Tips for Developing Effective Email Newsletter Content
Email Marketing is a form of direct marketing which uses email as a means of communicating commercial or other messages to an audience that has chosen to receive such correspondence. In its broadest sense, every email sent to a potential or current customer could be considered email marketing but for our purposes email marketing refers to brief email blasts or lengthier email newsletters. Email blasts might be random and could highlight a special promotion and email newsletters generally sent on more of a schedule (E.g. monthly, quarterly) and contain more structured content.
How often do you immediately delete a newsletter without reading it? Probably a lot! Chances are that if a newsletter is not consistently offering you relevant, useful information that you are simply deleting it. When a newsletter hits your inbox can also determine whether it gets read. Below are some tips that should help to guide you in preparing content for a successful email newsletter including some suggestions on the best days and times to send a newsletter.
Content Development Tips:
Email newsletter need to add value in order to be successfully. Merely tooting your own horn is not providing your target audience with any real reason to continue to read your newsletter attempts. What type of content could you include to add real value to your audience?
- Industry Articles
- Tips
- Sales & Promotions
- “How To” Advice
- Problem / Solution
- Opinion / Analysis
- Reviews
- Seasonal Content
- Educational Content
- Best Of”
- Surveys / Feedback Requests
- Answering Feedback
- Resources
- Interviews
- News
- Statistics
Newsletter Content Management Tips:
- Create newsletter content when time allows – even if you do not have a pending newsletter to write. Keep a file of potential newsletter content so you will be ready when it comes time to write your newsletter.
- Review your statistics. Analyze what content your audience is reading by reviewing your email newsletter statistics. You will learn which content is the most valuable.
- Subscribe to your competitor’s newsletters. What is your competition writing about? Review other industry newsletters could give you helpful content development ideas.
- Partner with other companies. Sharing the burden of content development could save a lot of time. You may also be able to offer your readers unique cross promotions. These cross promotions could also promote your services to a new audience.
- Try new formats. It may be worthwhile to change the frequency or length of your newsletter. The statistics will tell you if you are onto something.
- Ask your audience. Find out what type of content your audience might like to see in an upcoming issue of your email newsletter.
When is the best time to send an email newsletter?
The best days are Tuesday Wednesday or Thursday between 11am and 2pm. Monday is not a great day to send an email newsletter because people are catching up from the weekend and may come into the office with a great deal of emails to go though. They may delete any nonessential emails to lighten their reading load. Similarly, Fridays are also bad days as people are intent on finishing as much as possible before the weekend and tend to also delete nonessential emails. Mornings are bad for the same reason Mondays are bad and afternoons are bad for the same reason Fridays are bad