From the folks at Content Marketing Institute, a great checklist of things to remember for your email newsletters. Go read the post, but in the meantime, here are 7 quick takeaways:
- Planning - Tie the newsletter to your marketing strategy (which of course should be tied to your business strategy). Create an editorial calendar and publish on a predictable, regular schedule.
- Design - Pay a buck or two for professional design. It affects everything from open rates to your perceived credibility.
- Readability – Write short. Use headlines. Lots of bullets. Don’t try to say it all – point readers to your blog (or other content assets).
- Subject Line – Probably the single most important thing you write in a newsletter. Keep it succinct and compelling. Focus on what the reader wants (not what you want to say).
- Sharing – Extend your reach by enabling easy sharing through forwarding, social networks, etc. Ask readers to share it with a friend.
- Calls to Action – No, not buy my stuff. More like interact with me at a deeper level – sign up for an event, give me feedback, visit my blog, etc.
- Testing – You’ll never get better unless you test. Simple A/B testing of everything from Subject Lines to Opening Statements to Design. From a different perspective, make sure your newsletter renders well on mobile devices – far more readers take a first pass at email via their mobile devices than you might expect.
Do take a moment to read the post. More importantly, take some time to implement the tips.
