How to write an effective newsletter

Canva’s premium newsletter

Canva is a graphic design platform that allows anyone to create appealing visuals for social or print media with a free account or a reasonably-priced subscription. The brand’s success depends on the system’s usability and affordable pricing, and Canva currently has a user base of 65 million across 190 countries. To celebrate the brand’s rapid growth and build loyalty among its premium subscribers, Canva recently sent out a newsletter to users – a tool the brand does not abuse, sending out regular messages without clogging the recipients’ mailboxes. Why was it effective? Because it started with a “thank you”. The subject line “Thank you from Canva” makes the subscriber think that the brand is not trying to sell them something, but rather to “give something away” (a new feature, a voucher, or useful information). This is followed by a personalised thank you to the user, with a reference to the number of graphics they have created and an invitation to share them with a dedicated hashtag: the message is therefore personal rather than just a copy-paste text. Was there a voucher or gift in the message? No, but there was information that strengthens the user’s relationship with the company and the possibility of effective word-of-mouth promotion. Specifically, it explored all the charitable initiatives in which Canva reinvests a portion of its profits. There is no real CTA, other than an invitation to read an article in Forbes about the investment programme in question and the company’s official announcement. The newsletter, however, achieves its purpose perfectly, which is to be actively perceived as a brand worthy of loyalty, thus increasing customer retention.

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How can I build an effective newsletter with a commercial CTA?

The key to successful communication is always the ability to put oneself in the customer’s shoes and to investigate their needs, desires, and pain points on which the brand can act. The necessary information can be obtained in many ways, but at the basis of the interaction must lie the awareness that a user who has intentionally subscribed to a newsletter has done so in order to obtain something in return. If, for instance, the majority of subscribers came to your newsletter as a result of a free offer (e.g. downloading a certain type of content in exchange for subscribing), you already have an important piece of information: that particular type of content represents value, because users found it worthwhile to provide their email to get it. Working on the buyer persona is therefore essential.

Without a good subject line, your email will end up in the bin

How often do you open the newsletters you receive? And what motivates you to do so? In most cases, the choice of the subject line makes the difference between an effective newsletter, with a high opening rate and an interesting ROI and a complete waste of time. The subject line must contain only the gist of the message, the most relevant element of the email. And it must do so in a few words and in the right tone. It is not easy, but it is indispensable. If, for instance, you say ‘thank you’ to your users, they will know that you are putting yourself in the position of giving, rather than asking. If you send them a birthday message (assuming you keep this kind of information), they will expect a gift, whereas if the message is “Merry Christmas” they are more likely to expect a promotion. The tone you use is also important: the choice of whether or not to use emoji in the title, for instance, is never universally right or wrong, but depends entirely on the type of audience you are targeting. If your aim is to sell cosmetics, promote fun events, or generally offer products and services that are exchanged in an informal atmosphere, then emoji are a good idea. If your clientele prefers a formal tone and highly specialised vocabulary, they should be avoided.

Conclusions

The best way to know what kind of information your audience will appreciate is to ask: you can try a survey on your website or on your social media, or you can rely on market research managed by a third party. The important thing, when trying to design an effective newsletter, is to get in touch with your customer’s needs and try to meet them with tailored communication.

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