Do I Even Need One?
Talk to any marketer these days and you’ll be told the same thing: You need an email list and you need to work hard at building that list.
Part of building a successful list is sending consistent email newsletters.
But what is the purpose of a newsletter? How will it help you build your business?
Read on to find out the answers to those questions and to see how you can ensure your email campaign’s success.
What is the purpose of a newsletter?
The purpose of an email newsletter is to give those on your list updates pertaining to your business, products, and services. However, it’s not something that’s generally used for a hard sell. An email newsletter should feel like an update from an interesting, helpful friend, rather than a pushy salesperson.
That’s not to say that these newsletters are simply used to keep in touch. They can be used to motivate your customers to take action, like making a purchase or checking out your latest blog post.
Newsletters are often the life force of your marketing campaign. Over the past decade, email marketing has proven to be significantly more successful than social media marketing.
Reports from global management consultants showing customer acquisition growing for email over time, with other channels staying consistent or declining
According to the management researchers, you’re 40 times more likely to get new customers from email marketing than from Facebook or Twitter.
Your email list is also a safer bet than followers on social media. At any point, a social media site can shut down and you’ll lose access to your audience. But an email list is something that you own.
How to measure the success of your email newsletter
To ensure success with your email marketing campaign, you need to have a solid plan. Part of that plan is testing out what works and what doesn’t, and email marketing platforms have metrics that can tell you whether your emails are working or not.
These metrics tell you:
- How many open your emails?
- How many clicks on links within your emails?
- How many unsubscribe from your list?
Pay close attention to these metrics following each campaign. They’ll show you where you need to make adjustments and whether any changes you’re making are paying dividends.
For example, if you’ve had a lot of unopened emails and decide to write a more personalised copy for your next campaign, you should definitely see an increase in your open and click-through rates.
Does it really matter?
Having an email list is crucial to your brand’s success. Frequent contact with your customers will help you instill trust. Once trust is established, you can motivate your customers to action.
Below are some examples of brands that understand the purpose of a newsletter and use it to build their brand, motivate their audience, and create value.
- Encouraging them to take part in an event or fundraiser newsletter inviting donations
- Keeping them updated on the latest content you have to offer.
- Informing them about forthcoming sales, promotions, or special event deals
newsletter on mother’s day showing a promo code.
Once you grasp the true purpose of a newsletter, you can utilise email campaigns to pilot your audience toward taking some sort of action. All the while, you’re able to provide them with priceless content that gives them exactly what they want.
What now?
Your email list is one of the most important things you own, and it’s crucial that you and your marketing team send out the best possible emails to your customers.
How can you make certain that you do this? One way is by creating and utilizing a checklist. A personalized checklist will help you keep your emails consistent with the voice/personality of your brand, while simultaneously meeting the needs of your customers consistently.
Spend some time drafting your checklist and then adhere to it. Doing so will help you improve future email marketing campaigns and seriously increase your ROI.