Benjamin.M.V.
What is a weekly newsletter?
A weekly newsletter is an email you send every week to your database. To do so you need first to build your database. How can you do that, you might wonder? You can run lead generation ads, or you can add a pop up on your website. There are many effective ways to build your list of subscribers.
Why weekly newsletters?
By sending a weekly newsletter you will increase transparency, build brand awareness, and finally, will facilitate open communication. But do not forget that a newsletter should not be always promotional, which means that you can also send useful information to your subscribers, and not just try to sell. They might appreciate this.
If you have not decided yet if either is an innovative idea to start sending a weekly newsletter or not, you should keep in mind that according to Campaign Monitor you have higher chances to get a click from an email than from a tweet.
How do I build a weekly email strategy?
Make sure you have a strategy for these weekly newsletters so you will have superior results. Moreover, add a convincing subject to the email and do not forget to segment your list to send relevant information to the right people.
- First of all you must think about your audience and to whom you are trying to reach.
- After you know your audience and have built a mailing list large enough (do not forget that you need their permission to send emails), you can go one step further and create a content plan and a schedule.
- Now is the time to do some research and choose the right mailing platform. (Examples of mailing apps: Mailchimp, GetResponse, Aweber, etc.)
- After you decide which mailing platform you want to use; you can work on the visual aspect and build or pick an email template. Some of these platforms have built-in templates that you can use, saving you time and effort.
- Do not forget to add sign-up forms on your website and share it on your social media profiles, to keep building your mailing list.
- Before sending a newsletter, make sure you send a test copy to yourself to check everything (are the images showing, are the links working properly, etc.)
- If everything works properly send the newsletter to your subscribers.
- Always analyse the results of your campaigns. The key metrics are open rates, clickthrough rates and unsubscribe rates.
PRO TIP:
Focus on subject line
47% of email recipients will open your email based solely on the subject line. So never forget to write an eye-catching subject line.
While infographics might seem hard work and you would avoid them, here are some pro’s [and cons] that will help you decide an infographic is a good tool to share info for your audience.
PROS:
✔️ You can do it on your own
✔️ It is cheap
✔️ It is a great tool that has a high success rate
✔️ You can schedule when the emails will be sent so you do not have to do that manually every time
CONS:
❌You might need to use an email marketing service
❌To create a worth-reading email, you might need to invest some time in to it, if you decide to do it on your own
❌You must build your subscribe list and this might take some time
❌You must know your audience well to keep your subscribers happy
Weekly newsletter structure explained
What we know about this weekly newsletter:
Airbnb sends 2 emails per month that are 100% mobile responsive. The newsletter is themed around travel and leisure.
The email heading is well structured. The visual hierarchy is maintained to help the screen reader navigate content with ease.
Alt tag is created to provide a description of the image in the text.
- Brand header - it is a global header that will show in all emails sent by the company, as a method to establish branding. This header will stay the same across all company newsletters, and it will not change colour or size.
- Email Image - custom image for each e-mail, that can be adapted to the core message found in the newsletter /automated funnel email.
- Header - custom header for each e-mail, focusing on the core message found in the newsletter / automated funnel email.
- Content - the content that will be found in each newsletter or automated funnel email. For longer content, this will be separated by sections 6 and 7 to give an easier feel to the email, improve readability and make the e-mail more visually appealing.
- Core CTA - the core CTA will be found at the end of the email.
Did you use a weekly newsletter before or are you planning on using it? What would you add to this article? Please let us know your thoughts on the blog. Connect with us on social and let us know.
