How to Make an Email Newsletter: Ultimate Guide
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99% of email users check their inbox every single day. With over 4 billion email users globally, that means you can reach billions of people on a daily basis by sending emails. You probably already know the power of email, which is why you’re here– to learn how to make an email newsletter.
In this guide, we’ll touch on newsletter examples, including employee newsletter examples. You’ll learn how and why it’s useful to use email newsletters for both customers and employees. Plus, we’ll share software that can help you accomplish your communication goals in minutes, rather than days or weeks.
Starting with the basics, an email newsletter is a type of online communication tool that is based on email. You can spot the difference between an email newsletter and a regular plain text email with an email newsletter’s design and structure.
An email newsletter is a prime way to share news, updates, events, leadership messages, and more to customers and internally to employees. You can use free newsletter templates according to the message you wish to send to tailor email newsletters to your respective audiences.
For example, you may want a newsletter design to send an internal communications newsletter to employees about a new company policy or upcoming event. Or, you could wish to use an email newsletter to promote new products to customers.
The staggering figures at the start of this post should be enough to convince you that you need to be using email newsletters as a key tool to execute your communications (and marketing) strategies.
That being said, we can go even further into the reasons why an email newsletter is one of the best resources out there for engaging customers and employees.
With email newsletters, you can easily tailor content and design to maximize the impact of your message. Of course, you can share information across social media and other channels, but it’s not as easy to tailor messages and reach specific audience members in a personal way.
With an email newsletter, you can segment your audience based on whatever characteristic you wish, or you can send mass emails to your entire organization in one go if there’s something that everyone needs to know (i.e. an update to company policies or an upcoming company event).
This all brings us to how to make an email newsletter. With a tool like Publicate’s web-based email builder, you can choose from a library of beautiful pre-designed templates based on what you want to share. Then, with a few clicks of your mouse, you can drag-and-drop, modify, and customize the content to your liking.
Before you know it, you’ve created an email newsletter that’s ready to be sent from whatever email provider you’re already using. Plus, you can track metrics to monitor the success of your newsletter.
The pros of email newsletters definitely outweigh the cons. And, for every con, there’s a simple fix! And, when you see how to make an email newsletter in an easy fashion, you’ll have no reason why not to do so!
Let’s take a look.
Langston Hughes once said, “The prerequisite to writing is having something to say.” In a similar fashion, the only prerequisite to sending an email newsletter is having something to say.
So, if you’re wondering if you should start a newsletter, then you probably should because you have something to share. There are so many use cases and reasons why newsletters are a chosen form of communication, including:
The above list is abbreviated, but you get the gist. If you’re looking for a low-budget and effective way to share a message with employees, existing customers, or prospective customers, then you can’t go wrong with email newsletters.
Let’s consider how HR teams communicate with their employees. For many, communication happens over instant messaging platforms (like Slack), through direct mail (yes, snail mail), Intranet software, and plain-text emails.
While all of these tools do serve their own purpose, an email newsletter can help to boost engagement, increase open rates, and share important information in a fun and creative way.
With this in mind, knowing how to make an email newsletter will be key to your success.
Picture source Unsplash
So, here we find ourselves ready to get into the meat of this article. Take a look at what it takes to create an email newsletter that packs a punch.
This way, whether you’re looking to get in touch with external players (like customers or stakeholders) or seeking to share something with your VIPs (employees and staff), you’ll know what to do:
To begin, you’ll need to pick the email service provider that suits your needs. There are hundreds of email marketing service providers that range from full-service software to serving a single purpose. You’ll want to consider your needs, goals, and budget when browsing options.
If you’re looking to avoid costly email marketing software and stick to a web-based email builder that provides beautiful, easy-to-use templates, the ability to send emails from your existing email provider (i.e. Gmail, Yahoo!, Apple Mail, etc.), and offers analytics, then Publicate could be the tool you’ve been looking for. You can try it for free here.
Next up, you’ll want to set your goal. Are you looking to promote a new product and have customers visit your e-commerce site? Or, are you seeking to share a new hire update within your organization so that everyone can make the new employee feel welcome?
Whatever your goal may be, this step is crucial because it sets the tone and guides how you will find a template that is suitable for your needs.
With your goal in mind, you’re ready to find the fitting template. If you’re using a newsletter builder like Publicate, you can use the drop-downs and search for templates based on category, such as sales, events, blog, to name a few.
Pull together the content you wish to add to your newsletter. The template will guide you along the way.
With a template, you have sections already input that will give you an idea of how much content you’ll need, as well as any additional elements, like images, call-to-action buttons, etc.
You basically have the foundation ready to go, and you get to build it up. This template approach follows all email best practices so you just need to add the content.
With your email ready to go, before you press “Send,” you’ll need to make sure you're adhering to all legal compliance rules. Be sure to learn about CAN-SPAM (ensuring you offer an “unsubscribe” option for marketing emails to customers) and GDPR (protecting privacy) laws.
Since you’re tailoring messages for certain purposes and specific audiences, you’ll need to compile your email contact list.
This is a list of all the contacts you want the newsletter to be sent to. If you’re using personalization and choosing a software that can add in the first names of the recipients, be sure you have all this data input.
For marketing emails, even after you are sending successful email newsletters on a regular basis, you’ll want to aim for constant growth.
To do this, you’ll need to find a way to gain new subscribers. There are some different methods for doing so.
For example, if you’re an e-commerce store, then you can provide an incentive on a pop-up to new site visitors, asking for their email in exchange for a percentage discount on their first purchase.
Or, you can include an email newsletter subscription in the footer of your company’s website, so that people who are interested in receiving company or product updates and the latest news can opt-in.
Once you have your design, copy, subject line, legal compliance, and list ready to go, then you’re ready for takeoff.
Depending on the email service you’re using, you’ll either need to send the email out from their server (as is the case with Mailchimp, for example) or your existing email provider (like what Publicate supports).
Double-check everything is ready to go, links are pointing to the right place, images are high-res, your subject line is spelled properly, and all the details are taken care of so you can hit “send.”
One of the greatest pros of email newsletters is the ability to see how they perform. You can set up your own definition of success, whether it be a click-through rate or open rate, to give an example.
After you send your email out, you’ll be able to check the metrics and see where you may be able to improve next time.
Email newsletters often end up being a game of trial and error and can massively benefit from creativity and an open mind.
We’ve covered how to make an email newsletter, so now, it’s all in your head and hands to get started! Whether you’re looking to share a message to those within your organization or want to get in touch with customers, newsletter design software makes it a seamless process.
See how a tool like Publicate can get you started and take you to the finish line of any email newsletter that you wish to send.
