Email marketers should have many different emails in their arsenal, such as welcome emails, retargeting emails, and follow-up emails.
One of the most underappreciated emails, however, is the newsletter, which can be extremely effective for small businesses.
Read on to learn everything you need to know about email marketing newsletters and what they can do for small businesses.
What is an email marketing newsletter?
As its name suggests, an email marketing newsletter is an email that informs your subscribers about any news regarding your business. Every business uses newsletters differently, but they usually come in weekly or quarterly installments.
The content of the newsletter could be anything from new products to upcoming events. Ideally, the news will be relevant to the customer.
Source: Really Good Emails
How to measure an email marketing newsletter’s success
Measuring the success of your newsletter will depend entirely on the nature of the newsletter itself. If the email includes the first paragraph of your news stories and a link to the rest of the post, you’ll want to look at your click-through rates.
Otherwise, your open rates should be a clear indicator of whether or not you’ve successfully established a relationship with your subscribers. If they’re regularly opening your newsletters, it means they’re interested in what you have going on.
To make sure your newsletters are as effective as possible, consider the following.
Timing
The best time to send your subscribers a newsletter will depend on the demographic they fall into. To find this out, you could do some research or go through some trial and error to see what works for you. In fact, a combination of research and personal exploration is generally a good idea.
In addition to the time of day, you’ll want to pay attention to the day of the week as well as how often you’re sending emails.
Keep mobile in mind.
People are checking their email on their phones now more than ever. For this reason, you need to ensure that your email marketing newsletters are mobile friendly in their design.
The last thing you want is for your subscribers to open an email and not be able to read it due to the text being off screen or the images overlapping.
65% of people in the United States use their mobile devices to check their email.
Write compelling CTAs.
Just because your newsletters are primarily sent to deliver information doesn’t mean you can’t sneak a few CTAs in there. As for what these could be, it’s up to you, but it’s a good idea to tie them into your news.
For instance, if your company has a new partnership with another brand, you’ll want to accompany that news with a video or blog. If you have some new items for sale, definitely write a CTA to get people to check them out.
Does it really matter?
With the purpose of email marketing being conversions, some might see newsletters as superfluous. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Newsletters are a way to establish a relationship between your brand and the customer through transparency. Instead of just another business, you become a friend who stays in touch.
When it comes to small businesses, building a connection with your customers and gathering a loyal following is necessary for success. It’s what separates you from the big companies.
What now?
Once you understand what an email marketing newsletter is and what it can offer small businesses, consider taking a look at some email newsletter examples.
In addition to timing, mobile-friendly design, and CTAs, it’s a good idea to educate yourself on some email newsletter best practices.