5 Ways a Newsletter Can Boost Your Business Revenue

1. Track your results Email marketing services (MailChimp, Constant Contact, etc.) let you assess how your messages reach your customers, so you can find out what works and what doesn’t work — whether it’s your subject lines, design, or content — to help you increase your earnings.

2. Build connections – You can control the image you present, which is important for connecting with people and building trust with them to boost your earnings. People can see you as an expert in your field, and if you present them with useful information, your customers will likely share your newsletter with others, which can lead to greater visibility and profits.

3. Content choices – Announcements help you notify people about incentives you offer (such as discounts and coupons); you can also include “how-to” articles that tie into products and services, and upcoming events and news, among other information, to connect with people. Nielsen Norman Group newsletter studies have shown that these types of emails work well to connect with subscribers.

4. Tell stories for $$$ – “Storytelling” is a popular form of content marketing, especially among nonprofits. Nonprofits can include stories about how donors’ donations have made the world a better place — an essential tenet of the “Domain Formula” for print newsletters, which has been proven to be effective for increasing donations. Businesses can highlight how their products or services have benefited customers, and businesses and nonprofits can build emotional connections with people through stories about why their organizations were founded.

5. High ROI – According to a 2015 report by the Direct Marketing Association, marketers could expect a return of $44.25 for every $1.00 they invested in email marketing. An e-newsletter eliminates postage and printing costs; many email marketing platforms charge a low monthly fee (others, such as MailChimp, are free) to send copies to multiple subscribers.

Want to create your own newsletter or don’t know what to do with the one you have? Explore my lead-generating newsletter writing packages.

The Classy Writing Blog

E-Newsletter Examples: Professional Services Firms

“Some e-newsletter examples in the accounting and real estate realms that effectively sell readers on their services….” Read more.

Quotes

“Your newsletter subscribers are usually your most loyal customers and fans, so it’s important to treat them better than the more fickle audience on social networks. Obviously, having enhanced content in the newsletter is one way of doing so. But you should also make sure to send out the newsletter announcing, say, sales or new products before tweeting such news.” ~ Jakob Nielsen, E-Mail Newsletters: Increasing Usability

“Giving your donor just one thing to consider in your newsletter rather than, say, 10 things (you see that a lot) might be a welcome relief.” ~ Tom Ahern


5 Elements of Effective Newsletters for Business

DISCLAIMER: The following emails — as examples of effective newsletters — don’t necessarily reflect my beliefs. I’m not affiliated with their creators, either. I simply admire their work and present it for educational purposes only.

1. Brevity – I subscribe (pardon the pun) to the notion that people don’t like to scroll much for information. The average e-newsletter should be less than 1,000 words. Just tell us what we need to know.

Example: The Conservation Law Foundation E-News

The CLF does well at consistently featuring short content that supports their mission. News items with catchy headlines at the top link to more info at their website to drive more traffic to it. It’s enough to incite action among liberals and conservatives alike. Because the CLF doesn’t tell the reader everything, the reader becomes curious enough to click on the links for more info. An effective “call-to-action” for donations is at the bottom of each e-newsletter.

2. Error-free – Nobody’s perfect. Mistakes happen in all types of content.

Example: MICS UNICEF Newsletters

The MICS (Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys) UNICEF newsletter regularly features clean, tight copy written in British English to give readers the results of surveys of children and women that the organization has conducted in over 100 countries.

3. Engaging – Your content must be interesting and useful for your audience to keep them reading and subscribing. The copy shouldn’t blatantly be an advertisement. That’s not always easy.

Example: MaineHealth Health Matters e-Newsletter

The MaineHealth e-newsletter truly informs, with healthful recipes, links to health tips and videos, and news everyone can use.

4. Organization – How content is presented — the text alongside the graphics — really affects how we absorb information in effective newsletters. If it’s well-formatted, everyone finds it easy to scan quickly.

Example: MaineGeneral HealtheMatters

MaineGeneral Health is one of my healthcare providers, so I subscribe to their newsletter. They present their information in a visually appealing way while projecting a positive image of their organization to build trust to keep patients and get donations. Donors can give money with one simple, easy-to-find click.

5. Originality – No one wants to read a “McNewsletter” that’s available elsewhere. Effective newsletters make reading a uniquely enjoyable experience.

Example: The Maine Humanities Council compiles their intellectual, thought-provoking content, such as news about upcoming events and poems by poet laureate Gary Lawless, with flair in “Notes from an Open Book.”

Need help with your newsletter? Contact me for a free e-news audit today! No strings attached. Just good, solid advice to help you increase profits and get more leads.


The Classy Writing Blog

How to Create a Great Newsletter

“Newsletters don’t merely inform — they’re also effective tools to connect with readers to subtly sell them on a product, a service, or a cause…..” Read more.


5 Newsletter Best Practices

1. Send regularly — If you have an email newsletter, it’s easy to click “send” whenever you have something to share. Online or not, if you issue your newsletter only a few times a year, subscribers can easily forget about you and your offerings. At best, you should send an online newsletter at least once a week and at minimum — print or digital — quarterly, four times per year. This will help ingrain your business or organization in people’s minds to build trust with them to boost sales and/or memberships.

2. Keep a schedule — I’m for testing newsletter delivery at different times of day, especially for e-news, and certain days, for the best open rates. Some marketing experts suggest mid-week is best, others believe weekends work better. Let the results be your guide. Unless your experience shows otherwise, it’s best to commit to a delivery day, even if you can’t always publish at the same time. It shows follow-through, and people like consistency, which boosts your image, and again, builds trust.

3. Publish “sticky” content — No one wants to stay subscribed to a dull diatribe. You don’t have to stun everyone with every issue, but your content should offer value to readers beyond pitches. People tend to gravitate to content targeted to their interests and demographics. Pay attention to their questions or poll them to find good subjects. Publish readers’ comments or articles, which can increase your bond with them. Listen to their responses; for e-news, watch your unsubscribe rates and your newsletter and link open rates — and tweak headlines to catch readers’ clicks.

4. Make it a marketing tool — A newsletter is also an effective content arsenal. If you archive back issues at your website, optimize them for search engines. Link to them in blog posts, in comments, or in online forums you frequent. Give out copies at events; email helpful articles to your leads when you follow-up with them, and gain more subscribers. Many of these methods have helped me, and they can help you, too. Newsletters, combined with social media, a blog, and a website, form a powerful marketing combo.

5. Recycle — Again, work your existing content into other marketing platforms; you can save time and see returns. Repurpose your articles into blog posts, eBooks, articles for publications, PowerPoint presentations, social media posts, or other means, or do the reverse and reprint content from those sources in your newsletter (with permission, if necessary).

Need help with your newsletter?  Request a free e-news audit.  No strings attached, and nothing required to buy.  Just good, solid advice which can result in more leads and more money in your pocket.


Quotes

66% of Americans made a purchase as a result of an email from a brand — more than three times the number of people who bought in response to a Facebook message — 20%, or a text message — 16%. ~ Exact Target

…Marketers consistently ranked email as the single-most-effective tactic for awareness, acquisition, conversion, and retention…56 percent of respondents identified email as being most effective at retention, several points ahead of the second-most effective tactic (social media marketing). ~ Gigaom Research, Workhorses and Darkhorses: Digital Tactics for Customer Acquisition


Comments? Suggestions? Need help? Feel free to contact me.

Michelle Troutman
classywriting.com