7 tips for writing an effective newsletter

1. Always have a clear purpose

You need to be clear about what your newsletter is going to offer. The most common mistake made by business owners is not having a clear purpose when communicating with clients. If you’re thinking about creating a newsletter, there are several questions that you should ask yourself before you start writing:

• What do I want people to do when they read my newsletter?
• Who am I trying to reach?
• What information do I have that is valuable and useful for this target audience?
• How will my readers benefit from receiving my newsletters?

2. Make sure the subject line is clear and appealing

The subject line is the first thing people see when they open their email inboxes. It needs to be clear and concise so people know immediately what they’re getting into when they click through to read your newsletter. This is one of the trickiest aspects of newsletter writing, because you will need to condense your brand’s personality and tone of voice, as well as that specific issue’s content in one sentence. Give it a few try and, if the software you are using allows it, try A/B testing to see what kind of prompt is most likely to stir your readers into action.

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3. Keep it short, sweet and relevant

Your newsletter should be no longer than two pages — any longer than that and readers will become bored or distracted before finishing reading it all. To keep your readers engaged, try breaking up your content into short paragraphs with subheadings to make it easier to read on small screens. And make sure each section of the newsletter gets to a specific point and provides one nugget of relevant information, before moving on to another topic.

4. Offer good value for your readers’ time

You can’t afford to waste your readers’ time. A newsletter is a direct line of communication between you and your audience, so you need to make sure you’re giving them information they actually want to receive. Give readers something new each time you send an issue. Newsletters should be more than just a summary of what happened over the past week — they should also provide actionable insights and advice on how to move forward in their careers or personal lives. If you want subscribers to keep reading, make sure each issue is valuable, even if it means sending out fewer issues per year.

5. Make it easy to unsubscribe

Make it easy for readers to unsubscribe at any time. While many writers worry about sending out newsletters that annoy people into unsubscribing, the opposite approach is more likely to work: Include an unsubscribe link in every issue, and let people know how often they’re getting emails from you (for example, “You should expect three emails from me every month). This gives people control over their inboxes and makes them feel more comfortable opening your emails in the future

6. Use images and videos where appropriate

Images and videos can increase engagement rates by as much as 26 percent! It’s important to use them appropriately though – don’t just throw them into an email because you think they’ll look good; make sure they’re relevant and increase readability without taking over the page completely.

7. Always include a good call-to-action

Make sure you have an effective call to action to drive sales and generate leads. For example, if your newsletter is about a sale on baby clothing, you can use the call to action “Stop by our store this weekend.” This tells customers what they should do next and gives them a reason to visit your store.

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