If you’ve read our previous blogs, What is an email newsletter and How to plan an email newsletter campaign, then you’re ready to create your first newsletter!
As you’ve already read, email newsletters are basically teasers that lead you to longer content. They’re not meant to be actual “letters,” filled with pages of words, reading like novels.
Instead, they’re meant to be visual postcards linking to your website. It might very well be a novel that you’re leading them to, but instead of writing it in your newsletter, let your audience read it on your website where it counts in your page views.
This strategy changes the amount of content you include in your newsletter, and leaves open the option to create short blurbs, great visuals and large, clear link buttons and calls to action.
Creating your newsletter begins with choosing 3 – 4 of your topics to include, based on relevance, event timing and other factors.
With these topics in mind, you’ll create a short, engaging subject line that sums it all up and entices readers to open your newsletter.
Next, you’ll choose your images or videos and write your headers and blurbs. This step can be done within your chosen newletter tool, like Klaviyo or Mailchimp, through their templates, or it can be done using a tool like Adobe Express, where you can overlay text on top of images to create professional looking newsletter pieces.
Creating a newsletter
You’ve got your first set of topics and you’re ready to go – but you’re not a graphic designer and have no idea where to start! Is it better to use the templates provided by the newsletter tools, or should you try to design your own?
At Ping, we use tools like Adobe Express (free) to lay out simple but beautiful photos overlaid with text, buttons and logos. Adobe Express gives you the option to add your logo, colors and font as a “brand,” making it easy to add elements like buttons to your images. There are also other tools like Canva you can check out.
Services like Hubspot, Mailchimp and Klaviyo
There are some fantastic tools available that are free if you have a small contact list, so you can explore a few of them if you want and see which one feels the best.
There are several advantages to using a newsletter app, which is why so many people are willing to pay for these services. They make your life easier by managing your email lists, providing templates and steps for each newsletter you produce, and also by providing valuable analytics on how your newsletter performed.
They all offer similar services – list management, templates for newsletters, storage for images and sent newsletters, and analytics for each newsletter. They also offer things like newsletter signup code that you can embed in your website.
There are many options regarding newsletter apps, with the most popular being Hubspot, Mailchimp and Klaviyo. We use them all here at Ping, and each one has different strengths and weaknesses. Some people prefer one platform over another for ease of use, price point or because they like certain templates.
Filling in templates versus creating your own slides
While it’s perfectly acceptable to use the templates provided by these websites as your guide for where you’ll place your headers, images and text, you’ll notice as you build a list of favorite newsletters that the ones that are better designed feature text overlays and a much better use of space than the templates can provide.
We recommend trying to build your own newsletter slides with a tool like Canva or Adobe Express and then uploading them to the image slots of your template. Then you can just link them to your landing pages. Its cleaner, more controllable and gives you a better result than staying within the parameters of the template and trying to make everything look good.
Choosing a template to get started
Regardless of whether you’re creating your own slides to pop into your newsletter or creating it from scratch, you’ll want to start with a simple template.
Each newsletter app offers a ton of different options and they’re fun to explore. You’ll be able to see the wide range of design options, and you’ll be able to see templates that align well with your brand.
Keep in mind that you’ll be able to change just about every aspect of these templates, so if the color is off or the font isn’t to your liking, don’t worry, those can be changed. Start by choosing the layout that is closest to your brand identity and visually appealing to your readers.
Keep in mind when choosing your template or designing your newsletter pieces that you want to maintain a consistent look, feel and voice throughout all of your newsletters. Continue to utilize the choices you made when planning.
Designing your newsletter begins with your inspiration examples. Take a look at what you liked about those newsletters. Were they clean, crisp and simple? Were they sumptuous and full of a luxury feel?
Make sure you optimize your newsletter for mobile devices, which is where most newsletters are read. Utilizing tools like Adobe Express can ensure a unified look.
Keep images on point
The images you choose for your newsletter should be relevant to the subject, high-quality and engaging. The images pull the reader in even more than the text, so make sure your images are compelling, alluring and interesting enough to draw attention (and hopefully click-thrus).
Consider what your images look like together, flowing from one to the next. Ideally, you should incorporate 3 – 4 visual images in your newsletter, and they should flow well visually, in terms of color, texture and subject matter.
Create a newsletter with concise, relevant copy
At Ping, we like to keep the copy minimal in our newsletters – just enough information to motivate our readers to click through to our blog, our offer, or other incentive. We keep the majority of the message online, and use the newsletter as a calling card.
Keeping your copy minimal also gives you more creative opportunity and more visual space to work with.
Ultimately, when choosing images and copy for your newsletter, focus on delivering value to your audience. Think about what would thrill them, excite them, entice them and inform them.
Consider what your readers don’t want.
If your newsletter list is 90% people who have already purchased your product, don’t hammer them with more sales incentives. Instead, provide information on new ways to use their purchase, new information about your industry that would interest them, and things of that nature.
Get their attention
Engaging headlines, impactful images and compelling copy all work together to create a successful newsletter. The key is to make it both informative and entertaining, and as always, the tone of your newsletter should be aligned with your brand identity and the interests of your readers.
Break it up
Make it easy for your readers to navigate. Break up your text and images, headings and subheadings into easily digestible nuggets. Break up big blocks of text, if you have any at all. Make it easy to read, including clear call-to-action buttons.
Make it adaptable for mobile and other screens
Almost all templates now will scale to different devices and screen sizes, so that they appear beautiful and balanced whether they’re being viewed on a phone, a tablet, a laptop or a desktop. Always use a responsive design that adapts to different devices and screen sizes.
Some other tricks to keep your copy always looking great:
- Keep all headings and sub headings centered. This will keep your blog looking more uniform on smaller devices.
- Break up big blocks of text. On phones, those two sentences take up the entire screen. Break up big blocks of text with headers, images and space so the mobile reader can digest it in smaller bites.
- Test it out. Always open your trial run newsletters on your phone and test all links. See what the experience is like, and make any needed changes.
When to send and how to track
Timing is everything when it comes to sending your newsletter. Choose a day and time that is most convenient for your readers, and avoid sending your newsletter during busy times such as weekends and holidays. A good time is midday, mid-week in most cases.
Always test, test test!
Before sending your newsletter out to your entire list, send a few tests to make sure it’s free of errors and optimized properly for different devices. Open your test newsletter on as many different devices as possible and make sure it looks good. Send it to friends & family, and ask them for feedback.
Test all of the links to make sure they are set up correctly, including your social media links at the bottom in your footer. Make any needed corrections before you schedule your newsletter to launch.
Analytics: valuable insight
A lot of companies send out their newsletters but never look at the analytics provided. They may feel intimidated by the data or just not think it’s important, but here at Ping, we find the analytics to be profoundly informative in our next moves.
Once your newsletter has launched, you can watch your results in real time by looking at the analytics. It will show you how many recipients of the newsletter actually opened it and specifically who they are.
The analytics show graphs of which links were clicked, showing you what elements of your newsletter were successful and which were passed over. Did they skip over your section on the end-of-year sale but clicked through to the blog on product updates? Did they skip the article on industry news but click on the funny story from your office move?
The analytics inform you of what’s working, what’s not working and what to do to get better results. Here at Ping, had great success with our newsletters, with some of them getting more than 50% open rates (the industry standard is lower than 10%).
Time to get it started!
A well-crafted newsletter is an effective way to build trust and loyalty, and grow your target audience. By following these best practices, you can create a newsletter campaign that delivers value to your readers and drives results for your business.