Email newsletters are a powerful tool for small businesses to drive traffic and increase sales.

Estimated Reading Time: 8:30 minutes

In this comprehensive guide, we will explore the benefits of email marketing, share statistics that highlight its effectiveness, and provide practical tips on how to create successful newsletter campaigns. We will also discuss common mistakes to avoid and offer solutions to ensure your email marketing efforts are fruitful.

In the digital age, where attention spans are fleeting and online competition is fierce, email newsletters remain a potent weapon in a small business's marketing arsenal, and should not be overlooked. Email campaigns provide a direct line of communication with your audience and can significantly impact your bottom line. In this guide, we'll dive into the world of email marketing, explaining how to use newsletters effectively to grow your business.

Introducing The Power of Email Marketing:

Before we delve into the nitty-gritty of creating successful newsletter campaigns, let's take a moment to appreciate why email marketing is a must for small businesses:

• High Returns On Investment: Email marketing consistently delivers one of the highest returns on investment (ROI) among digital marketing channels. According to a report by the *Data & Marketing Association (DMA), the average ROI for email marketing is $42 for every $1 spent.

• Wide reach: **Statista reports that the number of global email users is expected to reach 4.6 billion by 2025. This massive audience potential makes email marketing an attractive option for businesses of all sizes.
  

• Targeted Communication: Email allows you to segment your audience and send tailored messages to different customer groups. This personalized approach increases engagement and conversion rates.
  

• Measurable Results: With email marketing platforms, you can track open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, and more. This data-driven approach enables you to refine your campaigns for better results.

Now that we've established the importance of email marketing, let's explore how to create newsletter campaigns that harness this power.

Creating Effective Newsletter Campaigns

One of the things I ask all my clients to remember is that their email campaign has an objective. That objective should be to get people to your engage with your website and/or company. The problem I come across with most every business I run into, is that they create amazing, informative, long-form content…and then post it in its entirety in their email campaign… My question then becomes….

”…why visit your website if I can do everything from my email?”

So let’s talk about that…

Long Form vs Short Form Content

Technically - this is going to come down to your personal audience. If long form content is something that your audience knows, loves, and expects from you… you don’t need to change based on my opinions. however, I am really just sharing this because I feel obligated to present both sides of the argument…

How I really feel

Keep in mind, I am just sharing my opinions based what I have experienced and seen work in the marketplace for both my clients, and myself. ***Studies show (and you can probably confirm in your own experience) people tend not to actually read online content in their email. Rather, they resort to scanning the page for valuable bits of information.

Benefits of short form email content

• WEBSITE SEO VALUE: Every piece of content on your website is read by search engines and used to help identify whether or not your website is a good fit for a given user query. The more unique, high-quality, subject driven content that you share with your website, the more search engines will begin to see you as a stronger authority in your subject matter. Every word is a possible keyword that can be used to enforce your place in page rank (SERP (Search Engine Results Page) ) .
  

• PEOPLE DON’T READ, THEY SCAN. As we mentioned above - people are looking for bits of information that is relevant to them. Very few people would sit down and read a long form email in their inbox. In the Tech generation, our attention spans have gradually eroded to the point that you have less than half a second before someone decides if they are interested or not.
  

• VISITING THE WEBSITE CAN REMIND THEM OF WHAT YOU OFFER: I can’t tell you how often past clients suddenly call or schedule an appointment, immediately after I share a newsletter with teasers about the latest web tips and updates. They see the newsletter and want to learn more about a particular blog we wrote, visit the website to read it, and then start looking around at what else we do. It’s common for me to get an appointment with a note that reads like “…I read your blog on web design and saw that you do SEO too”.
  

• WEBSITE TRACKING AND ENGAGEMENT: Search Engines also use both page engagement and time on page as a means of deciding if your page should be higher in search results. When your audience gets an email newsletter with (for example) a summary of the latest blogs and/or products for sale… being able to track what they clicked, and where they went, provides insight into what your audience might be most interested in…AND THAT… can help you create more engaging website for your audience.

OK - I feel like I might be getting off subject - BACK TO NEWSLETTERS

Let’s Talk About How To Create Effective Newsletter Campaigns:

• BUILD A QUALITY SUBSCRIBER LIST: The foundation of a successful newsletter campaign is a high-quality subscriber list. Avoid purchasing email lists, as they often lead to low engagement and legal complications. Instead, focus on organic list building through your website, social media, and in-store promotions.
  

  (Additional Note: Email lists are also rarely qualified leads. as an example - I built a website for a real estate company years ago, and the client included a footer link back to our company. We now get 100s of poorly targeted emails each month from companies that want to market real estate services to us…because they think we own the brokerage.)
  

• UNIQUE AND ENGAGING CONTENT IS KEY: Your newsletter's content should provide value to your subscribers. This could include product updates, educational articles, exclusive offers, or entertaining stories. Use eye-catching subject lines to entice recipients to open your emails
  
  (Additional Note: Breaking up your content with visuals and white space will make the newsletter more scanable.
  

• IT HAS TO BE MOBILE FRIENDLY: With the majority of emails being opened on mobile devices, it's crucial to ensure your newsletters are mobile-friendly. Use responsive design and concise, scannable content to enhance the mobile user experience.
  

• CONSISTENT BRANDING: Maintain consistent branding elements in your newsletters, including logos, color schemes, and typography. This fosters brand recognition and trust among your subscribers.
  

• INCLUDE CLEAR CALLS TO ACTION (CTA): Each newsletter should have a clear and compelling CTA. Whether it's encouraging a purchase, signing up for a webinar, or downloading a free resource, make it easy for recipients to take action.
  
  (Additional Note: When building calls to action - Make sure that you are linking with purpose. It should seem fairly obvious, however, always keep in mind that customers expect calls to action to take them right to where they need to go. If you are talking about a blog - the CTA should take them to the specific blog and not the home page …or even the blog page…Don’t make them look for things.)
  

• TEST & OPTIMIZE YOUR EMAILS BEFORE YOU SEND: Regularly test different elements of your newsletters, such as subject lines, email copy, images, and CTA buttons. Analyze the results and optimize your campaigns based on what works best for your audience. A lot of newsletter platforms will allow you to send a test mail to yourself. Don’t just check it on a computer. Open the email on your phone too.

Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them:

1. FAILING TO REVIEW YOUR ANALYTICS: Many businesses send newsletters without analyzing their performance. To avoid this mistake, regularly review your email marketing metrics and adjust your strategy accordingly. If certain types of content or subject lines consistently perform well, replicate those successes.
   

2. FLOODING USER INBOXES WITH EMAILS: Sending too many emails can lead to subscriber fatigue and high unsubscribe rates. Instead, create a well-thought-out email schedule that strikes a balance between staying top-of-mind and not overwhelming your audience. I just delt with this today when I had to unsubscribe from a website that I used to love… because they started sending me emails multiple times a day. When I shared this in feedback with their support team - they just unsubscribed me…. Absolutely horrible customer service. I won’t go back.
   

3. WE ARE NEARING MID 2K - THERE IS NO EXCUSE NOT TO BE MOBILE-CENTRIC: In the mobile-centric digital landscape, failing to optimize your emails for mobile devices is a major blunder. Use responsive design and preview your emails on various devices before sending them.
   
   (Additional Note: Please ensure your website is also mobile ready or you are likely wasting your time focusing on newsletters when you should be redesigning your website. P.S. I’m still surprised at the frequency that I find websites that still aren’t mobile friendly)
   

4. LACK OF PERSONALIZATION: Generic, one-size-fits-all newsletters are a turn off subscribers. Don’t just push content without passion. Leverage the data you have on your audience to send personalized content, product recommendations, and offers that resonate with each subscriber's interests and behavior, and can lead to brand loyalty. It also helps you to create emotional connection with your audience
   

5. DON’T IGNORE COMPLIANCE: Familiarize yourself with email marketing regulations, such as the CAN-SPAM Act in the United States and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe. Ensure your email marketing practices comply with these laws to avoid legal issues.

   (Additional Note: Make sure that there is an unsubscribe option in your email or you could be damaging your brand and risk getting blacklisted or even fined… AND…When I say FINED - I’m not joking around…. FTC can fine you $50,120.00 PER SPAM EMAIL! With a newsletter list of only 100 people - you are looking at over $5M in fines.)

Summary

In conclusion, email newsletters remain a potent tool for small businesses to drive traffic and increase sales. By building a quality subscriber list, crafting engaging content, optimizing for mobile, maintaining consistent branding, and employing effective CTAs, you can create successful newsletter campaigns. Additionally, learning from common mistakes and adapting your strategy over time will help you achieve even greater results from your email marketing efforts.

Schedule a free consult with us If you would like Urban Analog to help you with your email marketing campaign,

“Remember that email marketing is not a one-time effort but an ongoing process of refinement and improvement. Embrace the power of email newsletters to connect with your audience, nurture customer relationships, and ultimately grow your business.”

Sources:
* DMA (Data & Marketing Assosciation), "Marketer Email Tracking Study," Subscription service

** Statista, "Number of e-mail users worldwide 2017-2026,"

*** Talkroute “Long Form vs. Short Form Emails: Which Work Best?“

**** FTC ““