Tips for Creating A Newsletter

The more I explore this small business marketing world, the more I believe a newsletter is important. When I participate at craft shows I’m often surprised by the amount of people who put their e-mail address down to subscribe to my newsletter. The majority of these people most likely do not read blogs. On top of that, they’re probably not as obsessed with social media as, say, I am.

A newsletter is a great way to reach this part of your audience. It’s advertising that is going straight to their inbox and can bring an immediate response if done well. I wanted to share a few tips that I always take into consideration when it comes to my newsletter.

1.) Shorter is better – Let’s be honest. When we get a lengthy e-mail from any business, odds are we skim it, at best. Because of this, I tend to feature a photo or collage image first thing in my newsletter that basically explains the purpose of the e-mail. Sometimes I will include actual text below the image if I feel like a little more information is necessary. I try to limit this text to just a few sentences.

2.) Don’t get too crazy on the graphics – Keep things simple. If you have too much going on the subscriber isn’t going to know where to look. The purpose should be easy to figure out. While I often use only one photo, I will add just a touch extra with fun arrows. I love these cute arrow graphics, and you can get them for 10% off with the coupon code jaa813!

3.) Build your subscription list – There are a lot of ways to try to grow your mailing list. First off, you can offer incentive. I give a coupon code to everyone who signs up for mine. Be sure to put a sign-up widget on your blog. If your newsletter is for your Etsy shop, you can include the link to the sign-up page in the e-mail that buyers receive after purchasing something from you. You can also occasionally promote for sign-ups on your social media pages. Oh, and don’t forget a sign up sheet if you do craft shows!

5.) Use an intriguing subject line – This can be tough, at least for me. I’ve heard it’s best you use only 4 words…which I have pretty much always failed at doing. But it’s a good way to prevent e-mail providers from thinking the e-mail is spam. My friend Erika told me to try to make the subject about the recipient. So I’ve been using the words “you” or “your” so that they can find it relate-able and are intrigued to open it. And of course, if you’re sharing a promotion, using the word “free” couldn’t hurt.

6.) And of course, include social media links! This might be a no-brainer for some but I think it’s so simple that it can be overlooked. Your social media links should be everywhere. Don’t make people search for you (often times they won’t). Provide easy access to all of your internet whereabouts.