Email newsletters are sent to subscribers so that they are informed about the updates and latest news of a business.
Email newsletters are a great way to share relevant content with email subscribers.
They are different from promotional emails and take longer to create. Immediate sales are rarely the objective of email newsletters.
They are relationship builders. There is revenue involved, but not the immediate kind that is associated with promotional emails.
Email newsletters provide specific content and do not ‘sell’ anything.
They are preferred as they are less frequent compared to promotional emails and offer valuable content.
They have the added advantage of creating a bond between the end users and a company. Given below are tips to create newsletters that can deliver powerful results.
Contents
Build Relationships
An email newsletter should improve the relationships a business already has with customers and prospects.
This becomes challenging when there are sales goals to achieve and email is used as a sales channel.
The audience must be given a reason to stay subscribed. They should believe that there is value in giving permission to receive email from a business.
Provide Unique Value
Retaining the interest of a subscriber is a challenge. A newsletter can remind them that there is significance in being a subscriber.
After a person makes a purchase, they might not need emails.
A newsletter that can give customers product or service usage or tips , news, surveys, and contextual content will help to retain them on the email list until they are back to making yet another purchase decision.
Personalization
People respond to things when they feel that they have been made just for them.
Personalization of email newsletters help to increase open rates and drive engagement.
Almost everybody has their inbox cluttered these days and if content in a newsletter is not tailored to their needs, they are not going to pay any attention to it.
Using names is an easy way to personalize a mail as a subscriber will notice a message when it contains their name.
Behavior-triggered emails can also be sent so that the subscriber can take the next step in the customer journey.
When the subscribers are segmented based on their purchases or demographics it is easier to send them content tailored to their needs.
They can be sent interest-based newsletters.
For instance, if the subscriber is interested in sustainable makeup , the newsletter can have information on sustainable makeup that the subscriber can use based on their skin type.
Reduce Frequency
Customers like it when they get less frequent email messages but ones that provide them with valuable content.
One monthly newsletter with tailored content will definitely work better than frequent mails with little valuable content.
Keep the Content Simple
Subscribers spend less time reading emails than they do in reading blogs.
Hence, the content of the newsletter should be simple and straightforward.
They should be readable and interesting. For instance, the newsletters of Vestre, a manufacturer of urban furniture, offer valuable content to their subscribers.
Their content demonstrates the use of their furniture pieces and also focuses on the sustainability of their products.
The Future of Email Marketing
Email marketing is still an effective strategy of interactive marketing.A business needs to use this platform properly so that it can compete against other businesses.
Email marketing is clearly here to stay and it is one of the most effective ways to reach the right audience at the right time.
Machine learning and AI are also becoming a major part of email marketing.
With marketers diving deeper into segmentation and analytics, sophisticated email projects will get increased budgets.
Given below are some email marketing patterns that will develop in years to come.
Interactive Emails
Marketers will create interactive emails to attract buyers.
The focus will be not only on creating dynamic content but also telling stories.
Designers will be hired to craft effective emails.
If internal expertise or resources do not exist in a business, marketers will outsource portions of their email program.
Long Term Customer Loyalty
With the pandemic, the loyalty and retention game of customers has changed. Emails will provide customers with better brand experience and customer service to retain their interest. There would be loyalty programs boosted through emails that will be aimed at loyal customers.
Video
There will be marketing emails with personalized videos that will find their way in the inbox on a more frequent basis.
There is a great demand for video elements. Videos make campaigns stand out.
Tailored videos would be sent to repeat customers to inspire customer loyalty.
Videos can be used to explain products and advertise events.
For instance, Elon University in North Carolina uses video to show how holidays could mean a magical time on campus.
Increased Accessibility
Emails would also comply with ADA standards. ADA compliance stands for American with Disabilities Act Standards for Accessible Design.
With one in five people living with a disability in the US, ADA compliance will ensure that each customer has a positive experience with emails.
ADA compliance is not just a trend, it will become a crucial component of emails.
The content of emails will be short and the focus will be on font size and line spacing.
For instance, Wistia, a video software company uses alt text in its emails so that it is accessible by everyone.
Alt text or alternative text is a written description of an image which explains why an image exists when the image cannot be viewed. This helps emails to be accessible for people who have visual impairment.
Mobile Email Campaigns
Mobile email campaigns are growing in popularity and cannot be ignored as a strategy. Without mobile responsive emails, a business might miss out on conversions.
Without almost everybody using mobile devices to read their emails, a business needs to ensure that its emails can be displayed on every type of mobile device.
For instance, UberEats helps mobile users to order using emails. The emails have quick links to the app.
Matthew Caiola serves as CEO at 5W Public Relations, managing the overall growth, direction and day-to-day business of the Corporate & Technology Communications Divisions and Digital Marketing.
With more than 17 years of PR experience, Matthew leads teams in launching and building high-growth tech companies, disrupting industries, building global brand resonance through thought leadership, C-Suite profiling, and speakers’ programs, as well as crisis communications across a variety of industries.
