Most newsletters end up in the trash of our mailbox, without even having opened them.
It has all happened to us, we really like a brand or a company, we surf their website and we see the subscription section to the newsletter and we think “I like this company a lot so I am going to sign up because I am interested in knowing its latest news”. And months later we have an email box full of newsletters that we have never read or opened, either because we don’t have time or because we don’t want to make the effort to read them.
Would you like to prevent this from happening to your business newsletter? Do you want to write SaaS newsletter templates that your subscribers want and read when they receive them?
Here Is How-To Start To Design A Good Newsletter
Before starting to design your newsletter you need software that allows you to distribute it easily. There are many software companies on the market that allow you to easily make your newsletters, such as Mailchimp.
This tool offers very simple management of the campaign and of the users, the templates are easy to use, it has analytics and it allows you to send many emails without running the risk of appearing on spam blacklists.
1. Find Out The Purpose Of Your Newsletter
Your newsletter can serve many things, depending on your business. You may want to notify your consumers of the launch of a new product or service, or of an improvement on an existing one. Maybe you want to offer discounts, offers, exclusive services, etc. Therefore, before deciding what your template will be like, you should ask yourself what is the objective of that newsletter.
Your subscribers have chosen to know about updates in your business, so they should be your priority. You must know who they are, what they are like, what interests they have, what you can share with them…
Think about how you would talk to them if you were face to face. Newsletters are often written in a friendly and informal tone. So write your newsletter as you would talk to them, so it will be easier for them to read and understand your message.
2. Decide the format of your newsletter
By deciding with which program you are going to create your newsletter and to whom it is addressed, you will be defining more or less what your design will be like.
There are several factors that you have to take into account when creating your template, such as:
- To which clients are you going to send your newsletter
- If you are going to include the option “See in your browser”, and which browsers can open it.
- On which mobile phones can your newsletter be viewed, and if you want it to be viewed differently on smartphones or on the desktop.
To choose the style of your newsletter you can see how the bulletins are sent by other companies and thus decide which is the type that best suits your company and your audience.
3. Section headings and titles
Titles and headings are crucial and very difficult to master. Think about what catches your attention when you visit a website or read a newsletter and try to apply it to yours. Remember: your content can be fantastic, but if the header is not interesting, it will go unnoticed.
4. The Heading
The header will appear in all the newsletters you send, so you need to spend some time designing it. Choose a heading that immediately shows the value of the brand and forms an emotional response in the reader’s mind that makes them feel as if they were receiving a gift and not spam.
5. The footer or foot
Just like on a website, the footer of your newsletter is as important as the header, you must give it enough importance and give the feeling that it completes the email. The reader expects to find the contact details for your company here. You can also include buttons for subscribers to share the newsletter, or some of its content with their friends, by email or by social networks.
Do not forget to include a button so that those who so wish can unsubscribe from your communications. Making it difficult to unsubscribe from your communications is not a good way to make your newsletter more popular.
On the contrary, it is better than those subscribers who really want to receive your newsletters continue to subscribe. It is preferable to have 50 subscribers who are interested in our company than 500 who will send our newsletter to the trash as soon as they receive it.
6. Use Images
A newsletter full of text can seem very boring at first. Including images in your email is a good way to communicate to readers what you are going to talk about. If you have good photos of recent events, your team, your products, etc., consider including one. If you don’t own any, remember this point the next time you launch or create an event.
Do not forget to retouch the images with a program, such as Photoshop, to make them attractive. Choose those images that you think reflect your company.
Some companies start to include videos in their newsletters, but this can take a lot of time and work that you may not have. Think of your audience really needs videos about your company or your products.
7. Set The Expectations Of Your Subscribers
Newsletters are very good at creating expectations. Newsletter news does not need to be something you have already done at your company, you may want to share a wish from the company.
For example, if you want to launch a product in 6 months, you can tell your subscribers to follow the development of the launch closely.
8. Tell A Story
Sharing the story of how your company grows, or your project is a very powerful way to find people interested in being part of the story as well. And your newsletter can tell them how to be part of it.
9. Control the analytics of your newsletter
Analytics from providers like Mailchimp gives you insight into what your subscribers do with your newsletters, but you shouldn’t be obsessed, either. Analytics tell you what works and what doesn’t work with your users in general terms but can give too much information that is not useful for your purposes.
10. How to get subscriptions
There are many ways to tell the world that you have a newsletter, use as many ways as you can. You can use Twitter, Facebook or Google+ to post links that lead to your newsletter subscription page. You can create events where you need to subscribe to access them. Either way, let them know that the subscription process is quick and easy.
11. Emphasize feedback
Newsletters are a great way to get users to get involved with your brand. Consider including a contest or ask for their opinion about a product or aspect of your company.
12. Speed Up The Process
Once you have designed your template and selected the objectives of your newsletter, you will be amazed at how fast it will be to create them. Over time, your newsletters will create a community, and messages will be received more as a message to a group of people with similar characteristics than as an anonymous communication.
13. Be Like A Treasure Hunter
You must be constantly diving in the internet ocean looking for interesting things to include in your newsletter. Jot down inspirational websites, interesting quotes, take photos, write about your experiences, etc.
14. Be Consistent
If receiving your newsletter is something that happens on a regular basis, your subscribers will start to check their email systematically. Think about how often your newsletter should be, there is a fine line between keeping people informed and spamming.
15. Test Before Sending The Newsletter
Before sending your newsletter to all your subscribers, you need to do tests. Check that it is seen correctly in different email providers, or on different mobile devices. Even if you have used that template before, it may be that something is wrong, that the text has an error, that the images are too heavy and that the email provider does not process your newsletter, etc. These are mistakes you won’t discover until you send yourself a test and put yourself in the shoes of your subscriber.
