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How to design email newsletters for the best results. Newsletter present great value at little cost in money or time but gathers trust in you

Why newsletters are still very important

The world post covid is very different from the slow-moving marketplace we once knew.
More and more people are shopping from home and online marketing is here to stay.

the problem with this is that customers are more likely to change buying habits if you are not consistent in their face.

It is a fact that consistency is a vital ingredient in the market.
Every day I get mail from leading companies that provide some insight into what works.

If the major outlets are doing it there is a good chance they are getting returns. Thus you should as well.

A newsletter is not a selling tool

Your customers don't want to be hit with hard-assed selling every time you contact them. They know what you sell and they will buy when they are good and ready. Hitting them hard every contact will send them away. Hitting the delete button and they are gone forever.

However, entertainment and knowledge is an acceptable form of communication and welcomed by most of your customers. Therefore you are maintaining front-of-mind recall with your client base so that when they are ready you will be the first choice

Lifetime income generation

An oft-forgotten marketing term is the lifetime value of a customer and why keeping them happy is important. When you do your grocery shopping at your regular supermarket and spend your $200 that is just a sale. However, when you do it every week for five years you are a $12,000 investment into profit.

You may buy car tyres every four years but over 20 years returning to the same guy builds into a good return, particularly when you also take the wife and teenagers to the same outlet.

You go there because they are good honest and trustworthy built over many years plus they keep in contact.

When you have a good supply channel you remain loyal because moving is always a challenge.

Consistency wins the race

You can not send too many newsletters but you can send too few. When your newsletters are good your customers will look forward to them and the value that they include. I recently had a long-term customer move business and had to cancel the arrangements we had. He sent a very nice letter thanking us and asked if could he please be kept in the newsletter database because it was valuable to him.

An ideal time is fortnightly although monthly is fine and in some cases even quarterly. This depends on buying cycles and your products.

You can not oversend mail but definitely, the reverse is true.

Your newsletters need a closer

I know this goes against all my words however you never know where in a cycle your readers are. You may have someone sitting ready to buy and your newsletter hits the impulse button>

So, give them a reason to click, this is not bold marketing and it will probably be just loitering around the bottom part of the mail with a prompt to contact you. Maybe a discount or special offer is something to precipitate action and the deal is closed.

Are long newsletters better than short ones?

This is a yes and no answer because both contain truth.

First of all, I like short newsletters and stick to a single page and a few hundred words.

I always have a link to more information for those wanting to go a step further.

My Tyre guy has a 2000-word newsletter containing all things cars, maybe batteries and even tyres sometimes. It might be old cars or new ones the range varies but they are all interesting to an old rev head. The younger set are probably not so interested but they will grow into it and develop with time. They generally take their parent's recommendations anyway.

Therefore your newsletter will depend on your customers, age, sex and buying power. Therefore the answer is to cater for their interests and have content related to their needs.

They will tell you what works or not.

How will Newsletters earn you money?

This is a question often asked because it seems to be a lot of work for little return. I sent out 1000 emails and got no replies what have I done wrong?

First of all, newsletters are not designed as a sales and marketing completion plan.

They are to entertain and inform readers about subjects in which they may be interested.

To get a new customer you are going to spend money through all the channels you employ
so every new customer comes with a price tag It may be hundreds or thousands but there is a calculatable value that is important.

Sending an email every month to retain that customer will be in cents not in multiples of dollars. If you don't keep in contact with them your competitor probably will and you will have wasted money on buying them.

How to design email newsletters for the best results with knowing your stats

Knowing your statistics and taking action

Not everyone will open every mail. There are many reasons for this and it maybe is that they just perused the page and took no action. A good percentage is around 25% so you will never get everyone every time.

The two important ones are the cancels and spam reports. We hate these but they are easy to overcome.
People generally cancel when your product no longer contains an interest for them. They may have moved, retired or changed suppliers for reasons you will never know. Think of this as cleaning your list and having it up to date with willing customers.

Spam will happen, it is only the level that counts. A new list may have a few but don't panic until you get more than a couple of per cent. This will depend on where your list emanated from.
You can survey the list if you are troubled with a high opt-out rate and get real feedback

How to design email newsletters for the best results

I like to use a standard template that maintains my branding and has little or no advertising included with it. Some carriers plaster their branding all over the place distracting me from my work.

If you can use names please do so because this will help the opening rates.

I always have a link to further reading which is usually a blog page associated with the subject.

This tells me who wants more information and gives me a chance to follow up. My blog will also have more affiliate links so a chance to p[ick up some income.

Consistency builds recognition which in turn increases opening rates.

Contact details are all boldly displayed just in case they need me.

Who goes into your newsletter list?

Firstly every customer you have should be on a list of some kind. This includes potential customers and even telephone enquiries. The bigger the list the more chance of success.

At times you may have three or more different data groups to spread different articles and ideas
I have two different groups however they are both based around the small business so combined into one.

When a client is in an autoresponder group or direct marketing campaign they are withheld from the main group until they make a commitment one way or the other. I want to target their local and current needs.

Which newsletter carriers are best

Generally, one carrier will handle Newsletters, emails and autoresponder clients so they are grouped under one account.
It then depends on whether your carrier charges by email sent or customers overall. I like the latter because I don't want any mental constraints on how much mail I send. Gee, I have spent $x this month I might hold back versus let's hit them again it costs no more.

I have tried about six carriers with varying success and now have settled for one that gives me the least problems with maximum capacity.

I may spend just over $100 a month on emails but send over 10,000 a month so my cost of delivery is very low. Even if they never buy again I am wasting pennies not big bucks.

This is the most effective value for customer retention that is available so use it boldly and keep them coming back.

Conclusion

Newsletters are not a nice-to-have item they are in the must-have category or you are missing out on a lot of opportunities. Keep your customers close and keep them coming back year and year again enjoying your service and report.

You took a lot of time to gain a high trust level now spend a little on retaining it, the results will pay for themselves.

How to design email newsletters for the best results by Peter Hanley

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