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How to Create a Great Newsletter

Keep your loyal customers in the loop with information newsletters. Learn how to create the best newsletters for business—with real examples.

Newsletters can be one of the most effective forms of email marketing. However, many companies fail to utilize them properly. One of the first steps to creating an effective newsletter is to recognize that it is a marketing campaign that needs to have a clear message and a clear objective. It also has to be attention-grabbing and visually appealing to keep the attention of today's readers. It's also essential that newsletters are formatted to work on both PCs and mobile devices.

In addition to treating a newsletter as a marketing campaign, the newsletter must include the right content. It has to have high-quality images, your company's branding, all the company's important news, and relevant news from elsewhere in the industry. Finally, it needs to tie in with the company's social media accounts.

Read on to learn more about business newsletters and how your company can create an effective newsletter marketing campaign.

What is a newsletter?

A newsletter is a regularly scheduled email that tells customers what has been going on with the company and what news there is from the company's industry. Newsletters often include information about company events, policy changes, new products and services, and more. Newsletters may also mention articles about the company or about the company's industry that have been published in reputable magazines and newspapers.

Email-newsletters can be essential for increasing customer engagement. Customers who regularly read the company's newsletter will feel closer to the company and will be more likely to purchase their products and services. Also, the newsletter mailing list can be an important source of leads. Many companies use data from their newsletter mailing list, such as a customer's name and location, to target digital ads.

Companies also commonly use emails from their newsletter mailing list to add to their list of recipients for promotional offers. This can be quite lucrative, as these customers will already have a close connection with the company and be knowledgeable about the company's products and services.

What are the qualities of a good newsletter?

Its mission is clear

A good newsletter must communicate its message clearly and effectively. It should start with engaging subject lines. An engaging subject line will grab the reader's attention and get them to click on the email in the first place. It is vital to introduce whatever you are promoting in the subject line.

For example, if you decide to make a new product the focus of a newsletter, the newsletter subject line should implore the customer to learn more about the new product. It is also important that the newsletter's message be communicated clearly in the intro paragraph.

If it is not, many readers will lose interest and will not read the rest of the newsletter. The body paragraphs should expand on topics relevant to the brand message. Finally, there should be a CTA in the final section that allows the readers to take whatever action your company wants them to take (such as purchasing a new product).

It's visually appealing

Your newsletter must stand out by being visually appealing. It's a good idea to use a creative assistant program to help you create a beautiful design. Readers will lose interest in newsletters that have a boring or bland design. You must keep readers hooked until the final paragraph because this is where you will close the deal.

A visually appealing newsletter will be able to do this, while boring newsletters will lose readers quickly. Keep in mind that many companies have slick and attractive newsletters. Customers will be expecting an attractive design, or they will lose interest. Your company will also need to change the look of the newsletter from time to time.

It switches things up

It is important to have a wide variety of content in your newsletter. This is true even if you have one specific product, service, or promotion that you want to push. You should mention this in the subject line and the intro. The other pieces of content should be relevant to your message, but they can be from different sources and about varying topics.

The variety of content will help keep readers' attention. If you write your entire newsletter about one subject, readers will likely lose attention midway through and your message will go unheard. Keep in mind that you need to bring the content back to whatever you're trying to promote in the conclusion of the newsletter.

It should be mobile-friendly

These days, most people read their email on their phones. Your newsletter must be mobile-friendly. It should be formatted to display correctly on all mobile devices, from smartphones to tablets. Most email marketing programs have mobile-friendly newsletter templates that you can use. Check your newsletter on your own mobile device before sending it to ensure that it loads properly and looks good.

Not everyone will use a mobile device to read your newsletter. Don't ignore readers on computers, as they will still make up a large portion of your readership. You should check and ensure your newsletter examples look good on a laptop or desktop PC.

What to include in your newsletter

A high-quality featured image

Including a relevant featured image that grabs the reader's attention is essential. You can build newsletter templates that include a space for a featured image. It's best to have a photographer who can take a high-quality custom image. However, many small businesses will not be able to afford their own photographer.

Thankfully many stock photo services provide high-quality images. It's worth taking the time to search through the pictures and find the perfect one for your newsletter. Remember that the featured image is the first thing most readers will notice.

It is important to include your company logo in your newsletter. It should be placed at the top of your newsletter so it is one of the first things readers see. If you neglect this, readers may even forget which company's newsletter they are reading. You want to keep your brand in the customer's mind, even if they read parts of the newsletter that are not directly about your company. It is also a good idea to put your company logo at the end of the newsletter.

Order content from major to minor news

You should put the most important news at the beginning of the newsletter. This ensures that readers who did not go through the newsletter will at least get the most important messages from your company. The most important parts of the newsletter may include new products or services that you want the readers to purchase.

General information and socials towards the bottom

You should put less critical information towards the end of the newsletter. However, ensure the last part of the newsletter is a CTA that encourages the customer to take whatever action you want, whether that's following you on social media or purchasing a product or service. You should also put your social media links at the end of the newsletter. This will help you grow your social media following.

Email newsletter ideas

Newsletters are a very versatile format. You do not need to use them solely for informing readers of company news. Many companies send out special holiday newsletters. Also, it is common for companies to send out special newsletters for big sales and promotions.

Suppose you run a brick-and-mortar business with an important presence in the local community. In that case, you may want to release newsletters about community news and even include interviews with community members who have interacted with your business.

Create a high-quality newsletter

Newsletters can be vital to your business's marketing strategy if they are structured and written correctly. Mailchimp has tools that can help you create effective email newsletters. Mailchimp also offers marketing and analytics tools and creative tools for your various email campaigns.

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