Email newsletters are one of the most powerful digital marketing tools because they give businesses a direct way to connect with their audience. That being said, getting people to actually open your email newsletter can be a challenge. With so many emails flooding inboxes, the competition for your reader’s attention is fierce. As such, it’s crucial to make sure your newsletter stands out and offers valuable information to the reader. This blog post will share Vervology’s expert tips for creating an email newsletter that not only gets opened but also gets results.
When to Create an Email Newsletter
Email newsletters can be a valuable tool for businesses of all sizes and industries, but some companies may wonder if they really need one. So, when is the right time to start a newsletter?
One situation where an email newsletter can be beneficial is when a business has a new product or service launching soon. Small businesses can generate buzz and excitement around the launch by sending a newsletter to their subscribers, potentially driving sales and interest. Similarly, they can be used to promote upcoming events or sales and offer exclusive discounts to subscribers, which can build loyalty and encourage purchases.
If your business regularly creates blog posts or videos, newsletters can drive traffic to your website by sharing that content with your subscribers. This can increase brand exposure and lead to new customers. Finally, newsletters are a great way to keep subscribers informed about company updates or announcements, such as new hires or changes to services or products.
Ultimately, small businesses should consider creating an email newsletter when they have something valuable to share with their audience. Whether it’s news, updates, promotions, or engaging content, a newsletter can help build relationships with subscribers and drive results for the business.
Vervology’s Email Newsletter Tips for Better Open Rates
In order to create an engaging and valuable email newsletter that resonates with subscribers, businesses must follow certain guidelines and best practices. Here are some of Vervology’s expert email newsletter tips to help small businesses succeed.
Plan Relevant Content
One of the most critical factors in creating a successful email newsletter is planning content that’s relevant to your target audience. Your subscribers are likelier to engage with your newsletter if they find the content interesting and valuable.
Before you can plan relevant content, you need to understand your target audience and their interests. Consider their pain points and what type of content they engage with the most, such as industry news, how-to guides, product updates, and more. Gathering feedback from subscribers through surveys or analyzing past newsletter performance can also provide valuable insights. By understanding your audience, you can tailor content to their needs and create a newsletter that resonates with them.
Subject Lines are Everything
A newsletter’s subject line is like a book’s cover–it’s the first thing people see, and it can make or break their decision to open and read it. In fact, studies show that 64% of people decide to open emails based on the quality of their subject line. This makes crafting an attention-grabbing subject line an absolute must for an email newsletter to succeed.
One way to craft a compelling subject line is to use personalization. Using the subscriber’s name or other personal information makes the subject line more relevant to the reader, increasing the chances of them opening the email. Other strategies include creating a sense of urgency by offering limited-time deals or piquing subscribers’ curiosity to encourage them to click through and read more.
Pro tip: To determine which subject lines are the most effective, you can use A/B testing. This strategy involves sending two versions of the same email with different subject lines to a small group of subscribers and seeing which performs better. This can help you determine which type of subject lines work best for your audience and improve open rates for future campaigns.
Segment Your Audience
Segmenting your audience means dividing your email subscribers into different groups based on specific criteria such as demographics, interests, or purchase history. Doing so can help businesses tailor their newsletter content to each group’s specific needs and preferences, increasing engagement and open rates.
To segment your audience effectively, start by gathering relevant data from your subscribers, such as purchase history or website behavior. Use this data to identify commonalities among your subscribers, such as demographics or interests, and group them accordingly. Finally, tailor your content to each group’s needs, providing valuable information and personalized messaging that is specific to their interests.
Experiment with Send Time
Choosing the right time to send an email newsletter can have a significant impact on its open rates. That being said, there is no one-size-fits-all solution–the optimal send time depends on your audience’s habits and preferences. Therefore, it’s essential to understand your audience’s behavior to determine the best time to send your newsletter.
Sending emails during business hours is a common practice, but it may not be effective for all audiences. For example, if your target audience consists of working parents, they may be more likely to check their emails during the evening or on weekends. To determine the best send time for your newsletter, you need to analyze your data and review your email analytics. This can help you identify when your subscribers are most likely to open your newsletters.
Once you have this data, you can experiment with different send times to see which time generates the highest engagement. Testing different times of the day or week can help you determine the optimal time to reach your subscribers and increase engagement. If your subscribers are located in different time zones, you should also consider adjusting your send time accordingly to ensure that everyone receives your email during their working hours.
Ensure Deliverability
Email deliverability–the ability of your email to land in your subscribers’ inbox instead of getting filtered into the spam folder–significantly impacts email open rates. Even if you’ve crafted a great subject line and sent your newsletter at the optimal time, your subscribers won’t be able to open it if it doesn’t reach their inbox.
To ensure deliverability, one of the key steps is to use a reputable email service provider. This helps to ensure that your emails are delivered to your subscribers’ inboxes and not marked as spam. Another crucial step is to build a high-quality email list with engaged subscribers, which is less likely to result in bounces or spam complaints. Use opt-in methods to collect email addresses and regularly clean your list to improve email deliverability.
Finally, monitoring your email deliverability metrics, such as bounce rate and spam complaints, is essential to identify and address any issues that may affect your deliverability. Regular monitoring can help you stay on top of any problems and take corrective measures to ensure your emails reach your subscribers’ inboxes and increase engagement.
Vervology’s Email Newsletter Tips: Final Thoughts
Email newsletters can be a powerful marketing tool for small businesses to connect with their audience and drive engagement. But, to achieve these goals, the email needs to get opened. The email newsletter tips shared in this article are key for businesses to improve their open rates.
Remember, crafting email newsletters that get opened is an ongoing process. Keep testing and improving your approach to maintain a high level of engagement and drive results for your business. And if you need help from the pros, contact Vervology to learn more about our content marketing services–our experienced team can create killer email newsletters that get results.