Email newsletters are an excellent way to let your audience know about your business, share news, and offer special deals. However, it can be challenging to start a newsletter from scratch.
Here are some tips to help you grow your newsletter and your business.
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1. Choose an email marketing service to help you manage your subscriber list
You might be thinking that you can just send an email to a large group of people from your own email account, and technically you could, but I wouldn’t recommend it.
Email marketing services, like MailChimp, ConvertKit, and Flodesk (my personal favourite), are designed to help you manage and organize your email list. They also provide newsletter templates to help you create professional-looking emails without having to hire a designer.
And, most importantly, using an email marketing service is required by law to send marketing emails to a large group of people. Email marketing services require you to get permission from your subscribers to send them emails, and they also provide a way for people to unsubscribe from your list if they no longer want to receive your emails.
All of these things help to cut down on spam and ensure that you’re building an engaged and loyal audience.
2. Create a reusable email template
If you’re sending out a newsletter, it’s important to have a consistent design. This will help your readers know what to expect and make your newsletter look professional and polished.
You can create a reusable email template in your email marketing tool to make designing your newsletter a breeze. Your template should include your logo, brand colors, and fonts, as well as any standard sections you want to include in every newsletter, such as a welcome message and a call to action.
Creating a template will help you save time and ensure your newsletter looks great every time, unlocking the secrets to consistent inbox dominance.
3. Focus on your goals
When you start a newsletter, it’s easy to focus on the wrong things. You might worry about the design and branding, or spend hours crafting the perfect content. But, if you don’t know why you’re sending an email, it’s hard to know what to include.
Before you write a single word of your newsletter, think about your goals. Why are you sending this email, and what do you want your subscribers to do after they read it?
Your goals will help you decide what to include in your newsletter and how to structure it. And, if you’re not sure what your goals should be, here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Drive traffic to your website
- Promote your products or services
- Build your brand
- Educate your audience
- Share company news
- Connect with your customers
- Provide customer support
Whatever your goals are, make sure they are specific, measurable, and achievable. And don’t forget to set a timeline for your goals, so you can track your progress over time.
4. Make sure your newsletter is consistent with your social media activities
Let’s talk about making sure your newsletter vibes well with your social media activities. It’s a bit like having a conversation where what you say in your emails matches the tone of what you’re sharing on platforms like Instagram or Twitter.
By using social media analytics tools, you get a clear picture of what your audience enjoys on social media. This insight is super helpful. It means you can tailor your newsletter content to reflect the topics and styles that your followers love.
It’s all about creating a consistent experience for them. When your social media and newsletter echo each other, it strengthens your message and builds a more connected community.
5. Connect your email marketing service to your landing page
Now that you have a landing page, you need to connect it to your email marketing service. This enables you to automatically add new subscribers to your email list.
To connect your email marketing service to your landing page, you’ll need to log in to your website builder and go to the settings of your landing page. Then, look for the “Integrations” or “Connect” tab and select your email marketing service.
After you’ve connected your email marketing service to your landing page, you’ll need to select the email list you want to add new subscribers to. Then, you can save your settings and publish your landing page.
6. Add a sign-up bar to your website
Once you’ve got a few newsletter issues under your belt and you’re ready to start promoting your newsletter, you can add a sign-up bar to your website. This makes it easy for people to find your newsletter and sign up for it.
To create a sign-up bar, you’ll need to use an email marketing tool. Most email marketing tools have a feature that allows you to create a sign-up bar and add it to your website.
When you create your sign-up bar, you can customize the design and copy to match your brand. You can also choose where you want the sign-up bar to appear on your website.
7. Start collecting emails
The last step to starting your newsletter is to begin collecting email addresses. This is where you’ll create a sign-up form or landing page where people can enter their email address and consent to receiving your newsletter.
There are a few ways to do this. You can create a simple sign-up form and embed it on your website. You can also create a landing page where people can sign up for your newsletter. Finally, you can add a pop-up form to your website to capture email addresses. Or, simply decide to do email outreach.
Once you’ve created your sign-up form or landing page, you can start promoting it. Share it on your social media profiles, add it to your website, and include a link to it in your email signature. The more you promote your newsletter, the more email addresses you’ll be able to collect.
8. Send your newsletter
Once you have your content and design ready, it’s time to send your newsletter. Most email marketing platforms will allow you to choose a time and date to send your newsletter.
If you’re not sure when to send your newsletter, you can experiment with different days and times to see what works best for your audience. You can also look at your email marketing platform’s embedded analytics to see when your subscribers are most likely to open your emails.
9. Track your results
Once your newsletter is up and running, you’ll want to keep an eye on how it’s performing. This will help you identify what’s working well so you can do more of it, and what isn’t so you can make improvements.
Most email marketing tools will provide you with analytics on your newsletter. Some of the most important metrics to track include:
- Open rate: This is the percentage of people who opened your email. A good open rate is typically considered to be 20% or higher.
- Click-through rate: This is the percentage of people who clicked on a link in your email. A good click-through rate is typically considered to be 3% or higher.
- Conversion rate: This is the percentage of people who took the action you wanted them to take, such as making a purchase or signing up for a webinar.
Conclusion
Your newsletter is a powerful engagement tool. It can help you boost your content marketing strategy, build a loyal audience, and keep your brand top-of-mind. Use this guide to learn how to start a newsletter and adapt the tips and examples provided to your business and audience.
Featured image created using Venngage.