Effective email newsletters can help you stay top-of-mind with your audience.
Not all emails are created equal. While promotional emails shout, “buy now!” and focus on driving sales, email newsletters offer valuable content to keep your audience engaged with your brand. While you might not see a direct impact on sales, email newsletters provide educational and entertaining content that will put your brand top-of-mind and establish trust with your customers as they become more comfortable with you. With effective email newsletters, you can nurture leads, become a thought leader in your industry and ultimately increase website traffic. In this article, we’ll dig into the power of email newsletters.
What’s the difference between an email and a newsletter?
We’re glad you asked. When you set out to design an email marketing campaign, there are various types of emails you can employ to target your audience. Most emails fall into two categories: promotional emails and engagement emails. Both categories have unique strengths, and when paired together, they create a powerful duo for your marketing strategy.
Promotional Emails.
Promotional email marketing functions as an advertisement that informs people about a product or service, usually followed by a strong call-to-action (CTA) to let a consumer know how to take the next step in purchasing the product or signing up for the service. The CTA could also call for a transaction, download or a free trial sign-up. These emails are more direct and less personal and work best when targeted at those most likely to act.
Email Newsletters.
Email Newsletters are a softer approach used to connect with your subscribers and build a relationship over time, while keeping your brand top of mind. Speaking to your audience’s pain points, these emails are filled with helpful tips, guidance and expertise that establish you as the authority in your industry. The education you provide can come from your own experience, as well as the latest trends and industry news that are relevant to your customers. As these emails land in your readers’ inboxes consistently, you become their go-to source for solutions. Not only that, but with softer CTAs like “read more” or “see our latest project,” you’ll boost website traffic as curious readers explore who you are.
We know what you’re thinking. “Why should I waste my time writing a newsletter if it may not help with direct sales?” The benefit of consistent email newsletters goes beyond a single sale. Every newsletter you send out is like putting a piece of your paycheck into your retirement fund — in the end, it pays off. Your efforts to educate and inform your audiences keeps your brand top-of-mind, encouraging subscribers to think about you once they are ready to buy.
Nurture leads with the power of email newsletters.
As you gather leads through different sources like trade shows, free trials and online surveys, you’ll find that each person is in a different stage of the buyer’s journey. When you nurture a lead, you are inviting them to learn more about how your industry works while inspiring them to take the next steps.1 It’s a courtship of sorts, as strangers become friends. Friends don’t tell each other what to do, but they do give advice and guidance. This is where a newsletter comes in as a helpful tool for nurturing leads.
The best way to use email newsletters is to personalize them according to who you’re speaking to. That can sound daunting when looking at your giant stack of emails, but we’ve got a method. Looking at the data you have on each of your leads, you can segment them into categories. There are two types of data to gather: behavioral and non-behavioral.2 Non-behavioral data — such as location, age range, gender and job type — is a great place to start. Behavioral data, on the other hand, provides information about how leads interact with your brand. It can include how they found you, how often they visit your website and what pages they visit. If you have more personal information like names, you can use automated email software to populate names in subject lines.
If all you’ve got on a lead is an email — that’s okay! Segment your leads based on what stage of the brand relationship they’re in. Once you’ve organized your emails into different categories, you can create content that will help nurture leads and move them along to the next stages of the buyer journey.
Use thought leadership to establish authority and boost website traffic.
Thought leaders act as guides, providing a wealth of knowledge on the latest developments in the industry and predicting what is to come. Audiences look to thought leaders as trusted authorities on certain topics who bring ideas to the table that cannot be found elsewhere.3 With email newsletters, you have the power to educate your audiences and position yourself as the expert in your industry.
Here are some strategies for developing thought leadership content for a newsletter.
Focus on what makes you different.
It’s easy to get too broad and wander into subjects outside of your wheelhouse. Stick to your area of expertise, and become the leading expert in a niche subject.
Pick a theme for each newsletter.
Rather than sharing general company news, pick a theme or topic to focus on. For example, a newsletter topic for a bank might look like saving money and budgeting for the future, while the next topic after that could focus on how to use retirement plans.
Educate your audience.
A good rule of thumb is to make sure 90% of your newsletter is informative; the remaining 10% can be promotional.4 Combine your expertise with further research, featuring company blog posts and case studies to increase website traffic, while linking to a few related articles from other sources.
Keep it short and sweet.
Your audience gets tons of emails every day. Give them a quick overview of topics and link out to blog posts and other articles. Your goal is to get them off the email and onto your website, boosting website traffic and getting eyes on your company.
Write compelling subject lines.
Write something that compels the reader to open the email and see what’s inside. Use action-oriented verbs that pique curiosity and tell a story. A catchy subject line will entice more people to open your emails, generating more leads.
Be a good listener.
Stay on top of the latest industry developments and conversations, while keeping tabs on how your customers’ needs are changing.
Create captivating email newsletters with a team that gets you.
Ready to become an email newsletter ninja? Design At Work can help you develop email newsletters that nurture leads and increase traffic to your website. Contact us today to get started on an email marketing newsletter campaign.
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