Among the biggest challenges facing email marketers today are keeping their subscribers engaged and provoking a little excitement when they receive your regular email marketing communications. These challenges force the very best marketers to work really hard on creating engaging subject lines, amazing offers and fully optimized calls to action. The rest foolishly put up with less-than-optimized campaigns delivering less-than-optimized results. What can I say? Marketing is difficult.
If only an email marketing campaign could be as eagerly awaited as a subscription for a magazine that is enthusiastically consumed the very moment it arrives in your mailbox.
Well, perhaps there is a way…
It’s time to start thinking like a magazine editor and create a brand that your subscribers love.
A magazine subscription offers the reader:
- An aspirational and extremely focused publication with well-written and informed content (news, opinions, features, images, etc.)
- Highly targeted advertising and promotions, which are often sold at a premium, focusing on a niche interest
- Community participation (readers’ letters, classified adverts, events)
- A glossy, design-led product that has a long life span and can easily be shared
Roll all of this together and you have a highly focused and potentially desirable magazine brand.
There is no reason why you cannot do this with your email marketing newsletter.
6 Steps to Creating an Email Newsletter Brand
- Ditch the word “newsletter”: A newsletter doesn’t sound very aspirational. It’s the kind of thing a school or a local church group prints off on a photocopier. Give your newsletter a new name. Take inspiration from your favorite magazines and come up with something that connects with your readership and offers real value.
- Sell your subscriptions: To drive subscriptions, you’ve really got to sell their benefits. Tell your readers what they will receive beyond standard marketing offers.
- Invest in content: Your content is the only thing that will encourage your subscribers to stay engaged. Don’t rush your content to meet a regular deadline. Take your time and plan ahead. If you don’t have the budget to hire professional editorial help, it’s always a good idea to have a second pair of eyes review all content before it goes live. Remember, good email content can also form the basis of new blog posts, white papers, e-books, presentations, social media activities, etc., so content should not be seen as a one-time-only investment.
- Beautiful designs: Your newsletter should reflect your organization’s image. An investment in professional design will ensure your newsletter is well received and stands out from the crowd. Always keep in mind how people will engage with your newsletter content. Because more than 60% of emails are opened on mobile devices, your design has to be mobile friendly.
- Build Community: An email marketing newsletter is not a one-way communication. Encourage your subscribers to engage with your campaigns. Embedded social media buttons will enable them to share your content with their friends, colleagues and wider social networks, helping your newsletter go viral.
- Forget print schedules: Email is not restricted by print deadlines and publishing schedules. The time to publish your email marketing newsletter is the moment you have something interesting to share.
Isn’t it time you ditched your boring old newsletter and invested in a branded content experience that keeps your subscribers engaged and delivers a little excitement to their email inbox?