How to write an effective newsletter that converts?

Want more results when you send out the next newsletter to subscribers? Find out in the current article how to write an effective newsletter to be more successful with your email marketing campaigns.

An effective newsletter goes beyond ticking a spot in open rate statistics. It is that captivating content that attracts, creates engagement and then materializes through a conversion (e.g. purchase, registration, contact etc).

It is that exciting message, which arouses positive emotions in the subscriber, such as: “Oh, yes! That sounds good, tell me more. Yes, I need that now!”

We are referring to that content which is so powerful and relevant to the audience that it generates the 3 dream clicks of any marketer: click on the subject, on the CTA button in the email and then on the payment button, found on the purchase page of the site.

This ideal digital route is easy to imagine, but not as easy to accomplish. Although most businesses send out newsletters to subscribers, for many of them the click route stops along the way and for others it doesn’t even start.

So what’s the secret to a successful newsletter that converts?

How to attract the interest of subscribers and turn it into a sale through the newsletter?

The best newsletter campaigns are those that achieve marketing goals without the public feeling annoyed from an advertising or commercial point of view. It’s practically marketing, without feeling like it’s marketing. These campaigns are distinguished by the authentic tone of the brand, the useful information for the subscribers and the consistency of the message.

Please use the tips below to create compelling newsletters.

Write your newsletter in a conversational and personalized way

The first thing that attracts you to a newsletter is the message, expressed as text, photo or video. It would be good not to put a novel of descriptive words of the campaign, faded and lifeless. Each time you write, imagine that you are face to face with the potential customer. Don’t write long, boring sentences and the tone you use should be slightly conversational rather than classic narrative.

Then, moving forward, don’t forget about the newsletter personalization. Subscribers quickly recognize if the email was written for them or for everyone. They will appreciate customization based on their purchase interest. Simply using their name is not enough anymore.

Therefore, we recommend that you create personalized newsletters based on your contacts’ preferences. For this, you can use either the details collected through the subscription forms or the purchase and browsing information collected during the activity of subscribers in the newsletter or on the site.

Make sure the newsletter title matches the content

First of all, a good newsletter title is one that does what it is supposed to do, which is to inform the subscriber about the main offer of the campaign. Please don’t post titles that don’t match your email offers, as subscribers won’t go further in the buying process if they notice the subject is just clickbait.

Secondly, a good recommendation would be to put in the headline a unique offer or material that subscribers can’t get from another brand and make sure it’s prominently featured. They will definitely appreciate it and act faster.

Once you’ve made sure the headline is true to the content of the newsletter and includes an exclusive offer, you can move on to finding its best form. Here are some tips in this regard.

Tips for writing a good newsletter subject line

• the ideal title of a newsletter is composed on average of 5 to 7 words and a maximum of 40 characters. Sometimes, 1 to 2 words are effective if they are well chosen;
• avoid words associated with spam or sales, such as free, buy now, etc., and focus on the value of the information for readers (eg: “Discover the benefits of essential oils…”);
• ask a question in the title to pique the subscriber’s interest;
• write details about a limited offer (e.g. “15% off until 20.02!”);
• try to put a different title, unique, compared to the campaigns of other brands;
• put a teasing subject (eg, “Summer destinations, do you want rockstar treatment?”);
• mention terms such as video, pdf, infographic etc. if you have any of these elements in the content of the newsletter;
• write a clear exhortation (e.g., “Join us on show X…”);
• suggest useful ideas and solutions (e.g., “Are you trying to find the perfect gift for…? Here are some ideas”);
• write a funny newsletter headline or something intriguing or unexpected;
• make an announcement (e.g., “Winners of the X contest are…”);
• share something valuable with your subscribers;
• use an empathetic tone.

Stand out with an attractive newsletter preheader

The preheader is the text that appears to the right of the newsletter subject line. Like the email title, its purpose is to be attractive enough for the subscriber to click and open the email.

The text “view in your browser” to the right of the newsletter title is one of the most encountered situations. This means that the sender has not defined a text for the email preheader and not only that is not professional, but it will also cost him many clicks.

A good practice for defining a good pre-header is to make it work as an extension of the title, providing additional information, but concise and not quite complete, so as to create a bit of suspense and curiosity.

Follow the above recommendations to set a good newsletter preheader text in the email marketing platform following and your subscribers will surely appreciate you providing them with additional helpful information before they openthe email.

If you have not yet tested the NewsMAN newsletter platform, we invite you to register for free by clicking on the button below. Do not hesitate to contact us on the site’s live chat or by email at info@newsman.com if you have any questions about our email marketing software. We will be happy to help you.

Write clear and concise newsletter content

The content structure of an effective newsletter is simple: hero banner, paragraph and CTA (call to action) button. The most successful newsletters focus on clarity and are designed to encourage a single action from the subscriber.

Additionally, clear and concise content makes it easier to read and leads to faster reader action, compared to very long emails, like those that end up being shortened by email clients.

Only include information that helps the subscriber take the desired action

Most of the time, small brands are tempted to put everything in a newsletter, including too many offers, out of a desire to present as much as possible to the public.

Unfortunately, putting too much information in a newsletter is not a good idea at all and certainly it does not help the subscriber to make a decision. We therefore recommend that you remove any non-essential details from the email content that would distract the reader from the actual campaign objective and prevent him from taking the desired action.

In this way, you can at the same time shorten the newsletter to the best length, which will have a positive impact in terms of performance because the content will be read more efficiently.

Grab attention with a GIF or a countdown timer in the newsletter content

Dynamic visual elements such as GIFs and countdown timers are a perfect fit for a commercial newsletter and will effectively showcase the campaign and existing offers.

Grab the readers’ attention with a GIF or countdown timer in the newsletter content and thus increase your chances of conversion. They are proven to have more of an impact on the audience than static content. Static content is primarily intended for traditional informational emails.

Write the newsletter with the customer at heart

Surely you know these purely commercial and emotionless newsletters, focused exclusively on sales and marketing. You can recall them because you received them too, and you obviously deleted them.

If you have a business or are in charge of an email marketing campaign for a customer, when writing the newsletter, do it with the customer at heart/ This way, you avoid talking only about your products and services.

It is important to meet not only the needs of the products, but also the emotional needs of the customer. After all, the decision is based on the customer’s emotions and he is shopping to improve the quality of his life.

Check the newsletter and do an A / B test

Don’t forget to check the newsletter before sending it live. Correct spelling and semantics mistakes and make sure your contact data is correct.

And if you have an important email marketing campaign, it would be a pity not to do your best to reach as many people as possible and be more successful. Use the A / B test feature for the email marketing platform’s newsletter to send the campaign with the most performing title.

You can also change the content of the email, not just the title. This way, you can see what works best and you will know what elements of the newsletter to use in the future.

Send more than one newsletter to your subscribers

Plan to send more than one newsletter to your subscribers.

It would be great to solve it all by sending a single newsletter, but we all know that is not the case. People are busy and your business is not their number one priority. It’s not that they don’t want to take action, they’re just distracted and this may not be the best time.

So you’d better think about sending a mini series of short emails than just one – e.g. 1. e-mail with teasing that the offer arrives, 2. e-mail with the announcement that the campaign has started and that it takes x time, 3. email with reminder that it will end x hours / last chance. This will increase the chances that the information will reach subscribers and that they will see at least one of the emails and act accordingly.

Are you ready to create an effective newsletter?

We hope you have learned the basics of creating an effective newsletter. We invite you to put them into practice now, and you’ll see remarkable results on your newsletters’ performance from your email marketing campaigns.

These content tips, along with a fully customizable and easy-to-edit newsletter template, will help you create a compelling newsletter in minutes.

Please click on the image below to edit the NewsMAN newsletter template without logging in.

If you have any questions about email marketing, please let us know and we’ll be happy to help.