How to Increase the Effectiveness of Email Newsletters

The death of the email newsletter has been greatly exaggerated. In fact, such newsletters are an important tool for savvy marketers. Think about it — your audience will be the people who are interested enough in your product to give their email address to you. So if you make a newsletter that strikes their fancy, you could end up getting more business.

For all the hullabaloo that social media gets for increasing sales, a study by Crowd Science discovered that email newsletters actually drive over three times more shopping traffic during the holiday season to websites than social media does. Of course, that doesn’t mean you need to drop social media efforts; it just means that you should have a multi-faceted marketing strategy that includes newsletters. Sites like LiveIntent.com can help you with email monetization, but you can also read the following tips to learn what you can do to increase the effectiveness of your email newsletters:

Keep the Style Sleek and Simple

These days, with a growing number of people reading emails on phones, a graphics-heavy newsletter, especially one that is just a graphic, and no text, may not work for your subscribers. So test any email you send first on an iPhone and Android, to make sure that it looks okay on those formats. You don’t want to lose out on subscribers not being able to read what you have to say.

Think About What Your Readers Want

You may be excited about the way your quarterly meetings went with your regional managers, but will your newsletter readers be as thrilled? Probably not. You need to think about what they want, and how to give them that. Are they looking for expert advice? Discounts on your products? Details on your upcoming tour? The answer to these questions will depend upon your line of work — and your company. Tailor your newsletter accordingly.

Write a Compelling Headline and Opening Text

With email services like Gmail, which show the first few lines of emails, your subscribers have even less of a reason to open up a newsletter that they don’t want to. That is why it is more important than ever to give readers a reason to open up your email.

According to the email service MailChimp, the best email subject lines are “short, descriptive and provide the reader with a reason to explore your message further.” They also recommend that subject lines not use words like “free” because such emails may end up in your customers’ spam filters.

Because Gmail captures those first few lines of your email, you should endeavor to have those first lines be crisp, snappy, and interesting enough to whet subscribers’ interest.

Add Some Interactivity

How about an advice column in your newsletter? No, you don’t need to become Dear Abby. But let’s suppose you are running a newsletter on healthy living. Why not devote a portion of your newsletter to answering questions from readers on subjects such as whether everyone should avoid gluten, how often should you exercise a week, and if it is okay to drink fruit juices? Not only is this a great way to come up with interesting column ideas, but the readers who you answered questions from may feel increased loyalty to your company — and may forward your newsletter to others.

Show Some Personality

While jokes can sometimes be problematic for businesses when they touch hot-button issues, a fun tone could work for your email newsletters. Of course, this depends on what your newsletter is all about. If you sell barbecue, showing a sense of humor can attract readers. A funeral director making jokes — not so much. Keep this in mind.

Run a Giveaway

Here’s a sneaky way to make sure that people read to the end of your newsletter. Put a note at the end of the newsletter giving away something to a newsletter subscriber. But here’s the catch: This will be their only notification. If they don’t read each and every newsletter, they may miss out on winning.

What ideas have you found to increase traffic for your own newsletter? Let us know!