Email marketing services like MailChimp allow businesses to send mass emails with content such as newsletters to clients and other businesses they want to stay connected with.
Maintaining open-rates above 20 percent for emails, even those containing newsletters, continues to be a struggle for businesses using content marketing strategies. According to Chron, the average open rate per e-newsletter across all industries is at 19.7 percent and continues to decline.
To avoid a low open-rate for your e-newsletter, be sure to follow these preemptive steps:
Conciseness
Newsletters should be short and to the point. The reader does not want to be burdened with a four-page newsletter crammed with too much information. As open-rates continue on a downward trend, it’s vital to keep your content concise so the reader actually has time to read the essentials. Nobody will take the time to find the important parts of a long-winded newsletter if they aren’t even willing to open some of their emails. After all, the average person only spends 51 seconds reading a newsletter.
Focus on Your Audience
It’s important to focus on what your readers might like to hear from you in your newsletter. Don’t write about general news regarding your company. It’s too broad of an approach for a newsletter and it will cause readers to lose interest early on and probably avoid opening your next letter. Try offering industry tips or news related to your business that clients and others may find useful and interesting. It’s important to keep your readers informed with relevant information so they return to future newsletters.
Call to Action
The whole point of writing newsletters is to engage with your readers. Each newsletter needs to ask something of its audience in order to accomplish any sort of tangible result. A simple call to action is asking readers to follow your company’s social media pages. If readers enjoy the content of your newsletters, they will more than likely fulfill this request because they are interested in what you have to say.
Don’t Fall Victim to Spam Blockers
A lot of your potential readers will have spam blockers activated on their email accounts. These blockers seize e-newsletters with broad subject lines lacking a personalized touch. Custom tailor your newsletter so it’s not confused as spam by these blockers. Victims of blockers will initially think their e-newsletter is doing well because it adds to their open-rate, instead, it prevents the audience from reading their content. Remember, a high open-rate does not always indicate a successful newsletter campaign.
Encourage Feedback
The ideal newsletter creates a mutually beneficial back and forth conversation. Your letter should encourage feedback from readers so there’s something to improve upon for next time. This helps you understand what’s working for your audience and what isn’t. Don’t make the common mistake of sending out an e-newsletter using a do-not-reply address, otherwise, readers won’t be inclined to engage with your content and provide feedback.
Consistency
Before creating an e-newsletter, you have to decide how often they’ll be sent out to readers. If it’s a monthly newsletter, label it as such and send it out the same time every month. Readers are less likely to make the time for your content if they receive it during random times throughout the year. Choose a frequency for the newsletter and follow it religiously.
Now that you know how to avoid the common pitfalls of e-newsletters and what’s causing their low open-rates, you can use this information to create a unique newsletter that builds and maintains relationships with current and past clients.
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