Write an Effective Newsletter in 6 Quick Steps

How do you develop a newsletter campaign that won’t land in junk mail?

​Most organizations utilize the email marketing strategy simply because they have been told that it’s good for business. It is good for business, but only if you believe in it and are dedicated to providing your customers with engaging content that they want to receive.

A successful email newsletter campaign requires a shift in thinking. Instead of telling your customers about your latest promotion, use email marketing to engage your community. This means providing valuable content, just not content in volumes. If you’re not sure where to start, walk through the following steps.

​Who you will send your email newsletter to

Who is your target audience? Is it readers who are already customers? Suppliers? Employees? Once you know who you are sending your email newsletters to, you can focus on ways to grow your list. This includes giving away something for joining, promoting on social media or, if time is of the essence, purchasing a list.
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What format will you use

Once you know who you are sending your newsletters to, you’ll want to decide on a template that you can flip copy in and out of with each newsletter. This largely depends on the system you choose as each service has different constraints for your template design. You’ll want to make sure your template is optimized for mobile and reflects your brand’s overall look and feel.
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Create your content calendar

You want to make sure the content you’re sending out is diversified, relevant, and timely. The only way to do this strategically is to map out what you plan to say before you start saying it. Do you have new promotions? Upcoming events? Do you want to highlight an employee or new recipe? Create a content calendar with the frequency and topics of each of your newsletter campaigns at least one or two months out, before you launch, to make sure you’re producing relevant content that tells a story.
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Create an exciting headline and subject line

If your subject line doesn’t grab your reader’s attention, they won’t open it. Include a hook with a benefit. This hook will provide an impact if it answers a question or evokes an emotion. The more personalized and relevant your subject line, the better chance you have for someone to want to read your email. 
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Make it actionable

No matter what your newsletter entails, it should always end with a call to action. Do you want your audience to purchase something, read something, or share on social media? Decide on one call to action per newsletter and make it easy for your readers to follow through with. Include phrases like “Click here to…” and don’t be afraid to mention it more than once within the email. Most readers won’t read the entire email, so don’t save it for last!
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Check before you click

​Just one typo or blurry image can change your reader’s attention and tarnish your credibility. Always test your newsletter to make sure everything works properly and nothing is spelled wrong. This last step can sometimes be the most important.

​You shouldn’t have to be a programmer to build a professional newsletter that you can be proud of. Some of these steps can be eliminated with a single, integrated email service such as memberplanet.

With memberplanet, you can choose a template and color palette and get your message out in minutes. Like what you’ve made? Save it as a custom template and use it over and over again. Want to see if your newsletter was effective? Our live reporting shows you how many people have opened your emails, who clicked on your links and tips on how to better reach your audience. Learn more today on how to get all the tools you need to effectively execute your newsletter campaign.