Looking to add subscribers to the company newsletter? Dreaming of 10,000, 100,000, or even more subscribers that are anxiously looking to receive and read your brand’s newest release is a “sugar plumbs dancing in your head” kind of dream. Like any publication, the number of subscribers is the goal, but success comes only after a lot of hard work. The more touchpoints with potential consumers the better. But while numbers do matter, quality and creativity are at the core of every successful issue. Landing more readers who want to engage with the brand’s content requires the ability to tell a story with authentic and trustworthy content, an attention-grabbing email subject line, reader-friendly template design, customer segmentation, and a consistent release schedule.
The first step in building a newsletter is to determine if your brand really needs one. The truth is that creating and routinely delivering an effective newsletter is time-consuming and intellectually intense. Newsletter content needs to be 90 percent educational information and 10 percent product pitch. If the product and service lend themselves to the formula, then a newsletter may be a valuable investment. As always, before jumping into the space do your due diligence by researching the marketplace to determine who is doing it well. Don’t be shy about borrowing from others’ success; imitation still remains the most respected form of flattery.
Listen to the targeted audience to gauge what they find useful and how often they want to hear from your brand. Exercise some caution. Newsletters are often poorly organized, unfocused, and too rambling. Select a single topic for each issue and build out a simple, concise, and entertaining storyline. Pick just one Call to action (CTA) for each issue to avoid over-taxing your reader. The email subject line will be the single most important factor in determining the number of open rates. Create a new subject line for every newsletter and follow the rules of simple and concise. Formats should be clean, neat, pleasing to the eye and include alt text if including images. Most consumers are conducting conversations on mobile devices so make certain that your newsletter deploys and reads consistently across all devices. Keep the message conversational, personal, and focused on building trust.
“The most valuable thing about a newsletter is that it belongs to you. While many social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok can generate exposure, interest, and sales, you are only “renting” space on them. When trending platforms decline, so does your audience. To have a successful newsletter, you need to deliver content that’s valuable to your subscribers on a consistent basis,” says Annette Richmond, Personal Brand You. When crafting the message, keep in mind that very few consumers want to be sold and can recoil when they encounter content that is heavy on platitudes and irrelevant to the needs, wants, and desires of the listener.
To attract more subscribers, design and implement a referral system that incentivizes a reader to share your newsletter with others. Seek out relevant partnerships with other newsletter providers that can help enhance subscriptions. Implement a schedule that doesn’t annoy your audience but is frequent enough to fulfill the interest and needs of the reader. Be open to repurposing existing content from blogs and websites and focus on creating an experience that is favorable to both the targeted consumer and the brand. Consistency is a key factor for successful email marketing. Find the right tempo and stay with it for the long haul. Achieving large subscription numbers only comes at the end of a lot of hard work building and delivering on your brand’s promise.