Email newsletters have amazing potential. When done well, they keep you connected to the people who mean the most to your business or organization and help to build their confidence in your brand. In addition, great e-newsletters help drive repeat business, new sales, event attendance, donations, and more.

So what makes an excellent email newsletter? There are four essential ingredients.

1. Include relevant, valuable content
Relevancy is the number one ingredient for a successful newsletter, but according to eMarketer, 44 percent of marketers see coming up with relevant content as their greatest challenge. Here are a few tricks that make it easier:

• Ask for information. The best way to know what your readers want is to ask them. Send a survey to find out what information they are most interested in receiving and the topics they want to learn more about.
• Study your reports. Monitoring the behavior of your customers is a key way to understand them. Your click-through and open rates will show you what topics they like best.
• Consider what they need to know. There are times when the people on your list need information they won’t know to ask for. In these cases, they will thank you for passing on valuable knowledge.
• Plan and prepare. An excellent newsletter requires some prep work. Two hints to help: 1) Create an editorial calendar so you know what topics you will cover in advance. 2) Start a swipe file (a folder for relevant articles) so you have the inspiration you need for upcoming issues.

2. Showcase your brand
With an email newsletter, you can establish and reinforce your organization’s brand. It can show and tell “who” your organization is and help readers come to trust you and what you offer. Here are a few tips for building your brand with your newsletter.

• Find your voice and use it. How would you describe your company? Professional, warm, friendly, helpful, or knowledgeable? The attributes that define your organization should set the tone for your newsletter and help you find a writing style, or voice, that consistently communicates your brand.
• Incorporate your logos, colors, and fonts. What does your brand look like? Pull that style and format into your email newsletter so that it corresponds with your website and provides your readers with a consistent brand experience.
• Include a headshot and signature. If you are the brand, give readers a face to connect with your name. Additionally, a signature in the opening gives an extra personal touch to the newsletter.

3. Create a reader-friendly format
You’ve worked hard to create valuable content, so make sure to put it in a format that is easy to read. Here are a few things to keep in mind when building your email newsletter.

• Include a table of contents (TOC). When you include a TOC up top, your readers can quickly scan the topics and go directly to the areas of greatest interest.
• Balance text and images. Using images to support your topic is a good idea, but because many people have images turned off, make sure your newsletter communicates equally well without them. Hint: To test, turn off your images in your email client, send yourself a sample, and see what it looks like.
• Leave plenty of whitespace. Resist the urge to fill every nook and cranny of your newsletter with content. Whitespace allows the eyes to rest between the various segments. With it, your readers can skim with ease through your newsletter.
• Watch that length! For a shorter newsletter, include a teaser then drive readers back to your website for a deeper experience. This approach enables you to get valuable click-through reports that show the level of interest in a topic.

4. Engage your readers
Successful newsletters provide quality content, look great, and encourage a dialogue. Use your newsletter as a springboard for further conversation with your readers and to get them talking with each other. Here are a few ideas on how to do it.

• Offer an email address or feedback webpage. Invite your readers to contact you to further connect with them and establish yourself as a reliable expert. Just make sure you are prepared to respond in a timely manner.

• Use an online poll. Polling is a quick and easy way to engage a reader around a specific article. You can add an online poll to the webpage the article lives on, enabling readers to give feedback immediately. Or use a poll to ask your readers to vote on next month’s topic.

• Include a survey link in each issue. Get ongoing feedback on each newsletter issue by including a link to a survey. Ask simple questions such as “How satisfied were you with this issue?” and “What topics interested you most?”

• Invite readers to comment on a blog or online forum. Invite your readers to join the conversation on a blog or in an online forum. If there are interesting discussions going on, reference them in your newsletter to foster further engagement.

While there are enough email newsletter tips to fill a book, if you implement the hints provided in this article, your email newsletter will be an even more powerful marketing tool for your organization.



Copyright 2009, Constant Contact ® Inc. All rights reserve: sign up for a 60-day FREE trial, Reprinted with permission of Constant Contact, Inc. For more information visit www.constantcontact.com.