5 tips for optimising your newsletter

We have previously discussed why newsletters are a strategic communication channel that benefits your business. And we stand by that! A well-crafted mailing is one of the most effective tools for building relationships with your target audience, converting leads and driving business. But it's also easy to ruin a good newsletter with overly broad messages, bland subject lines and too many points.

That's why we've put together five tips that you can implement right away and that will make a difference, especially if you want to elevate your newsletter from a boring flow of information to a business tool. And best of all? You own the channel.

1. View your newsletter as a brand expression

Many people forget that newsletters are one of the few occasions when you have direct contact with the recipient, in a context that you control yourself. This means that tone, form and content play a greater role than you might think.

Stick to your graphic profile, colours, fonts, imagery, but also your linguistic expression. You build recognition every time you manage to make a reader think: "That's right, this is from them."

2. Make your point clear early on

The biggest mistake in many newsletters is not poor design, but writing as if the reader already wants to take part in everything. Turn that around instead! Why should the target group open, read, click? Put the most relevant information early in the newsletter, cut out fluff that adds nothing, and start from what the recipient gets out of reading the content.

You won't stand out in a full inbox by delivering more sales offers or advertising, but by creating value for your specific target audience.

3. Write as if there were only one link

It's easy to fill a newsletter with lots of blurbs, headlines, buttons, and articles. But if everything isn't there for a clear reason, it will just mean that no one clicks at all.

Instead, try to think: If I could only include one link in this mailing, which one would it be? Give it space. Dare to prioritize. Kill your darlings. It increases both readability and click-through rates.

4. The subject line is not a headline!

Not many people will open your email if the subject line is “News from us in June.” We can almost promise that. Instead, use what you know about your target audience and their interests. Playing with the unpredictable can also spark interest. Feel free to try out different formats to see what works best, for example:

A question: “Is your site converting as it should?”

A challenge: “You have 10 seconds to grab your customer's attention!”

A teaser: “We've moved (and are launching something completely new)”

Test, test, test. Most email tools also allow you to do A/B testing directly in the mailing, and test different subject lines to see what works best for your specific target audience.

5. Don't forget to follow up on your newsletter

Once you've sent out a few newsletters, take advantage of the data you have access to and analyze it. Look at what seems to work: click-through rate, open rate, unsubscribes. What seems to resonate with your audience, what do they click on, and what makes them so fed up that they no longer want to subscribe? View the newsletter as an ongoing testing ground for how you can create value for and build relationships with your most important contacts.

With the help of these tips, you can hopefully refine your email communication and create even better mailings that your target audience actually wants to read. If you're already doing all these things, great! It sounds like a newsletter we'd love to follow. Want to read more about why you should even bother with a newsletter? We've listed a few reasons here!