How do I get recipients to read my newsletters?

Seven tips for making your customers and prospects read your newsletters

What are the key factors that make your recipients want to open and actually read your newsletter? Most recipients make up their minds very quickly, perhaps only within a few seconds. It is therefore crucial that you avoid mistakes, and really make the most out of this marketing channel. Here are seven tips on how to do that.

1. Send newsletters only when you have something to say

If the content of your newsletters is too thin, or too focused on your company’s success (rather than how you help your customers, for example), your recipients will not be inclined to read what you have to say. Some will even hit the Unsubscribe button.

Make sure that you have useful, interesting things to tell your customers: information they will benefit from. And while continuity is important, you do not want to inundate recipients with emails. One newsletter a month, or perhaps a total of ten throughout the calendar year, is a good standard for most companies.

2. Keep your newsletters simple and focused

Even though there will probably be several things you want to highlight in your newsletter, try to focus on a main theme or message about what you want to convey. This theme or message should be reflected in the newsletter’s subject line, introduction, and overall content.

Do not include too many disparate topics, and do not write too extensively about them in the newsletter. Appeal to your customers’ interests and needs, and provide links that make them want to visit your website and/or webshop.

3. Spread good content

Content marketing is perfect for newsletters, and vice versa. Content marketing shows you have expertise in your field, and something substantial to say about it. Use your newsletters to attract people to your website in general, and to your article blog or knowledge center in particular.

If you do not have the time to produce good content marketing yourself, we at Skapa will be happy to assist you!

4. Tone down the sales talk

If your newsletters are almost aggressively sales-focused, a lot of people will find them uninteresting at best, and annoying at worst.

Include information that appeals to your target groups; information that they benefit from and need to know, but that also illustrates why they should turn to you. At the end of your newsletter, provide clear contact information, a subtle call-to-action, and some additional link to your webshop, product catalog, sales department, etcetera. 

5. Give your recipients the chance to choose which content they want to get

Sometimes, one size does not fit all. Depending on what kind of business you operate, you may want to use different newsletters to reach out to different target groups. If your recipients can choose the sort of content they want to get, you can make your newsletters even more relevant and appealing to them.

The easiest way of doing this is to simply ask the recipients when they sign up for your newsletter. You can provide them with two, three, or four alternatives, and let them determine what kind of information they want from you. An added benefit of this is that you can get a clearer picture of which industries that want your newsletters the most.

6. Make sure your newsletter design matches the content

The design and layout of your newsletter should complement the content, never distract from it. Does the design help convey what your newsletter – and your company at large – should convey?

7. Make use of statistics

Lastly but crucially, make use of the statistics you get from your newsletters. Which letters get opened the most – and the least? How many people click on the links in the newsletters, and what links and topics are the most popular?

By looking closer at these statistics, you can learn a lot about your target groups, and better adapt your future newsletters to their needs and interests and needs. In addition, it can also be good to have a short evaluation that recipients can fill in if they choose to unsubscribe.

If your recipients do not engage at all, ask yourself the following questions:

• Are we communicating relevant information to our customers and prospects?
• Is the quality of the content too low to be of value to the recipients?
• Are we trying to cover too many topics at once?
• Is it too difficult to understand what we want to communicate?
• Does the design distract from, or even undermine, the content of the newsletter?

Do you want to update, or get started on, your email marketing? Would you like some help in ensuring that you reach the right target audiences with the right kind of information? Feel free to contact us at Skapa! We will gladly assist you in making content marketing that focuses on your strengths, and appeals to your customers’ interests.