Email newsletters are a great way to keep your customers in the know and engage with them! If executed properly, they can generate leads and help expand your base. If they are not executed properly, however, they can sour your readers on your brand. Here are a few simple tips to craft effective email newsletters and keep people from unsubscribing.  

Stick to a Schedule

Consistency is a key element to a successful email newsletter campaign. If, for example, you send out the day’s weather forecast, you’ll want the newsletter to be waiting for your readers when they wake up. For other content, it may be best to hit in the late morning or a certain day of the week. Your goal should be to make your newsletter part of your subscribers’ routine, so be consistent with your delivery, which can easily be automated. If you fail to do this, readers will quickly lose interest.

Keep it Simple

The human eye prefers simple, uncluttered presentation. Email newsletters with too many images, different fonts, and tons of words cause people to tune out subconsciously. This isn’t the place for a deep dive or data dump. Include a single image, and easy-to-read headers and paragraphs. Keep the information short and to the point. You can differentiate important points with bold text if you need to. The great thing about email newsletters, is you can always include hyperlinks, so readers are only a click away from more information

Call to Action

Just as with any kind of marketing, email newsletters need to close the circle with a call to action. If you are advertising a sale, ask readers to come. Depending on your industry, you can include a digital coupon or newsletter-specific offer or discount. The best email newsletters both engage and incentivize readers.

Pay Attention to Your Metrics

Always be aware of your subscription levels and which of your emails are remaining unopened. Separate your lists based on subscriber engagement, or send follow-ups for those who aren’t reading them with a subject line that is (politely) customized to them, maybe with an exclusive offer. If you have a specific call to action in one of your email newsletters that don’t deliver results, consider splitting your list and A/B testing two different approaches and see which perform best.

Make your email newsletter essential reading for your subscribers. Be consistent, simple, active, and aware of what’s working, and you’ll be on your way to success.