- Define your target audience: Identify who your target audience is and tailor your newsletter content to their specific interests and needs.
- Create a consistent schedule: Decide on a consistent schedule for sending out your newsletter and stick to it. This will help your subscribers know when to expect your newsletter and keep them engaged. Don’t over-commit. Maybe start out doing it once a month or once a fortnight? It takes time to create quality, so the best thing to do is commit to what you can reasonably fit in and then go with that.
- Use a catchy subject line to draw in readers. Maybe even ask someone like TBD to help with creating the headline?: The subject line is the first thing your subscribers will see, so make sure it is attention-grabbing and relevant to the content of your newsletter. Headlines convert, newsletters deliver.
- Use visual elements: Incorporate images and infographics, to make your newsletter more engaging and easy to digest. If it’s about you or your business, include photos. If you can show them photos of you with clients, all the better. Views from offices are a subtle way of letting people know that you’re willing to spend time client-side and that your influence extends more than jut your home office.
- Include at least one call-to-action (but no more than a couple): Encourage your subscribers to engage with your content by including calls-to-action, such as links to your website or social media pages.
- Track and measure your results: Use analytics tools to track the performance of your newsletter and make adjustments and improvements as needed.
- Encourage feedback and engagement: Encourage your subscribers to give feedback and engage with your content by asking questions and starting discussions. Seek feedback – would they share it? Did they share it? Why?
- Promote your newsletter: Share your newsletter on your LinkedIn profile and other social media platforms to increase visibility and reach more people. You might even consider putting some small amount of boost budget behind it if it’s promoted by your company page so that you can quickly grow that subscriber base. You’ll be surprised quite how much goodwill subsists in your network that you can draw on.
- Be consistent: Be consistent with your messaging and branding, and make sure your newsletter aligns with your overall marketing strategy. Use a pen picture to define who it’s for (ideally a real client of yours – the likes of which you’d like to do more work for.) Write for that person and others like them will consistently show up.
- Keep it short and sweet: Keep your newsletter concise and to the point, and don’t overload your subscribers with too much information at once. It’s not that readers have small attention spans, rather that if you leave them wanting more, they’ll come back. And you can prune down to just your very best content. A bit like we’ve done with this list.
