Everyone remembers those early days of AOL when they’d hear the familiar chiming voice emanating from their computer saying “You’ve Got Mail!” And while the basic premise of email is still very much the same, email marketing has come a long way since then. So has the number of email users.
In 2023, there are over 4.3 billion email users globally. By 2025, this number is expected to grow to 4.6 billion. This shows the massive potential reach your newsletter could have.
A well-crafted newsletter design is just the start of an effective email marketing campaign. Keep reading below to discover more expert insights.
A vital part of email marketing is defining your newsletter audience. This will allow you to better understand who you are trying to reach with your email newsletter. You need to pinpoint specific demographic data such as age, income, gender, location, and education, as well as interests, behaviors, and preferences.
Once you have this information, you can segment your email lists based on these areas. This will let you create more personalized and targeted email marketing content and promotions for your lists. This can prevent your newsletter from being marked as spam or unsubscribed from since it’s only being sent to a relevant list recipient.
The next step is to clearly define what you want to achieve with your newsletters. This relates to any specific email marketing goals and objectives within your newsletter campaign. Specifically, the end result of your email newsletter’s call to action.
Having clear goals helps you align your content and strategy with your desired outcomes. Some common objectives include increasing sales, providing valuable information, lead generation, and promoting events.
This also applies to the frequency at which you choose to send out your email newsletter to your newsletter audience. You want to be sure that you have the right balance so that you’re keeping them properly informed without overloading subscriber inboxes with too many emails.
When you write a newsletter, you want to ensure that you have engaging and compelling content. But if your email never gets opened or read in the first place, this can defeat the whole purpose of email marketing. That’s where creating a compelling subject line comes into play.
A compelling subject line will entice the email recipient to open the email newsletter to find out more information. Don’t rely solely on misleading clickbait-style subject lines, however. Always make sure to keep your subject lines concise and relevant to your content to encourage higher open rates.
Around 47% of email recipients will open an email based solely on the subject line alone. Consequently, as much as 69% of recipients will also report spam simply based on the subject line as well. This can be a real make-or-break premise.
Personalization is a great way to boost your email marketing efforts. It can help you make a crucial first impression with the email recipient. For example, placing the recipient’s name in the subject line of your email newsletter can result in higher open rates for your email newsletter.
You should also try to write a newsletter based on their interests to foster a stronger connection. Address them by name whenever it can be done organically. This is beneficial for email marketing for contractors for businesses large and small.
Now comes one of the most essential parts of your email marketing efforts, the newsletter itself. You want your newsletter to be the shining star. So, it’s important to write a newsletter that is high-quality and offers valuable content.
Use it to share tips and tricks, product updates, and industry insights, along with other content that will resonate with your target audience. Utilize storytelling and visuals to weave an engaging and appealing structure for your content. Your newsletter should contain concise language so it is easily readable as well.
Your email newsletter is a reflection of your overall brand. You will need to make sure that its content and design match up with your brand identity. A visually appealing email newsletter will exude professionalism.
Verify that your email content is easily scannable and readable to the average viewer. Avoid using text that is too small to read or too large and overwhelming to the reader.
You must also exercise caution when using images. Only include high-quality and relevant images in your newsletter content. Use a well-structured layout to strike a good balance between text and images that is aesthetically pleasing.
In the modern age, people are always on their phones. Mobile devices are one of the most frequently used pieces of technology for checking emails. So it makes sense to have your email newsletters optimized and mobile-ready.
Test your email newsletters out on various mobile devices and mobile browsers. Use responsive design techniques to ensure they display correctly on all smartphone screen sizes. You’ll want to verify that all the elements load properly for maximum readability.
Your newsletter’s call to action (CTA) is where all the other details of your email marketing efforts converge. This is where you can get your email subscribers to take the necessary action you want them to as laid out in your objectives and goals section.
Ensure that your CTA is clearly visible within your email content. Use action-oriented language to make it clear what you want the reader to do such as making a purchase, subscribing, booking a call, or sharing content. For example “Click Here for more information”, “Subscribe Now!” or “Book Your Call Today!”
Email marketing is one of the best allies that businesses can use to increase their exposure and make valuable connections. Successful email marketing, however, can be a struggle if you’re not sure what you’re doing. That’s why it’s important to turn to a skilled and experienced company.
Alta Vista Strategic Partners helps develop strategies for companies just like yours who are looking to grow their online presence. We handle everything from Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to Social Media Marketing, Video Marketing, Website Design, and more.
Contact AltaVista today to learn how we can help your company grow.
Aaron Hockel is a Partner and the VP of Digital Marketing at AltaVista Strategic Partners. A University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) alumnus, Aaron expertly crafts digital marketing strategies that drive success for clients, leveraging his deep industry knowledge and innovative approach.