You’ve done the work to build a newsletter following. But as you know, that’s not enough. You not only have to write a compelling subject line, but you have to include interesting content and send the newsletter regularly. Read on for additional tips on how to optimize this marketing tool.
Before you even begin writing
Before you begin writing a newsletter, make sure you have these steps in place:
- Have an easy sign-up process. This can be as simple as a notebook by your cash register.
- Have an engaging subject line. There’s a lot of research about this, but typically the stranger the better. What would you open? Questions or unique statements are both great places to start.
- Have a goal. Why are you sending this information? Sending content just about your products isn’t good enough to keep people reading.
- What’s in it for the customer? If you have products that will save them time, money, or energy, make sure that’s clear as you begin writing.
- Opening statement: Get to the point. Before the reader gets to the meat they should know what your newsletter is about.
Newsletter content
What should you include in the heart of your newsletter? Content should be concise and show your personality. Images are important here (pro tip: feel free to repeat images you’ve posted on social media). And remember, a newsletter isn’t a resume, so leaving white space in your formatting is more than okay.
At the close of your newsletter have a call to action. What do you want your customer to do? How should they do it? Definitely include a link to make it easier for them.
Some newsletters encourage readers to forward the content to a friend if they find it interesting. This is a great call-to-action to include in your newsletter every time.
Did you know newsletter lists shrink 20% per year? Don’t take it personally if you lose subscribers after sending a newsletter. A great way to get this number up again is to send a newsletter regularly. Studies have shown, businesses that do this have more readers.
After all of this, don’t feel down if your open rates are below 25%. Open rates between 15 – 25% are great targets to shoot for (and industry averages)!
Inspiration for this post came from “Subject Line: Did It Grab Your Attention?” by Kate Colleran, Joanne Hillestad, and Kris Poor published in the October 2021 issue of American Quilt Retailer.
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