Why are newsletters essential, and how can they help you bring added value?

Communication, in all its forms, is a fundamental step in creating communities (relevant databases), maintaining close relationships with members (subscribers), personalizing interactions (targeting and segmentation), and subsequently showing gratitude to them through an indirect ‘Thank You!’ (building customer loyalty by offering discounts or freebies).

In the era of digitization, where online has become the new offline, newsletters are a crucial component of digital marketing that all brands should consider sooner or later.

Today, newsletters are the most powerful tool a brand can use to communicate directly with customers (B2C) or prospects (B2B) and the most effective way to sell and build customer loyalty. Subscriber communities have access to exclusive discounts, promotions, and offers through targeted email marketing. They can also receive industry news or valuable insights on a specific topic. However, we'll discuss all of these in the following sections.

Straight to Inbox. What makes us click?

The association of our needs in a given period with the specifics of the brand, amplified by a newsletter with a topic of impact, is the ‘perfect recipe’ for clicking on it. In addition to a short & catchy subject line, inserting emojis that grab our attention is equally important and makes us click. Besides that, the time we receive it is equally important. Even if we're loyal customers of a brand, if numerous newsletters arrive in our inbox simultaneously, we're likely to miss even the most anticipated ones. The good thing is that in the Mail app, we can create rules to filter emails based on how they arrive in our Inbox. By doing so, we will have the newsletters we receive from our favorite brand grouped into one category.

What makes us stay and keep reading them?

When we open a newsletter, the design is the central aspect we consider, as it has the most significant visual impact. To review it in its entirety, we should select a readable and visually appealing font that aligns with the brand identity. Likewise, newsletters that follow a similar structure, strike the perfect balance between text and banners, are a sure bet for achieving at least a satisfactory conversion rate. Last but not least, spending so much time on offer should be straightforward to navigate from such devices, not just desktops.

Frequency dilemma: How often do we want to receive a newsletter from a brand?

The cadence with which we are accustomed to receiving newsletters from a brand in our Inbox is essential to opening them and interacting with the content we receive. If we receive more than one newsletter a week, even from our favorite brand, it could become a reading experience that we no longer enjoy, so we open it less and less. And if we received them more often than that, we would delete most of them and eventually unsubscribe, which we don't want for any brand.

What do we want to find in a newsletter?

When discussing B2B newsletters, we naturally expect them to be more formal and informative in nature. Beyond industry news and trends, we want them to contain expertise and opinions, studies, and results. Thus, as entrepreneurs or decision-makers in company sales, we seek information that convinces us it is worthwhile to partner with the newsletter recipient in the future.

However, we hope to receive more engaging content when considering B2C newsletters from an end-customer perspective. Newsletters that include educational content (best practices, ideas, tips, solutions) and not just product boxes will entice us to open them more often and return to them.

When and where do we read more newsletters?

Since the phone has become an ‘extension of the hand,’ we spend so much time simultaneously online and offline, from the early morning hours, that switching between apps is no longer a stand-alone action. We often find ourselves reading newsletters in the morning over coffee, on the subway or bus, on the way to the office, during our lunch break, and while watching our favorite show in the evening. So, not being a core activity, brands can catch our attention if we interact with familiar content (in which we recognize the brand identity), from welcome emails to order updates.

How do you grow a brand community through newsletters?

The pandemic has repeatedly demonstrated that the power of the community surrounding a brand is essential in any industry. Constant communication, including gathering feedback from one-time customers, understanding the behavior of loyal consumers, and ultimately segmenting them to receive news and offers based on their preferences, helps brands stay afloat and thrive. Moreover, when consumers are satisfied, it's easily noticeable in a company's revenue.

What persuades us to press the ‘Call to action’ button?

It is preferable that the research, human resources, writing time, and costs associated with maintaining the newsletter platform materialize in conversions (leads for B2B and immediate sales for B2C) sooner or later. That is why every newsletter will end with a ‘Call to action.’

If we translate them ad litteram, then ‘newsletters’ would be those ‘news bulletins’ purely for information purposes. Or, they would be the digital equivalent of the newspapers and journals for which we used to stop at the newsagents on our weekly shopping trips.

However, they are a mix of news and results (B2B) and best practices and special offers (B2C) as a basis for promotion and sales. Brands are likely to win our trust when content follows such a recipe.

Adapting newsletter strategies for a multimedia future

In today's digital landscape, effective newsletters extend beyond traditional inboxes to various platforms, reflecting the evolving ways audiences consume content. Substack has seen a surge in popularity, enabling creators to build dedicated subscriber bases outside of email, while professionals increasingly utilize LinkedIn newsletters to share insights and foster engagement within their professional networks. This shift highlights the importance of adapting newsletter strategies to leverage multiple channels, ensuring content reaches audiences wherever they are.

Moreover, integrating video content into newsletters is essential for capturing audience attention and enhancing engagement. Interactive elements such as clickable polls, quizzes, and personalized calls-to-action transform passive recipients into active participants, fostering stronger connections. By leveraging multimedia and interactivity, brands can deliver more dynamic, memorable experiences that drive higher open and click-through rates, ultimately amplifying their message and building lasting relationships with their audience.

Whether you need a one-off email marketing campaign for your company or you're thinking of using newsletters as an integral part of your strategy, you've come to the right place. At JUNE, we are ready to bring our expertise to the table, develop your newsletter strategy together as an integral part of your marketing and sales funnel, and reach your target audience.

Newsletters are an essential component of the nurturing strategy, helping to maintain and strengthen relationships with potential customers while also increasing engagement and trust in your brand. By sending out newsletters, you can educate your audience, provide them with valuable information, and guide them to the following stages of the funnel, such as conversion or retention.