Building a Newsletter That Keeps Customers Talking

© Deluxe Enterprise Operations, LLC. Proprietary and Confidential.
Building a
Newsletter That
Keeps Customers
Talking
Presented By: Kimber Powers
Marketing Training Specialist, VerticalResponse
A Deluxe Company

Here’s What We’ll Cover
• What is a Newsletter?
• Facts about Newsletters
• Types of Newsletters
• Developing Your Newsletter Toolkit
• Elements That Make A Great Newsletter
• Reporting
• Resources/Q&A

What is a Newsletter?
• Informational marketing tool
used to build loyalty
• Can be instructional or used as a guide
• Often paired with blog or generated content
• Can be print or digital (or both!)
• Should be used to position you as the industry expert
• Long-Form Email Marketing Campaign

What A Newsletter Should Not Be
• A Hard Sell Avenue
• Strictly One Topic-Focused
• Lacking Personality or Theme
• Links to multiple external articles (those not written by you!)
• Promo or Discount channel

Making Your Newsletter Valuable
“More than 40% of users said that each of the following
aspects make for valuable newsletters”:
• Informs of work-related news or company actions
(mentioned by 2/3 of users)
• Informs about personal interests/hobbies
• Informs about events/deadlines/important dates
• Reports prices/sales

Why Consumers & Businesses Love Newsletters
‘Readers have emotional reactions and attachments
to their newsletters. Newsletters are personal
because they arrive in the inbox and customers
have an ongoing relationship with the brand and
content. Newsletters help create a much deeper
bond than other types of content’ – Quartz Study
2015
‘Over 58% of SMBs have or have experimented with newsletters’ – OPEN Forum

Common Types of Newsletters
• Customer
• Thematic
• Employee
• Hybrid Vision

Why Small Businesses & Nonprofits Benefit from
Newsletters The Most
• Establishes direct connection with your audience
• Furthers you ‘info footprint’ online
• SMBs more likely to focus on community building
• Helps to add a human touch to what you do
• Useful added value product for audience
• Low-cost marketing tool

Building Your Newsletter – A Toolkit
Approach

Your Newsletter ToolKit
• Theme/Branding
• Editable HTML
• Effective Subject Lines
• Images
• Snippets
• Variety of Content
• CTAs

Newsletter Theme & Branding
• Sets the foundation for everything else you’ll include
- take time to think it through!
• Focus on a theme that will resonate with readers and why they
chose you
• Create a catchy newsletter name – “The Magic Phrase”
• Works best when on trend with your website or other emails
• Always include your Logo, Brand Emblem, Tagline, Etc.

Where Should My Logo Go?

Newsletter Titles We LOVE
• The Competitive Edge
• The (Digital) Water Cooler
• Investor Insights Today
• Travel Bytes
• What’s The Scoop?
• The Content Strategist
• The Write Life
• Weekly Meow Mix
• The VR Buzz ( Sorry….we had to!)

HTML & Newsletters – A Match Made in Designer Heaven
•HTML templates create cleaner lines and minimize
poor formatting
•Saves time with select areas to update each time
•Direct template editing does not always account for
every platform
•HTML typically only requires one round of editing

Editor’s Note: Working Your HTML for Success
• Use Dreamweaver or similar builder if
opting it alone
• Always make two copies – original and
working
• Use Notepad or comparable equivalent
for changing links, adding content, etc.
• Save your visual edits for non-html
viewing

Effective Subject Lines
• Remember – a newsletter is an email, the same rules apply!
• Keep it short and sweet: Optimum length is 30-50 characters, or about 10
words
• Make sure your SL won’t truncate or get cut off on an important word, such as a
date or discount
• Offer a benefit: Why should your reader care about your contentMention offers
and incentives
• Create a sense of urgency – use dates, not ALL CAPS!!!

The From Label
• Consider Using Your Company Name
• Can Also be Newsletter Name
• Use a name of a company ‘expert’
• Remember to not repeat the subject
line or pre-header text!
• Similar to subject lines, consider A/B
testing your From Label (For
Beginners!)

Building Your Content
• Blog posts
• Tips, tactics, how-tos, tutorials
• Industry news/third party news
• Events, dates to remember, holidays
• Interesting facts
• Reviews
• Sales
• Photos
• Contests/contest winners
• Resources
• Company news – updates,
improvements, new products,
awards, volunteer projects, etc.
• Infographics
• Webinars and/or videos
• Testimonials
• Recipes

Building Your Content
“People spend an average of 51
seconds reading an email
newsletter for the first time”
• Pre-header
• Masthead/logo (linked)
• Date
• Table of Contents
• Intro
• Brief, scannable content blurbs, short
paragraphs and/or summaries
• Bullet points/numbered lists
• Concise headings & subheadings

Images
• Real product or service images work best
• Invest in quality stock images, if necessary
• Stay on brand message and in line with your theme
• Find strong balance between your images and other
content
• Match blog images to newsletter snippets

The Skinny on Snippets
• Most effective text for newsletters
• Gives readers a ‘sneak peek’ of the
main story or what to expect next
• Snippets are the ‘subject line’ of your
content pieces
• 1-3 sentences maximum works best
• Aim to align in some way with your
CTA(s)

CTAs
• Use “action language” in your call to actions
• Stick to 10-20 characters
• Match you snippet content to your CTA
• Buttons are more effective than links
• Link your CTAs to exactly where you’d like them to go

Setting A Newsletter Schedule
• Depends on your audience
• Experiment with time of day,
day of the week
• A/B Testing is useful for
scope of scheduling reach

Promoting Your Newsletter
•Home page of website
•Sign up in every email
•Print collateral/postcards
•Social media sites – Include an opt-in form
•Tweet, FB Post & Pin it!
•Forward to a friend (include in newsletter)
•Tradeshows/events

Remember to Keep An Eye on The Competition
• Subscribe to all competitor newsletters
(using non-business email of course!)
• Use inspiration from the ‘big guys’ in your industry
• Mirror language of your competitors, but do not “copy”
• Use competitor design as an example of what NOT to do – be original!
• Compare and contrast periodically

Reporting & The After Thought
•Open Rate
•Click through rate
•Unsubscribe rate
•Popular links

Why People Are Still NOT Reading Your
Newsletter
1. Your newsletter isn’t helpful
2. Your voice isn’t particularly compelling
3. You’re not telling stories
4. You have a half-hearted call to action
5. You don’t have a specific frequency

Post-Webinar Homework
Scan Your Own Inbox
What are the names of some of your favorite
newsletters?
Why do you like the names?
Are they on brand with the company/business?
How can these newsletters inspire you?

Resources
VerticalResponse Blog Posts
- 6 Design Tips to Make Your Newsletter Visually Appealing
http://www.verticalresponse.com/blog/6-design-tips-to-make-
your-email-newsletter-visually-appealing/
- 5 Golden Rules for Creating a Significant Email Newsletter
http://www.verticalresponse.com/blog/5-golden-rules-to-
creating-a-significant-email-newsletter/
Hubspot
How to Create an Email Newsletter People Actually Read
http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/guide-creating-email-
newsletters-ht

Upcoming Webinars
• March 10 – Marketing Principles for Nonprofits
• March 24 – Small Business Promotional Strategies
Available for Registration Later This Week
• April 7 – DIY or DIFM? Websites & Your Small Business
• April 28 – Grow Your List Like a Pro
• May 12 – Social Media & Your First Year in Business
Bookmark & Register www.deluxe.com/blog or www.verticalresponse.com/more

Building a Newsletter That Keeps Customers Talking

Building a Newsletter That Keeps Customers Talking

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