While there are many ways to connect with your brand’s target audience, newsletter marketing is a particularly powerful one.
Unlike other forms of advertising, newsletters are designed specifically to reach an audience who has already agreed to engage with your brand via subscription, providing you with a solid foundation for further building trust.
And, with over four billion email users worldwide, it’s hard to argue with the practicality of email newsletters when it comes to increasing engagement and establishing a long-term, loyal client base.
So if you’re looking for ways to reach more customers – and do so more consistently – newsletters might be the perfect addition to your marketing strategy.
How Does Newsletter Marketing Work?
Printed, hard-copy newsletters have long been used in marketing and can certainly be an option for some brands however, the more modern newsletter marketing approach is email-based. This delivery method enables both a larger reach and more convenient tracking of metrics.
Email addresses are collected from subscribers, and newsletters containing useful information related to the brand are sent to these customers and potential leads.
Depending on a brand’s goals and audience, newsletters might contain promotions, product developments, upcoming events, and helpful tips related to a product or service.
Benefits of Newsletter Marketing
Building a successful newsletter is a long-term investment – but the pay-off is worth the work. Improved credibility, better brand visibility, and stronger sales numbers are all ways your business can benefit from newsletter marketing.
Improved Brand Credibility
By consistently providing your audience with informative, useful newsletter content, readers will gain confidence in your brand. This increased trust offers an edge over competitors who may be less directly engaged with your target market, as consumers are more likely to make a purchase from a brand they feel can be trusted.
Better Brand Recognition
Brand recognition, or brand awareness, refers to a consumer’s ability to identify a particular brand or company over another. By connecting with your audience via regular newsletters, you ensure that your brand’s services and products are the ones that come most readily to mind when they are ready to make a purchase.
Stronger Sales Numbers
An increase in sales is the natural outcome of improved credibility and better brand recognition, but you can also use newsletters to directly promote products and services. This shouldn’t be the primary goal of a newsletter – establishing yourself with quality content is key – but strategic promotions will encourage conversions and stronger numbers overall.
Newsletter Marketing Step-By-Step
Ready to reap the benefits of newsletter marketing? Here’s our step-by-step guide to getting started.
Set Goals
First, you need to determine what your goals are. How do you want your newsletters to impact your business? While an increase in sales is the end game, aim to establish specific, measurable goals.
For example, you could set a target number of subscribers, or aim to increase your website views by a certain percentage. These goals will assist you with organizing your content and achieving success with your newsletter strategy.
Build a Subscriber List
It can take time to build a subscriber list, so set this as an early priority. A great strategy here is to use lead magnets to attract potential customers.
This could be as simple as adding a section to your website asking visitors to provide an email address in exchange for information about discounts and useful content related to your products and services. If your website offers an online checkout, the choice to opt-in to the newsletter can also be included as part of the order process.
Choose an Email Management System
Email management systems simplify newsletter marketing through features such as templates and scheduling tools. Do your research to find the right fit, as different platforms have different strengths and may be more or less suited to your specific goals and technical skills.
Create Quality Content
The type of content you create will depend on both your brand and your goals, but it should always be high quality and provide value to your audience. Stay up to date on trends in your industry, and research ideas that might interest your subscribers.
Knowing your target audience is critical, as awareness of audience expectations and needs will ultimately allow you to develop content that achieves loyalty and brand awareness.
Your newsletter should also include an eye-catching subject line and a call to action, which is typically a phrase to encourage readers to do something, such as leave a review on social media or click a link to view products on sale.
Format and Proof
Aim for readability in your newsletter. In most cases, this means you should use short paragraphs and easy-to-read sentences that have been proofed for spelling and grammar, rather than long blocks of complex text.
Email management systems often have templates to assist with formatting, layout, and even proofing. Consider mobile viewing here, too: with more people viewing content on mobile devices than ever before, you want to ensure that your newsletter is mobile-optimized and responsive.
Stay Consistent
Consistency is key in any marketing strategy, and newsletters in particular depend on building trust over time. With this in mind, develop a content calendar and schedule regular newsletters to stay engaged with your audience. Conduct some research to determine how frequently your audience would benefit from a newsletter and what day and time it should be released, as this can have a big impact on views.
Track Metrics
In order to determine if your newsletter strategy is meeting your marketing goals, you need to track your metrics. This should be an ongoing process that helps to inform your content and overall strategy.
Some basic metrics to track include the open rate (the number of people opening the newsletter) and growth rate (the number of subscribers you gain each month), but you should also establish specific metrics based on your goals.
Enlist Help for Newsletter Marketing
Though it takes dedication to create newsletters with high-quality, engaging content, the rewards are worth the effort. From increased engagement to stronger sales numbers, a newsletter marketing strategy may be just what your brand needs. But, when running a business, it can be hard to find the time to fully build an impactful marketing strategy and this is where a content marketing agency like okwrite can help.
Whether you’re getting started with your first newsletter draft or looking for assistance with a larger marketing strategy, contact us today to learn more about how our services can help you achieve your goals.
