1. Create a great subject line
With 35% of email recipients opening emails based on the subject line alone, it can surely play a critical role in the success of your email newsletter campaign. So, it is important to create a subject line that motivates users to click-through your email. Here's how you can do it.
Do you know 75% of emails are opened on smartphones?
Hence, it becomes imperative to optimize your subject line for mobile devices. It would make sure that your subject line and preheader look great across mobile devices.
To keep the attention of your subscriber base intact, it is important to be original when it comes to creating subject lines. You can make use of emojis to increase your open rates. After all, 56% of brands who used an emoji in their subject line had a higher open rate than those that did not.
2. Select the best sender name
Numerous studies have shown that subscribers index more heavily on sender name than they do on the subject line when it comes to determining whether or not they'll open an email.
That's why it becomes critical to include the name of a real person when sending an email instead of a "no-reply address". It wouldn't only improve your sender reputation but, also make your future deliverability rate better.
3. Humanize the email
Email newsletters get a bad reputation because the majority of them are self-serving and laden with drab and robotic language. That’s not a problem—that’s an opportunity for you to do things differently (and much, much better!). Your newsletter should be able to engage with subscribers, provide value, and connect on an emotional level. After all, it’s not ‘a subscriber’ opening up your email—it’s a human being.
Pro-tip: Ask yourself – "How are you connecting meaningfully with the reader on the other end?"
4. Balance your newsletter content
According to HubSpot, a great newsletter should be made up of 90% of educational content followed by 10% of promotional content. Remember, your subscribers didn't sign-up for your newsletter to receive your overly promotional content all the time. So, avoid doing excessive self-promotion. Instead, send them relevant content that's not only educational but timely and informative too. However, you can promote your products and services once in a while if there's some big announcement related to it. Below is an email template example from Field Mag. See how it balances both the aspects like a pro.
5. Go for the branding of your emails
Consistency is the key to the success of any marketing campaign. That's why it is critical to work towards the branding of your emails. You can do so by including your logo along with an avatar or photo that you use across various other channels. Further, make it a point to use the same template for a particular series of emails. It will channelize the expectation of customers well while making them accustomed to your newsletter. Simply put, branding your emails right and maintaining its consistency can encourage your user base to look forward to your email newsletter, thereby increasing your engagement considerably.
6. Include user-generated content
According to Nielsen, 92% of customers trust earned media like user-generated content over other forms of advertising. Therefore, brands must consciously try to leverage stronger customer relationships to convert subscribers into buyers. A great idea is to include user-generated content in newsletters that encourage prospects to relate to your products and services because of their connection to your community and a desire not to miss out on something.
Here's how Charming Charlie organized a branded hashtag campaign that not only garnered social media attention but also helped in pushing the customers closer to conversion. The good part is such templates are easy to create with DIY or drag-and-drop editors.
7. Include high-resolution images
You can make an impactful statement through your email if you use a relevant and high-resolution image. However, don't make excessive use of images. Maintain the text to image ratio at 80:20 so that there are no deliverability issues. Also, make sure you add suitable ALT text in all your images. It would help the user know what the image is all about if the email client doesn't display the image by default. HomePolishknows how to do it the right way.
8. Make your CTA design top-notch
Your Call-to-action (CTA) plays a critical role in engaging your customer base. Therefore, making it top-notch should be your priority. You can do so by making it visible and actionable. Further, make sure it appears multiple times in different formats, both as a link and a button. Also, keep in mind that colors play a critical role in creating top-notch CTAs. While red is a sign of urgency, you can also make use of black and blue for urgency and trustworthiness respectively. In short, choose a color that can best resonate with the content of your email. Take a look at this chart below that will help you choose the right CTA color for your email newsletter.
9. Work on interactivity
With 82% of subscribers preferring interactive email campaigns over static messages, interactivity certainly is a great way to enhance engagement as well as conversions.
Consequently, from GIFs and videos to cinemagraphs, there are a lot of interactive elements that you can leverage to get the best result out of your email newsletter campaign. Here's an interactive email example from Contiki that uses a video to capture the subscriber's attention. Take a look.
10. Testing is the key
Now, before hitting the send button, the last step is to test your email newsletter. Remember, every business is different and so are their goals and objectives. So, make sure you choose strategies that move the needle towards achieving those goals. This is where testing your email newsletter can come in handy. Start by A/B testing your email subject lines. Evaluate each and every element of your newsletter and see what works best for you.
That's a wrap
The best part about sending an email newsletter is the ability of the marketer to control all the elements of the content that you are crafting for your user base. The main thing to keep in mind is to do it in a way that brings the best out of your email campaign. Remember, when subscribers give you permission to send them a newsletter, make sure to keep up to their expectations by delivering to information that they are looking for. Take some inspiration from the above-mentioned points and design email templates that increase both your engagement and sales.
Meet the author
Disha Bhatt
Sr. Content Writer
Disha Bhatt is Sr. Content Writer at Email Uplers, which specializes in crafting professional email templates, PSD to HTML email conversion, and custom templates in addition to providing email automation, campaign management, and data integration & migration services.
