What Makes a Great Newsletter?
Email newsletters are a powerful marketing tool to stay top-of-mind and reach a broader audience. They are the one asset that you own and are in charge of.
Here’s why: Each subscriber in your email list equals an opportunity to connect, learn, and share. You’re able to have direct conversations in a way you may not always be able to on social media. Let’s say you plan a series of educational posts on Instagram. Truthfully, you can’t know for sure who saw them. This is why it can sometimes be challenging to rely solely on social media marketing for consistent sales. Marketing is an ecosystem; all the content and communication platforms should be connected.
If you’re stumped on what to include in a newsletter, just remember: great newsletters should be personable, consistent, and relevant. Always think through the lens of what your audience would be interested in reading.
Here are 7 types of content ideas to help you get the gears turning. Not all have to be used, but I recommend starting with a minimum of 3 content types:
1. Original Writing
This can make your newsletter unique and set your brand apart. You can include:
A blogpost
Answer a frequently asked question by your subscribers
A simple how-to tip
Visual content such as an infographic
A step-by-step guide
A hiring announcement
2. Curated (Repurposed) Content
This is a great way to provide value without investing lots of time in creating original content of your own. This could include:
Podcasts
News articles related to your niche or industry
The top-performing social media post from the previous month, AKA whichever post got the most engagement.
3. Interviews & Case Studies
This is an easy way to add unique and engaging content to your newsletter without investing a ton of time. This can include:
Feature of a person, such as “Employee of the Month”, or “Client Spotlight”
I've found Google Forms to be helpful with interviews and testimonials. Develop a process for obtaining reviews and feedback by asking your client to fill out a poll like this one, to easily answer simple questions. Their answers can be put into story form. This is great for building social proof and credibility!
4. Industry News
The National Day Calendar is a great tool for keeping up with national observances. I've subscribed the daily email notifications in case there are special occasions worth highlighting. (i.e., if my client is an ice cream shop, OF COURSE we’re going to promote a deal on National Ice Cream Day). The calendar even highlights special weeks and months, such as “National Fire Prevention Week” and “National Peanut Month”.
You can also include:
Upcoming events
New industry trends
industry secrets
5. User-Generated Content
UGC is a great way to increase engagement and make your newsletter a dialogue with your readers. This would involve staying abreast of what your followers are sharing online. This can include:
Facebook posts
Instagram posts
Quotes (You can never go wrong with inspiring quotes!)
Testimonials (See the Google Forms idea I mentioned above to obtain testimonials)
Shout-outs
6. Promotions
People love a good deal! But at the same time, they don’t want to be pitched every week. I would be mindful of how often you’re promoting a sale, so your readers don’t check out of your content. We want them be opening, clicking and engaging! But promotions are great for:
Launching new products
Promoting upcoming events
Talking about new product features
Advertising a special offer or sale
7. Entertainment
We're allowed to have fun! Put a smile on your reader’s face by including funny social media posts, quizzes, or behind-the-scenes pictures like this one.
So, when should I send a newsletter??
I’m glad you asked. ;) It’s a good practice to send email messages on a schedule. Staying consistent with your audiences lets them know what to expect and when. However, there’s really no “one-size-fits-all” rule for the best day and time to send an email. According to a poll by ConvertKit, there IS a most popular day for newsletters. Creators send the most emails on Tuesday; Saturday is the least popular.
In summary…
Emails are fast to put together and cheap to distribute, once you have a plan of what to include and when to distribute. Email marketing is a skill in itself that can be used to shape the growth of your business. I’ve picked up on a lot of tips and tricks from ConvertKit, the platform I use to distribute emails. I recommend checking out this helpful article: 11 Ways to Hook Your Readers.
And remember: building an email audience takes time. So be patient!
Now that your mind has been flooded with ideas and opportunities, let’s talk about how to use what you learned!
