An email newsletter is a great way for businesses to stay in touch with their audience and build trust. They’re also a simple and affordable way to keep your brand visible, making them a great asset for businesses around the world.

The thought of starting your own newsletter can be a little daunting to begin with – but the reality is that they’re not that difficult to create and maintain. In fact, the biggest demand is likely to be your time constraint when creating the content and designs for your newsletters (and that’s why God invented freelancers…)

So, here are the things you’re going to need to pay attention to if you want to start your new newsletter off in the best way possible

Let’s Start At The Very End – The Very Best Place to Start

If you’re considering starting your own newsletter, then you do need to think a little bit more backwardly than you might be used to. What I mean by this is you need to know what your end goal is.

In other words, after your readers have read the newsletter, what do you want them to do? Sign up for your competition, take advantage of a discount, share a story… the list is endless, but know what your goal is.

With that goal in mind, you now have your call to action – that command at the end which tells people what to do next. Now you need to think about how to phrase that without coming on like Billy Mays in heat.

Go To Town With Your Subject Header

Once you have a great CTA, you should be thinking of an amazing subject header. Don’t forget, your readers are busy people, and they’re not going to be clicking on everything in their inbox. If your subject header isn’t enticing, your email is dead in the water, deleted, and gone with all the other losers in the great game of Inbox Cleaning.

So, why give them an excuse? You want to create email headers that are attention-grabbing and thought-provoking, and no longer than 5 – 7 words.

Don’t be tempted to go down the ALL CAPS SHOUTING ROUTE!!!!!! – and definitely keep those exclamation marks on lockdown. Those two things alone will make people back off very quickly, as you really just sound like Billy Mays in heat.

That’s if they even see it, of course. Email service providers hate spam, and if you go for an all-capstravaganza, they’re going to spam bin you before you even get where you want to be.

So, be calm and professional. You got this!

One good trick you can try is to read the email subject header to yourself before clicking the send button and ask yourself, “Would I open this?”

Act accordingly.

Use Images to Keep People Reading Your Email Newsletter

Now, you may be using images in your email newsletter – great idea! First off, they need to be relevant to your business, interesting, and of course pretty. Kittens are always good if you’re stuck for ideas!

Bear in mind that images are a great way to attract attention, which makes them a useful tool for pulling people further down your newsletter. An image with an amazing caption can keep pulling people further down than they might otherwise go, so be sure that your images – and captions – have their best game face on.

Take Care of the Content, and the Content Takes Care of You

So, what about the content? Content is king, as any writer worth their salt will tell you, so your content needs to shine. As this is a email newsletter, you want to focus on timely content as much as informative and educational content.

Whatever you do, don’t use fluff – it’s a waste of time for everyone involved. Get to the point, deliver the news, and then move on.

It’s also a good idea to avoid the Wall of Text – not only do these look intimidating to readers, they simply turn readers off. Nobody wants walls of text. On that note, nobody wants jargon either. Keep it short, keep it simple, and keep it fun – a good tone to adopt in most cases is a casual, approachable, and professional one that’s full of information.

Timing and Frequency Matter – A Lot

It’s worth considering how often you will send this out, as well as what time when it does go out. Remember, readers only have so much time, and the last thing you want to do is to exhaust them.

It doesn’t matter how informative, entertaining, or inspirational your email newsletter is if you’re bombarding your subscriber with constant content. They’re going to tune out and eventually unsubscribe because enough is enough.

It’s better to promise something like a monthly newsletter that’s full of content and a few fun things like coupons. Your schedule can vary, but many choose to send out email newsletters in the morning on a Monday or Tuesday.

One time to avoid is Friday afternoon when stuff gets lost in the inbox. Can’t beat that Friday feeling and a whole weekend stretching out ahead! So avoid that timing if at all possible – you will not win.

With these tips in mind, you’re ready to start your email newsletter on the right foot. Good luck – and write well!