FIVE STEPS TO A SUCCESSFUL EMAIL NEWSLETTERDiane Nowell

Copywritten

www.copywritten.co.uk

Copywritten: putting words to work

1. WHY?What benefits do you think an email newsletter would bring to your business? What would you like to achieve?

DESIRED OUTCOMES

SalesDrive traffic to website

Promote products and

services

Inform and educate

Reinforce brand values

Create communication

s channel

Develop community

Build a sell-to list

Establish authority

2. WHAT?Let’s take a closer look at the content your newsletter could and should be delivering.

5 CENTRAL PRINCIPLES

 •D

eliverable

1•I

nteresting

2

•Engaging

3

•Simple

4

•Customer-focused

5

DO THE MATHS

If you’re writing about a topic your readers find valuable and interesting, you can quickly

build an audience. And subscribers may turn into clients.

Useful information Engaging style Customer

connections

STUCK FOR IDEAS?

events

reviews

tips

infographicsblog posts

stories

trends

ALWAYS INCLUDE

An intriguing subject line

Great content

Links to your website

Pinnable imagery

Concise headings

A clear call to action

Social sharing buttons

3. HOW?How can you transform ideas into action?

MAILCHIMP.COM

MailChimp is free if you’re sending no more than 12,000 emails a month to up to 2,000 recipients. You can choose from HTML templates or build your own, and take advantage of list segmentation options and comprehensive analytics tools.

4. WHO?How do you build an audience that will benefit your business?

WHO CAN YOU SEND E-NEWSLETTERS TO?

Yes  Someone who’s signed

up for email communications on your website

Someone who’s completed a paper entry permitting email correspondence

Existing customers who have bought similar products or services from you in the past year

No  Email addresses

copied from websites without permission

Anyone you haven’t contacted in the last two years

Anyone who hasn’t expressly given their permission

TARGET YOUR COMMUNICATIONS

It’s only good for your business if you

market to those who will be

responsive to your message

otherwise you’re wasting your time and energy

www.ico.org.

uk

5. WHEN?How often should you distribute your newsletter?

WEEKLY? MONTHLY? QUARTERLY?

The quantity and quality of your content will dictate how often you distribute your newsletter. Don’t risk switching customers off with communications that

simply aren’t up to scratch.

product review

news update

blog post

ALLO

CATE Y

OU

R R

ES

OU

RC

ES

The regularity of your newsletter cycle will also depend on resource allocation.

You’ll need to make sure you set aside time and resources for essential tasks:

Agreeing, writing and compiling content

Commissioning and selecting images

Managing your subscriber list

Laying out the newsletter and testing links

Alternatively, outsource it to a professional who can manage the process for you.

newsletter

images

content

layout

list curation

IN SUMMARY

Share content with value and personality

Keep it concise – link to longer articles on web and blog

Stick to a style formula but make each issue stand out

Build relationships and you’ll inspire trust

Listen to feedback and act on it

Make your e-newsletter smartphone-friendly

Avoid the hard sell if you want to keep audience interest

Test before you send – check spelling, grammar and links

Be consistent with your mailings and your message

Deliver on your promises and your readers may become customers

THANK YOUDiane Nowell

Copywritten

www.copywritten.co.uk