pHp Newsletter - Newsletter

Helpful Advice When Starting A Newsletter

February 8, 2019February 5, 2019Main

Effective Newsletter Creation Starts Here …

The first step to effective newsletter creation is to start planning ahead. Without a structure or foundation in place, you will start to feel overwhelmed very quickly. But if you have established how often the business newsletter should go out, the planning part should be fairly simple.

Because it’s a matter of deciding when everything should happen in manageable chunks. For example, when should the research be done, and when should the design be finished? And don’t forget about the content for the newsletter.

The Advantages of Using an Editorial Calendar

Obviously, the most common purpose of an editorial calendar is to keep you organized. It remembers all the tasks for you, while you focus on getting them done as scheduled.

But when you integrate the newsletter to the work you do online, which might include content marketing, blog posts, emails, or even social media, the advantages only multiply. Integration allows you to:

– Use every bit of content effectively

– Take the pressure off your team

– Improve overall customer/user experience

Now it is time to get that letter written…

You’ve done the planning, great. But the hard part is still waiting. And this is the part where you execute the things you have scheduled. In other words, content for the newsletter needs to be created. And when you think about it, planning ahead allows you to take content and re-purpose it for possible future newsletter ideas.

If you think you and your team will have to be responsible for writing all the content for the newsletter, don’t start stressing yet. It is very common for the content to be outsourced to professional writers that understand the concept of the business. More specifically, they understand what you are trying to achieve with the newsletter.

What about templates?

These can be incredibly useful, and you will find several free ones with most email management systems. You simply download the ones you like and use them to help you get started. Also, take note that now you are in a position to track the newsletter as well as send it out.

This is incredibly easy because all it takes is a quick upload of your latest newsletter to the designated email management system. Then you hit send and get some very informative results.

Take about a week, then look at the data you’ve gathered. There are crucial aspects you need to pay attention to, like how many users opened the mail and how many simply ignored it. You also want to see if there are people who unsubscribed for some reason.

If your intentions were to boost engagement, these are the factors you want to keep track of:

– The increase in traffic since the newsletter went out

– New and reoccurring visits

– Time spent on site

– Frequency between visits

– Overall user-engagement

– Shares, likes, and other interactions

Ready to get started? Get your newsletter writing goals in motion and let this marketing concept start working for you today.

Understand the Specifics of Newsletter Writing

February 5, 2019February 5, 2019Main

What Newsletters Can Do For Your Business

Content marketing was popularized because of blogging and SEO but there are many other ways it can be applied to your business. A good example of this is email newsletters. As you might expect, this type of content marketing does have a little bit of a learning curve.

Those who aren’t sure about how to write a newsletter will be glad to hear that it is fairly simple. You’ll first want to make some preliminary decisions and then plan out your calendar. After that, it is simply getting everything written and then sending it out and tracking the results.

There are some things that you’ll need to know before you’ll be able to write your newsletter or outsource it. It’ll be important in helping you stay consistent if you make these decisions before you start sending out the newsletter and it will help it be more effective.

Decide on The Topic

Come up with a specific type of content to focus on for your newsletter. It should be something that fits with the core aspect of your business. The newsletter should help establish you as an authority and build your credibility.

Decide on The Type of Content You Want for Your Newsletter

Consistency is important and that’s why you’ll need to choose the type of content you want to include. Consider yourself similar to the editor of a newspaper. Each week you need to choose different types of content that can appeal to the interest of your subscribers and keep them engaged.

Name Your Newsletter

Come up with a suitable and memorable name for your newsletter. Just as with any magazine, newspaper or book, there has to be a name. It should be something that is memorable and that ties into the area of focus you want the newsletter to be about.

Set Goals

Before you start sending out your newsletter, you’ll need to determine what you want to accomplish with it. Do you want the newsletter to help get more traffic to your site? Are you trying to get more engagement from your subscribers? Do you have a new product or service on offer, and you want to make some buzz about it? Do you want another way of generating sales?

Knowing what your goals are will help you design your newsletter. The answers to the questions will help you design the content and determine what it is you want to keep track of. Having these questions answered will help you develop an effective newsletter.

Determine Your Methods

Decide how you want to implement your newsletter. It is not that there’s a wrong or right way to do it but how you decide to do it will be based on what you want to accomplish. Some of the most common ways of producing a newsletter include coming up with unique content that is specifically for your subscribers and won’t be found elsewhere. Another idea is to send them a portion of the newsletter that intrigues them and then provide a link to the full article.

Another idea is to give your subscribers related stories and then provide a link to specific articles. There’s also the choice of keeping newsletter archives that are only available to your subscribers or members. There’s even an option to provide printed newsletters to special groups.

Come Up with A Unique Design

What image do you want your newsletter to display? Are you willing to pay to have a professional design it for you? Do you want the newsletter to include company colors or a unique logo?

Determine Your Scheduling

Your subscribers will expect consistency. This will mean you need to determine what type of schedule you’ll send it out on, and it needs to be consistent. Some experts suggest that the morning time is the best because more people open their mail then. According to GetResponse the hours of 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and the afternoon time between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. are best.

Track Your Metrics

Determine what metrics you’re interested in and track them. You may want to know what your open rates and bounce rates are as an example. You may also want to know how many people click on a link in the newsletter.

It’s best to make these decisions upfront and then produce your content. One of the biggest factors that most have is how to write it. After you have decided on all these factors it will be relatively easy to produce a good newsletter.

6 Essential Tips for Writing Newsletters

January 29, 2019February 5, 2019Main

How to Write Email Newsletters That Connect

Many companies today use email newsletters to market/promote their products. With thousands of companies using this channel to reach out to the same target audience, chances of your newsletters getting swamped out by others are very high. That said, it is important to ensure your newsletters standout from the rest and that they don’t just sit in someone’s inbox.

Outlined below are six tips on how to write the perfect newsletter for improved conversions

1. Create Content Worth Reading

The newsletter shouldn’t just comprise of a list of adverts and content the audience might not be interested in. Instead, consider creating interesting and informative content that anyone would want to read. The newsletter could be about advice, tips, or news related to the industry. Just like TV adverts, no one wants to watch/read anything with no real content no matter how compelling the advert may be. Creating educative/informative and interesting content (even if it means special offers) is what will make the target audience want to read the newsletter in the first place.

2. Use A Captivating Headline For Your Newsletters

Most people are often swamped with lots of newsletters and emails making it hard to go through all these at once. Many people will only click on, and read emails that interest them, leaving the rest lying around in their inboxes. For this reason, you need to give the target audience a reason to click/read your newsletter. This can only be done by creating a captivating headline (and not a spammy one).

The headline or subject should be not only captivating, but also be irresistible to read. According to research, most people will ignore emails and newsletters that seem ‘dull,’ planning to read them later on during the day. As new ‘interesting’ one’s flood in, the old ones are forgotten and eventually deleted. You wouldn’t want this for all your newsletters. Give your audience a reason to click the newsletter right away.

3. Build/Establish Trust With The Target Audience

Trust is the one thing your target audiences need to have with your brand and newsletters. While building trust with your target audience may require time, you still need to give the subscribers a reason to wait for the next newsletter. This means being consistent and giving then fresh and worthy content each time. It would also be advisable to ensure the subject line goes hand in hand with the content inside. You don’t want your subscribers to feel baited/tricked into reading the newsletter.

4. Write With Your Target Audience In Mind

While you may be an expert n this field, most of your subscribers aren’t. You therefore need to create these newsletters with the audience/subscribers in mind by using the simplest language possible. The newsletter needs to be easy to understand and explain everything that seems technical as well. Be sure to proofread the newsletters, and have another set of eyes look into them.

5. Make The Newsletters Short And To The Point

Most people have an attention plan of about 30 seconds. You, therefore, need to take advantage of this to convey the intended message within this time. Be sure to keep the newsletter as short and straightforward as possible. Do not cram too many articles into the newsletters. Try to explain everything briefly to ensure everything fits in a single page. Too much explaining will only get the reader bored or distracted.

If you intend to have the newsletter covering several topics, you should then consider breaking it down into smaller paragraphs. By doing this, the reader will choose what article or section to read, and leave the rest. A continuous newsletter is also dull to read and might force most readers to opt out. Nonetheless, an interesting and appealing newsletter will keep the subscribers glued to it, and will always look up to the next release.

6. Be Consistent

Some consistency is required when sending out newsletters. Choosing to send one out at least once a month helps cultivate a relationship with the reader, and even makes them anticipate the next release. Taking too long before sending out the next release could result in a massive exodus by your subscribers. You also need to be careful not to flood the subscriber’s inbox with your newsletters; otherwise they will just hit the unsubscribe button. If possible, choose a date when you will be sending out the newsletters, and stick to the dates.