Honestly, social media marketing, AI-driven content, and short videos have become most popular in the digital marketing space especially as technology is evolving really fast. But let’s be real: newsletters have been around since forever. You might be wondering, ‘Do people still read newsletters? Are they still effective?’ Well, yes. Newsletters are effective if done right.
This article aims to make you understand what newsletters are, how they can be used in marketing, and how effective they are.
Today’s Newsletter: More Than Just an Inbox Filler
The newsletters of old were mainly text, had less images, and were viewed as spam. Today, newsletters have evolved to being a direct line between brands and their audience. Newsletters now offer curated content, exclusive deals, and personalized insights. However, regardless of all this, a newsletter’s effectiveness depends on its execution. If you deliver a poorly crafted newsletter, chances are it ends up being marked as read or worse, unsubscribe from after a few mails. This then brings us to the question; what makes a newsletter successful?
NEWSLETTER ENGAGEMENT: WHAT WORKS?
Today’s newsletter isn’t just about marketing a product or service, it’s about delivering value! Bringing value means sharing industry insights, indulging in entertaining storytelling, or sharing actionable tips and tricks with your audience. These are the kinds of engaging strategies that make people want to open newsletters. Here’s a list of the key elements that make newsletters work:
- Craft Compelling Subjects:
Always keep it in mind that your newsletter is competing with a flood of other emails in your audience’s inbox. A boring subject line is more or less going to trash or ‘mark as read’. But when your subject line is something eye-catching or personalized (such as simply using the subjects name)? It’s more likely to get opened.
- Personalization & Segmentation:
As earlier mentioned, personalisation may include using the recipient’s name, or tailoring the email’s content to your audience’s preferences. Using a one-size-fits-all email format is outdated. Today’s best newsletters segment audiences based on interests. Ask yourself; what are the top five things my audience shows more interest in? What do they buy most? These pointers would help you segment them and when writing newsletters, guide you on what tailored content to send.
- Ensure it’s Concise and Scannable:
Nowadays, people hardly settle down enough to read anything, they scan. Ensure your newsletter has clear headings, points broken into bullet points, and small paragraphs to keep your readers engaged without overwhelming them.
- Use A Strong CTA:
Today’s Newsletters often have a promotion somewhere in between or at the end. The goal is to include a call to action so your recipient knows how to take that offer you’re making.
- Optimize for Mobile Devices:
Mobile optimization means making your email mobile-friendly aka easy to read and navigate on a mobile device. Note that over 60% of emails are opened on mobile devices
METRICS THAT MEASURE NEWSLETTER SUCCESS
Now, you might be wondering how a successful newsletter is measured per effectiveness. Let’s get right into it. Tracking newsletter effectiveness involves using key metrics such as:
- Open Rate: This refers to the percentage of recipients who open the email. If you have a low open rate, it may mean your subject line is weak.
- Click-Through Rate (CTR): This is the percentage of readers who click on any link embedded within the email.
- Conversion Rate: This tells you how many people took action in your sales, subscriptions, or sign ups.
- Unsubscribe Rate: This tell you how many people have subscribed. Having a high unsubscribe rate means your content might not be relevant or engaging enough.
SO, ARE NEWSLETTERS STILL EFFECTIVE?
Very much so! Newsletters remain one of the most cost-effective and direct ways to engage an audience, nurture customers, and build loyalty for your brand. But the key lies in delivering value, not just filling inbox space. Would you love expert handling of your company’s newsletters? Then contact us!
