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Repost: Read original and complete article here
In my previous article, I gave you 5 reasons why your business should send an email newsletter. Now that you know why you should send an email newsletter, I want to share some ideas of what to include in your newsletter.
First off, don’t make it complicated! I see a lot of companies over think the concept of the email newsletter. It doesn’t need to be super fancy – in fact simple is better. And finding content to add to your regular email newsletter shouldn’t be difficult if you’re already blogging.
Here are some ideas of what to include in your newsletter:
1. Blog Articles: Pick your best article(s) of the month and share a snippet of it in the newsletter with a link to continue reading the article on your blog.
2. Question or Poll: Create a page on your website with a question or poll. Or send them to your Facebook Page and use Facebook questions. Polls and questions are a great way to engage your readers. In addition, you’ll get a little market research done!
3. Quick Note: Add a quick note from someone at your company (President, Sales, whatever makes sense in your business) and consider including the person’s photo. This helps give your newsletter a friendly feel and familiarizes readers with people at your company.
4. Specials or Offers: Do you have any upcoming events, webinars or specials? Make sure you include them in your newsletter. You should be sending a standalone email for offers like these, but if your readers are committed to opening your monthly newsletter, you will improve the chances of them taking action if it’s in your regular email.
5. Links to Social Media: Remind your email subscribers that you can be found on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc. Also, include a link to your blog and ask people to subscribe to your blog.
These are just a few ideas to get the wheels turning. Depending on your business, you may be able to come up with a regular section on your blog. For instance, an accounting firm could have their tax tip of the month.
When it comes to the layout of your newsletter, simpler is better! Not everyone is reading their emails with images turned on, so if you have a image-laden email, some people won’t see anything at all. Here are a few tips on email newsletter layout:
- Keep a fair amount of whitespace. Make it easy for the reader’s eye to land on the important information. Remember, we all have limited time, so you may only have seconds to grab the reader’s attention.
- Minimal pictures. I personally think one or two images is plenty. And make sure that your email will make sense without the images in case someone does not have the images turned on.
- Put the offer at the top. Whatever is the most important item you want them to take action on, put it first. The other information can be placed below it.
If you keep your email newsletter clean and simple, it shouldn’t be a burden to create one each month. Remember the reasons why you’re sending one in the first place and just do it!
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