includes holidays too. Sending holiday newsletters is not only fun, but it provides you with the opportunity to offer giveaways, promotional items, and limited-time sales. You don’t just have to rely on the big holidays, either.
These days, there are plenty of smaller but just-as-fun holidays, such as National Sugar Cookie day on July 9th, National Relaxation Day on August 15th, or National Day of Encouragement on September 12th.
9. Ask for feedback
Asking for feedback is always a good idea for a number of reasons. Not only does asking for feedback offer you the opportunity to grow as a company, but it allows your customers the chance to share their opinions. It also shows that your company is receptive to communication on all levels. You can ask for feedback through surveys, polls, questionnaires, or a company review.
10. FAQ’s
Lastly, you can consider writing up an FAQ for a newsletter idea. If your company often receives the same questions on a consistent basis, this can offer you a chance to answer them on a mass scale. This can save you a lot of time in the long run and shows that your support team is working hard to answer the questions it receives.
Newsletter templates for inspiration
If you have some solid newsletter ideas but aren’t sure what format to follow, a newsletter template may be just what you need. Here are a few templates to gain inspiration from:
The how-to guide
Your how-to guide should be easy-to-follow, with numbered steps as shown below. It helps when the numbers are both large and bold to attract a reader’s eyes to the page, and a picture or video to go along with the newsletter will help spark up the visuals.
Just like this example provided by reallygoodemails.com, clear and easy-to-follow steps are key for how-to guides.
The call to action
A call to action gives a sense of urgency, particularly when it comes to the possibility of customers experiencing FOMO or “the fear of missing out.” A template like the one here with the phrase “stay in the loop” emphasizes this contemporary fear, as customers don’t want to be unaware of important information. You can use this kind of call to action for email updates, sales, and other promotions.
The phrase “stay in the loop” is impactful for any kind of update. Image source: reallygoodemails.com
The sale
For your newsletter ideas containing sales, make sure you are providing the most important information at the very top, including how much time your customers have to take advantage of a sale. Starting your newsletter with the actual time frame, such as the “72 hour sale” in this template and filling in the details later, is often enough to drive your website traffic at a higher pace.
Start every sales newsletter with a number. Image source: reallygoodemails.com
The welcome message
To get new customers equipped with your business newsletters, consider sending a welcome message once they sign up. Try using bold text like in the following template, as well as a short introduction message under your company name. Follow that with a visually striking background for the best effect. This kind of layout also works well with new product announcements.
Sometimes just a few words and a powerful image are enough. Image source: reallygoodemails.com
The round-up
Round-up newsletters typically contain a good amount of information, so consider using a format that allows for a hefty amount of text while remaining visually appealing. The template below has space for multiple images and texts while remaining scannable for the reader. It especially benefits from bold headlines and small descriptions where needed.
Weekly newsletters are a fun way for regular customers or clients to catch up with your business. Image source: reallygoodemails.com
The event
If you have an upcoming event where customers are invited, make sure your newsletter invite includes all the important details and an enticing photo or video to really catch their eye. Moreover, use inclusive language such as “join” or “gather with us” to create a welcoming atmosphere.
Include all the essential details and enticing pictures if space allows. Image source: reallygoodemails.com
The social media link
Simple yet effective newsletter ideas are those that advertise your social media, as in the template below. You can advertise such channels as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, or more, and even make use of the user-generated content idea by encouraging customers to share photos or videos with you on these accounts.
Social media has a powerful presence for marketing, including in email newsletters. Image source: reallygoodemails.com
The seasonal greeting
Seasonal greeting newsletters tend to be simple but sweet, offering a nice holiday message that often leads to information or promotion for your company. For instance, in the template here, a mix of moving graphics and humorous phrases is not only eye-catching; it also encourages customers to use the product offered.
Seasonal greeting newsletters are a great way to celebrate your customers. Image source: reallygoodemails.com
The feedback form
The feedback newsletter template here contains all the important elements: a message that emphasizes the importance of the consumer (“your feedback helps us improve…”) and an easy way to offer feedback with a large button for a survey. While this particular template makes use of a survey, you could include a link to a QR code, poll, quiz, or form where customers can then leave their feedback.
Ensure your feedback newsletters have an easy way for customers to leave their thoughts. Image source: reallygoodemails.com
The testimonial(s)
Client testimonials are, of course, a big part of sharing with others how your business has impacted previous and current clients alike. Consider sending a testimonial newsletter with either one or several strong testimonials spread out with images.
Consider using testimonials from employees as well for another kind of perspective. Image source: reallygoodemails.com
Ready for your newsletter boom?
Newsletters continue to remain a highly effective way to connect with your audience, spread your brand’s message, and even increase your overall sales. Now that you know about the most popular types of email newsletters, including which segments work best, you can start coming up with your own newsletter ideas that will represent the best that your company has to offer.
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This article was written for Business 2 Community by Adele Streissguth.
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