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How often should I write a newsletter?
There is no universal answer to this. You want it to be regular enough that people remember the last one and expect the next one, but infrequent enough that they don’t get annoyed. How often this is depends on many things, such as how often you have contact with your members through other means.
Somewhere between once per week and once per month is often recommended by marketing agencies, but ultimately it depends on you and your organisation.
If the receiver doesn’t read the newsletter at that point, they almost certainly never will. So, you have to make the subject stand out so much that they want to choose to read your email at that instant.
That said, do not create promises to your reader that can’t be fulfilled by the content. This will create a relationship of mistrust.
Maximum 35 characters. This is the limit on mobile devices, which are used by a large percentage of email users.
Consider adding the name of the reader, if using a platform that allows it. This will be opened by more people.
Avoid words which are likely to be picked up by email clients as spam, such as "free", "win", etc.
This easy to forget, but don't! This provides the piece of text that readers see in their inbox. If you don’t add it, then the start of the content will replace it.
It's easy to be tempted to simply repeat the subject, but this is a wasted opportunity. Add new information that will entice your reader to read the email.
Use a maximum of 85 characters, so that the end doesn't get chopped off.
Many marketing experts argue that each newsletter should have one clear goal and one clear call-to-action (CTA), and this should be the first content at the top of the newsletter. A call to action is an instruction to the reader to do an action immediately.
Put the CTA into a format that encourages readers to click it, such as a button. You can even do the same CTA multiple times in the same newsletter.
Consider adding interesting, relevant content to the newsletter that has no purpose for your organisation. This can encourage readers to engage with the newsletter and look out for future editions.
Some ideas:
Define what your tone will be, and keep it consistent thoughout the newsletters. Are you formal or informal? Conversational? Do you use slang? Or would you prefer to write the newsletter like a compelling novel?
Firstly, your content should be easily understandable. Bear in mind that if you are writing a newsletter, you probably know more about your organisation and the relevant topics than your readers do. You should use Layman's terms, avoid acronyms, and avoid assuming too much knowledge of your readers.
Secondly, your content should be interesting for them. What are they interested in? What sort of content? What format of content? For example, gifs are a great way of encouraging interaction from some (particularly young) demographics, but not everyone.
Even if you can write several thousand super interesting words, don’t. Or at least don’t do this in the newsletter. Keep it short and simple so people can get the information they need from it in less than a minute. If needed, you can link readers to your website for more information.
If you’d like to offer readers the chance to read more, or simply to direct traffic towards your website, then direct readers to your website for more information.
This doesn’t mean it always has to be the same (and it shouldn’t be!). But be consistent enough in the style, tone and overall purpose of your newsletter that readers know what the expect.
Make your brand clear. Include your logo, colours, and a font that represents you as an organisation.
Design the newsletter so people can “scan” it without much energy or time. To do this, consider using formatting such as bullet points, numbers, bold formatting, and headers.