Businesses love to use email newsletters to keep customers connected with their developments, products, and services. Besides the branding angle that the newsletter takes, there is usually a sales component that goes along with it.
However, brand communicators and marketers will need a caveat on this front – that their customers are typically less patient in perusing emails than they are getting from surfing from webpage to webpage. This should come to you as no surprise – just check your spam folder and the amount of emails that you have deleted in just the past 24 hours without even reading through them – you get the picture.
Here are some points that you will find useful in communicating with your customers or stakeholders via an email newsletter:
1. The ideal length of the subject header is between 60 to 70 characters long. That is right – trim, trim, trim.
2. Tuesdays and Thursdays are the best days of the week to send newsletters as they are more likely to get read.
3. It is best to write in a manner that communicates succinctly and precisely – and where possible, without the help of too many images. There are email apps that give customers the option not to load images from emails to help them save on data. Should your information be on those images, they are likely to be missed. Should your images be large, it may take too much time to load them too. This will frustrate readers who may then opt to skip reading the email altogether if it is deemed as lower priority.
4. Keep readers engaged, not annoyed. Provide value, not just sales. Annoyed readers are likely to click on the unsubscribe button.
5. If you have to sell through the content, keep it short and to the point. Add a nice kicker to it where possible.
6. Beware in engaging in clickbait. The last thing you want to engage in is an overpromised-undelivered scenario. This reduces trust and credibility in your content. Headlines that work to increase clickthroughs will include:
a. Using figures/numbers to substantiate. It sets an expectation or something that can be anchored on. For example, 5 ways to beat the competition. How to type 53% faster.
b. Prefer numerals to words. Don’t spell out “5”. Just use the actual numeral '5' - it makes for an easier read.
7. Create a sense of urgency – this makes them take action in getting on to read your newsletter. This works when the headline is catchy and makes readers want to get to the meat of the message.
If your brand needs a team to come alongside it in the area of copywriting newsletters, reach out to us at hello@sylnjas.com.
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