How to Leverage Newsletter Marketing as a Small Business

A newsletter is one of the best marketing strategies to build relationships with your customers, boost your sales, and increase your business’ reach. By leveraging newsletter marketing for your business, you’ll have an amazing tool that, unlike social media, you control 100%.

And the best part? People use email, they like email, and with a focused email strategy, they will open and buy from your email newsletters.

According to Statista, there are close to 3.9B daily email users – and that number is expected to rise to 4.3B by 2023. That’s half the world using email every single day!

And while many gurus mouth off about how social media is the place to be, only 12.5% of consumers have purchased from social media compared to 60% from email.

And then there’s the algorithm. Email, with its 4200% ROI, also comes algorithm free and 100% in your control. You decide on the message, the frequency, and the recipient. And unlike social media marketing, your message gets delivered to all of them. It’s the best way to communicate directly with your audience.

The best marketing strategy?

Even in today’s amazing social times, there is a clear place for the newsletter, and now is definitely the time to leverage newsletter marketing.

But what is a newsletter? Is it just an email you send out? How do you get started with email newsletter email marketing? What should you say in your email campaigns? And most importantly, how do you get your emails opened and acted on?

Let’s dive into all this and more.

What are newsletters?

Newsletters are a powerful marketing tool used by businesses to connect with their audience and build relationships with customers. A newsletter falls into email marketing, one of the fundamental components of digital marketing.

When used as part of your overall marketing strategy, these consistently sent marketing emails are a great way to increase brand awareness, promote products or services, and engage with customers.

In order to be successful with your newsletter marketing efforts, it is important to understand who you are writing the newsletter for, why they would want to sign up for your newsletter, how often you should send it out, and what content you should include in your newsletter.

But first, why should you use a newsletter in your own marketing strategy?

Why Do a Newsletter?

A newsletter is a great way to keep your customers updated on what’s new with your business. It also helps to build relationships and trust with your audience, as they get to know more about you and your company.

And if you include helpful information and valuable deals, people will be more likely to sign up for your list.

Plus, a newsletter is a powerful marketing tool that can help you sell your products or services. By including your latest offers, you can make it easy for people to buy from you.

And by sharing helpful tips and resources, you can show your expertise and build credibility with your readers.

Let’s look at some of the key benefits of doing a newsletter.

The Benefits of a Newsletter

There are many reasons to start a newsletter, but here are some of the most important benefits of this email marketing tool:

Build Relationships

A newsletter is a great way to keep in touch with your customers and build relationships. By sharing helpful information and deals, you can earn their trust and show that you’re invested in their success.

Increase Sales

A newsletter can be a powerful marketing tool, helping you sell your products or services. By including your latest offerings, you can make it easy for people to buy from you.

Establish credibility

When you share helpful tips and resources in your newsletter, you establish yourself as an expert in your field. This helps build trust and credibility with your readers.

Reach More People

By landing in your subscribers’ inbox, your newsletters will likely be seen and opened. And with email marketing services making it easy to create mobile-friendly, visually appealing, and engaging content, your readers will be more likely to take action and stay subscribed.

Now that we’ve covered some of the benefits of newsletters in your marketing strategy let’s take a look at how to get started with your first newsletter.

Who Are You Writing Your Newsletter For?

Before you start writing your newsletter, it’s important to think about who you’re writing it for.

• Who are your ideal customers or clients?
• What are their needs and interests?
• What problems or challenges do they face?

By knowing your audience, you can create a newsletter that appeals to them and helps you achieve your business goals.

Why Would People Sign Up for Your Newsletter?

Now that you know who you’re writing your newsletter for, it’s time to think about why they would sign up.

What value will your newsletter provide? Will it offer deals and discounts? Share helpful tips and resources? Keep them updated on what’s new with your business? By offering value, you’ll be more likely to get people to sign up for your list.

Ask yourself these questions to start crafting your newsletter marketing strategy:

• What solutions can I offer them?
• What makes my business different from others? How can I stand out?
• What kind of content will my subscriber list like?

What Should You Include in Your Newsletter?

Now it’s time to start thinking about what to include in your newsletter.

Here are some ideas for newsletter content:

Share your latest blog post

If you’ve got a blog, be sure to share your latest post in your newsletter. This is a great way to drive traffic to your website and keep your readers up-to-date on all the latest news.

Include product or service updates

Are you launching a new product or service? If so, be sure to share details in your newsletter! This is a great way to generate buzz and excitement around what you have to offer.

Offer deals and discounts

Everyone loves a good deal, so why not include special offers in your newsletter? You can even create coupons that people can redeem directly from their inbox. This can be a key strategy to turn your subscribers into buyers.

Latest Trends

Your newsletter is the perfect platform to share information about the latest trends with your audience. By including trend articles in each issue, you can ensure that your readers are always up-to-date on what’s happening in your industry.

Along with these ideas, you may also want to include links to other articles and resources on your website, as well as social media posts and videos. Just be sure that everything you share is relevant to your audience and helps achieve your business goals.

Now that you know what you’ll include in your email newsletter marketing let’s get your first one set up.

Getting Started With Your First Newsletter

There are a few things you’ll need to do before you can start sending out your newsletter. First, you’ll need to decide how often you want to send it.

How Often Should I Send Out My Newsletter?

This will depend on your goals and audience. Let’s look at some options.

A monthly newsletter

If you’re just getting started with newsletters, a monthly email may be the best option. This gives you time to curate quality content and build up a reserve of material before ramping up to a more frequent schedule.

A weekly newsletter

Once you’ve got a few months of newsletters under your belt, you may want to consider increasing the frequency to bi-monthly or even weekly. This will keep your subscribers engaged and ensure that they don’t forget about your business.

🛑 But be sure to monitor engagement rates and slow down if you notice subscribers are starting to unsubscribe or mark your emails as spam.

A daily newsletter

Another option is to experiment with daily email blasts. This can be a great way to stay top-of-mind with your audience and keep them engaged with your brand on a regular basis.

However, it’s important to note that this can also result in higher unsubscribe rates since many people find frequent updates overwhelming or annoying. If you’re thinking of sending daily, be sure it matches your niche. If a dentist started sending a daily email, it might be a bit much.

Ultimately, the frequency that works best for your newsletter will depend on your audience preferences and the type of content you plan to share.

Be sure to carefully consider these factors when choosing the frequency in your newsletter marketing strategy.

Next, you’ll need to create a content calendar.

A Newsletter Content Calendar

A newsletter content calendar will help you plan out what to include in each issue of your newsletter. Try including a mix of content, such as:

• Your latest blog posts or articles
• Links to helpful resources
• Special offers and deals
• Updates on your business or company
• Tips and tricks for using your products or services

When creating your content calendar, think of monthly themes, seasonal activities, or sales that run alongside your products and services, upcoming holidays, and other customer cycles.

For example, an accountant will probably email different content in April than in December. Same with a Ski Resort. If you work out your main content topics and incorporate any sales, events, or seasonality into your newsletter, content creation will be a breeze when you sit down to write.

Once you have a content calendar, it’s time to start creating your newsletter.

Setting Up Your Newsletter

You can use tools like MailChimp or Constant Contact to create professional-looking emails that are easy to customize.

If you’re not sure where to start, there are plenty of templates available. Just do a quick search in your email software service and you’ll find dozens of options to choose from.

Pick a layout that will work with your content and you can stick with it.

Think about what you’ll include in your email campaign and pick a template that goes with it. If you are writing a text-only newsletter, don’t pick a template that has lots of spots for images and short descriptions. If you plan to have images and links, find one that works with that content.

Also, pick a template that feels right for your brand and style and one that you can stick with, so you have a constant feel each month.

Now that you have your set up let’s get your newsletter opened and acted upon.

Get Your Newsletter Opened and Read

When it comes to email marketing, you now have no question that newsletters are a powerful tool for your small business.

But getting people to open – and engage with – your newsletters takes more than just sending them out. To get the best possible results from this marketing channel, you need to optimize your newsletter content, subject lines, and timing based on what works best for your target audience.

Here are a few tips that can help you increase your open rates:

1. Optimize Your Subject Lines

Subject lines matter more than ever when it comes to getting people to open your emails – after all, it’s the first thing they see in their inbox.

To improve your open rates, take some time to test different subject line strategies. This could involve playing around with emojis, personalization, or even using questions or curiosity-piquing statements.

Not sure what is considered a good open rate? Check this article out about Open Rates by Industry.

2. Time Your Sends Carefully

The best way to find out what works best for your list is to experiment with different send times and days of the week. Try sending at different times of day and on different days of the week. And when you do send a newsletter, don’t forget to keep an eye on your analytics so that you have data to refer back to moving forward.

3. Make Sure Your Content Is Relevant

When it comes down to it, the content in your newsletters is what really matters the most. After all, if people aren’t interested in what you have to say, they won’t open or read past your subject line – no matter how good it is.

To ensure that your newsletters are as relevant and engaging as possible, make sure you’re familiar with your target audience. Do some research into their needs, pain points, and interests – then create content that directly speaks to them.

4. Consider the Frequency of Your Sends

If you send newsletters too often, your subscribers may start to view them as spam – and they’ll be much more likely to unsubscribe from your list. But if you don’t send enough, people won’t be reminded about what your business has to offer – and they may forget about you altogether.

To find an optimal frequency for your newsletter sends, test different intervals and measure engagement rates over time. That way, you can adjust based on what works best for each group on your list!

Now that your newsletter is all set up, it’s time to start promoting it!

Promoting Your Newsletter

One of the best marketing strategies to promote your newsletter is to use social media. Share each issue on your various social media channels and encourage people to sign up. You can also include a signup form on your website or blog or even add it to your email signature.

You can also use a lead magnet or a freebie to entice them to sign up. By offering a downloadable checklist or guide related to your services that your prospects find valuable, you can easily get people on your list.

🤩 With a little effort and promotion, you should start seeing an increase in sign-ups in no time.

How to Use Your Newsletter to Sell

One of the key benefits of a newsletter is that it can be used as a powerful sales tool. When done correctly, your newsletter can help to build know, like, and trust with your subscribers and drive them towards making a purchase.

Here are some marketing tips for leveraging your newsletter to sell:

• Make sure you have clear a call to action throughout your newsletter. This might include links to your product or service pages, offers for discounts or free trials, or even special promotions for existing customers. Without a call to action, it’s possible your readers will take no action at all.
• Include testimonials from happy customers or clients in each issue of your newsletter. This helps to establish credibility and show potential buyers what they could expect if they work with you. Using social proof is found to increase sales by 62%
• Always make an effort to keep your newsletter relevant and interesting. If people enjoy reading it, they’re more likely to stay subscribed – and more likely to buy from you when the time comes.

By following these email marketing tips, you can use your newsletter as a powerful selling tool that helps you close more deals and grow your business.

❓ But how do you stay consistent and keep on sending your newsletter, even when you get busy?

How Can You Keep Your Commitment?

Once you’ve started your newsletter, it’s important to stay committed and consistent. This means sending out regular updates on a regular schedule and always providing valuable content that engages your readers.

Batch Your Content Creation

One way to make things easier is to batch create your content. This means setting aside some time each month – or even every week – to plan and set up several newsletters at one time. This way, you’ll always have content ready to go when it’s time to send out your newsletter.

 

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Use Email Automation

You may even want to consider using tools like email automation or drip marketing campaigns so that you can set up your newsletters ahead of time and not have to worry about them once they’re sent out.

Stick With Your Calendar

You may not realize what an important email marketing strategy your content calendar is when you actually use it. Not only does it keep you from missing any promotional or seasonal opportunities it also assists with email creation and accountability. It allows you to not have to sit down and think about what to make your newsletter about; you just do what your calendar says.

At the end of the day, a successful newsletter is all about being strategic, engaging your audience, and consistently delivering value over time.

By taking the time to create an effective newsletter strategy and commit to building relationships with your customers or clients, you’ll be well on your way to success in leveraging newsletter marketing!

🧠 Want to learn more about newsletter marketing?

Click here to take your email marketing to the next level.

Newsletter Marketing FAQs

Email marketing vs. Newsletter, What’s the Difference?

At its core, email marketing is about sending sales offers to existing or potential customers but could also include transactional emails, follow-up emails, or purely promotional emails.

Newsletters, on the other hand, are more focused on providing information to readers. Newsletters are a part of an effective email marketing strategy for businesses.

What is the Best Email Software for Creating a Newsletter?

There are a number of email software programs that can be used to create a newsletter. Some of the best are Constant Contact, Mail Chimp, and Get Response. Each of these offers templates, email automation, and analytics to help track what’s working and what’s not.

Should all small businesses have newsletters?

Some businesses may be hesitant to invest the time and resources in email marketing campaigns, but newsletters can actually provide a lot of value for small businesses.

Here are a few reasons why your business should use newsletter marketing:

1. Newsletters Increase customer loyalty and retention.

Newsletters can help you stay in touch with your customers and provide them with valuable information about your business. This can increase customer loyalty, which is especially important for small businesses.

2. Newsletters Keep customers up to date on recent developments and new products/services.

As a small business owner, you may constantly be adding new products or services to your offerings. A newsletter is a great way to stay in touch with customers and let them know about these new developments in your business.

3. Newsletters Connect with customers.

Newsletters can also be used to reach out to potential buyers who may not be familiar with your business. By providing valuable information and engaging content, you can attract new customers and grow your business.

4. Newsletters Generate leads and sales.

Of course, one of the ultimate goals of any marketing campaign is to generate leads and sales. Newsletters are an effective tool for this purpose, as they provide a direct way to reach out to prospects, guide them through the sales process, and have a high average ROI.

5. Newsletters Build brand awareness and credibility.

Finally, newsletters can help you build brand awareness and credibility for your small business. By consistently providing valuable content and information, your brand will become synonymous with quality and expertise in your customers’ minds.

Have more questions about newsletter marketing?

If you have more questions about newsletter marketing leave a comment below and I would be happy to help out!