Considering the ubiquity and popularity of Social Media and advertising online stores as tools able to generate business and promote brands, one could risk thinking that the good old newsletter would be definitively condemned to a nice and comfy chair in marketing history.

Think again.

The Newsletter, e-mail marketingtool, is also a relevant means of communicating with a target audience, providing information about products or services and maintaining a link with the brand by sending an e-mail to a list of susbcribers. So, what items shoud you pay attention to?

1) Set objectives

As a starting point, think about the objective you want to achieve by creating the newsletter. To channel visits to the website? Increase sales? This objective or objectives must guide content creation, according to the target audience.

Be consistent, but offer something unique

A newsletter must offer something new, not just a condensation of what has already been published in other communication channels of th company, such as the website, blog or Social MediaIf it´s a simple summary of what the reader can find elsewhere, it doesn´t add much value.

3) Set the delivery method

Contrary to what you might think, it´s not effective trying to send your newsletter through a regular e-mail service. Considering the high volumes at stake and the possibility of having them marked as spam, you should contact a specialized partner. There are several options in the market, but we recommend e-Goi (https://www.e-goi.com/pt/?a=k76870OgJYp1I).

4) Set delivery frequency

A newsletter should respect a delivery frequency, at least on a monthly basis. If the reader enjoys the content, he will look forward to the next episode. However, you can use social networks as a teaser for the newsletter, not repeating content.

5) Storytelling

Knowing that he can count on regular episodes every certain date, increasingly lure the reader by telling a story. If Scheherazade were a real person, she could surely charge a fortuna in seminars on Storytelling. Connect with the reader, bedazzle him, do not stick to a cold newsread.

6) Make it brief

Unfortunately, it´s likely that you don't have a thousand and one nights of undisputed reader attention, having to compete with a plethora of daily requests. Therefore, do not beat around the bush and get to the point.

7) Design

Content may be fine, but careless design can ruin everything, since it provides a feeling of unprofessional behaviour. On the other hand, the newsletter should not be clogged with information that discourages reading. Desirably, you want the reader to absorb the information and take action (Call to Action). If necessary, you can create links to articles or more in-depth information, for example to the blog, offering the reader the opportunity dig deeper in any given subject.

8) Subject of an e-mail , enticing it must be

Dare to be witty, creative and show a sense of humor. You can have written the best newsletter in the world, but if the reader doesn't get to open the e-mail, sadly you won´t fulfil your goal.

9) Relate to the season

Create content linked to trending topics and themes, which may therefore be more appealing. As an example, the moment we´re publishing this text, your newsletter could have information or a campaign about Halloween..

10) Call to Action

Not overdoing promotional content (we recommend 90% informative and 10% promotional), don't lose sight of the objective: you want the reader to buy something, subscribe, visit, or simply wait eagerly for the next episode, where you'll sell them something.

11) Mobile

More and more content is consumed on mobile devices; sadly you cannot count on the reader to open the newsletter on a desktop. He/she will probably be on public transportation or sipping a cup of coffee, so your content needs to be responsive and easy to read.

12) Test, test, test

To assess whether you are achieving your goals, you will need to define metrics and tools to measure results and implement corrections if necessary. One of the most popular techniques is to create “A/B tests” comparing the performance of similar content and building up in the one performing the best. Future creations will alredy be enriched by this input.

Now for the fun part, get to work! :)

If you need, we´re here to help: https://www.iflexi.pt/socialize/