Examples of newsletters and how to create an effective one for your company

Once the recipient has made the decision to open the email based on the promise in the subject line, the actual content of your email newsletter must deliver on that promise.

If your campaign doesn't deliver on the promise that forced the reader to click in the first place, they will have every reason to ignore not only that email, but your brand as well. Their attention may be directed to something else in your inbox, depriving you of the opportunity to guide them further on their shopping journey.

We've all been subjected to countless examples of worthless email newsletters, which means everyone should have a pretty good idea of ​​what a bad one looks like. Email newsletters are very common, and almost every business uses them in some way ... so why are so many of them lacking in quality?

Creation of e-commerce newsletters

It seems that even the marketers who are building these lackluster campaigns are exposed to bad examples, but many of them are unable to come up with a solid strategy to deliver compelling content that will keep their audience interested.

So let's dive into creating successful eCommerce newsletters that will make your recipients glad they decided to continue their journey with your brand.

Emphasize substance and value in each shipment.

Not all types of marketing messages are created equal. But the general idea behind effective marketing communication is the same across all platforms: deliver substance and value.

There are a lot more details that go into creating high-quality email content, such as design, personalization, and customer segmentation, but if you don't have substance and value at the heart of your message, you're going to fail and it won't connect with the audience.

Despite the variety of eCommerce newsletters, not only are there brands that do it well, but there are also customer responses that reward those that are effective. We've found that despite having an 8-second filter and a popular disinterest in email marketing, Gen Z and millennials alike prefer to stay in touch with brands via email.

The secret? Provide value

When it comes to sending emails that members of any generation can engage with, it's more important than ever to optimize for mobile platforms, as more than 50% of campaigns are opened on mobile. And value is still key, so certain inbox changes, like the Gmail promotions tab, can be really positive, as subscribers are more likely to see that tab specifically when they want to search for shopping deals.

All of this points to a more active audience, as brands no longer have to compete directly with other content, such as personal correspondence, in recipients' mailboxes.

The main issue is that email newsletters tend to stick together simply because marketers think there is an operational imperative to have one.

You need to clearly define your strategy to tell a cohesive story that adds value to a specific audience and guides them through the various stages of the buying process. And it must complement and coordinate with the broader structure of your marketing and sales strategies.

When practiced correctly, email marketing for ecommerce brands can forge a crucial and lasting connection between the customer and the brand, bringing sustained value to both parties. Take a look at this example from online travel company Booking.com, which offers city guides alongside CTAs for accommodations.

Your email newsletter must have a purpose

When at their best, email newsletters share a compelling story with the reader. They are informative, educational, and provide clear instructions on how the reader must proceed if he wants to gain more value for his life or his goals.

E-commerce newsletters connect directly with customers.

First, email newsletters can convey a dense amount of information very quickly. While tweets generally need to reference a link to something more substantial, or billboards need to grab the audience's attention with prominent messages, email newsletters can convey a surprising amount of useful information to the reader in their own format. .

While ecommerce newsletters often contain links as well (usually in the form of CTAs), they can also be standalone informational assets.

Your newsletters must be personal.

Emails are intensely personal and delivered to a very specific reader. When you create a television or radio ad, or even an ad for a website or social media channel, you really don't have as much control over who sees it beyond analyzing demographic data.

When you send out an email newsletter, you're delivering that content to a specific audience, allowing for effective personalization and engagement with that subscriber. Campaign Monitor client Winkelstraat.nl segments its newsletters based on demographics and interests to display promotions to interested customers.

It's also important to note that email newsletters can provide consistent engagement with your customers, and their effectiveness can be intricately tracked and measured. Innovative marketing automation enables you to achieve incredible things with your email newsletters, and it is possible to communicate value frequently and effectively to a large audience at relatively low cost.

Set the correct priority

Set the right priority for email newsletter marketing.

Before getting into the different types and specific components of a great email newsletter, it's worth evaluating whether or not an e-commerce newsletter is a good fit for your business.

While email newsletters are a viable strategy for many businesses, there are certain situations where it can be more fruitful to pursue other opportunities, just like when considering any other marketing tool. E-commerce is generally an industry that benefits from email newsletters, but an examination of the specific business realities of your organization will tell you whether or not the strategy is likely to pay dividends for you.

Align email newsletter marketing with broader business goals.

The first step in any such evaluation is careful consideration of your business goals. You need to specifically define what you hope to get out of a newsletter email marketing campaign.

If you're trying to cultivate your subscriber relationships more effectively, you can be almost instantly successful with a well-planned newsletter campaign. Also, if you want to drive conversions for your website, crafting engaging newsletter content could help you expertly guide your prospects through the customer buying journey, resulting in a higher percentage of sales per each website visitor.

Alternatively, if your main marketing goals don't easily align with what email newsletters are designed to accomplish, it may be better to spend your money elsewhere. Trying to maintain an email newsletter initiative that is not supported by the proper resources, planning, and care can be far more damaging than not sending out newsletters at all.

For example, if one of your main goals is to drive more sales through partnerships, then you should consider spending more resources on creating a brand ambassador and reseller program. But on the other hand, you could also create a specific newsletter for members that provides information and news behind the scenes.

Allocate the right resources

Another important consideration in this decision is to take an honest assessment of your brand's resource availability in pursuit of your email newsletter goals.

It cannot be stressed enough: If your newsletter campaign implementation is random, unfocused, and worthless, then it is not the right time to go down this path. Marketing automation can help you get results and scale your email campaign as your business grows, but you still need the ability and willingness to dedicate enough to the initiative to ensure its success.

Before you begin, decide on a plausible budget, a schedule of availability for those who will contribute, and a plan to get support for the initiative from other areas of the company (IT, HR, design). Once you have a clear understanding of the requirements of the proposed e-newsletter campaign, along with the resources available, you will be able to work with the stakeholders involved to make an informed decision about the viability of the program for your brand.

On average, retailers send two to five ecommerce newsletter emails each month. This means that email marketers create dozens of emails each year and most retailers have entire teams dedicated to their function. Why? Because email marketing statistics show that email has the highest return on investment and the highest engagement among marketing channels.

There is an ROI that can be had

Okay, so ecommerce newsletter campaigns matter… but just sending them isn't enough. They have to be attractive, otherwise they will send you to the spam mailbox or customers will unsubscribe entirely. So what drives email marketing engagement?

  1. Newsletters with video content

Video as a medium for content consumption is only gaining popularity. Businesses that use video for marketing purposes see a 41% increase in traffic to their sites. But there is a catch: quality matters… a lot. 62% of consumers are more likely to have a negative perception of a brand that publishes poor content.

Using videos in emails works too. The providers claim that videos increase click-through rate by 55% and conversion rate by 55% and 24%. So how do you embed these in?

There are several different ways:

Use an image with a "Play" controller and link it to the actual video source on your website, blog, or YouTube channel.

Use an animated GIF created from your video in the email that links to the actual video source.

Embed the actual video in the email so that the customer can view it without having to go elsewhere.

Note: Not all email platforms support HTML5 technology and only 58% of recipients will be able to play a video that is embedded in the email. The rest, including Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook users will see a backup image. The image with the "Play" controller is the safest bet.

What videos should I share?

Videos should fit the content of the newsletter: create added value or introduce something. Here are some examples.

  1. A demo of a new collection

For example, let's say you're an email salesperson at the Giorgio Armani Fashion House. Your new email campaign will introduce new items from the spring / summer 2016 women's clothing collection. You can add the image with the "Play" command from the video of the new collection on YouTube or create an animated GIF image and link it to YouTube .

  1. Ideas on what to do with purchased items

Let's say you sell scarves. You can add a video that describes the many ways to carry a new or best-selling product. Or, if you sell accessories for women, add a video on how to wrap small gifts well.

Think about the personality of your client. What other aspects of their lifestyle can you help educate or inform, especially in relation to your product?

  1. Customer Testimonials - Unlock Videos, Reviews

If you have a video of your customers talking about your brand, add it. Positive feedback reassures customers and encourages them to make a purchase. See this unlocking video. It presents the product nicely and has thousands of views. You can use dedicated email campaigns to follow up with customers after purchase and encourage them to send something.

  1. Newsletters with animated GIF images

Animated promotional messages can tell a story and capture customer attention better than any static image. Use them for your email marketing activities to increase engagement and clicks.

You can create similar GIF campaigns with professional software. If you don't have the right skills or people on your team to do this, try these simple GIF generators:

  1. Newsletters announcing contests

Summer is a great time to announce competitions. People feel relaxed, adventurous, and ready for entertainment. To get the most out of your campaigns, be creative and provide a unique online experience for users.

This scratch card can come in handy. Email sellers use it to host lotteries to win free shipping or a gift. The scratch card is frowned upon by all email clients, including all versions of Outlook.

  1. Newsletters with a countdown

For the spring and summer sales: use limited offers and include a countdown timer in your emails. It helps when you launch a limited-time campaign and also creates urgency for customers to buy faster.

You can create this type of timer with tools like Motionmailapp.com, emailclockstar.com, and freshelements.com. They will generate an HTML code so that you can copy and paste into the HTML code field of the email editor.

  1. Newsletters with personalized recommendations

Adding recommendations in emails can lead to a 25% increase in sales and a 35% increase in click-through rates. Tools like Nosto will generate HTML code that will allow you to include products in your email campaign based on previous purchases.

These personalized emails will come in handy for promotional newsletters as well as post-purchase emails, cart recovery emails, and other triggered emails. This is a cross-sell and upsell opportunity.


Be the first to comment

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked with *

*

*

  1. Responsible for the data: Miguel Ángel Gatón
  2. Purpose of the data: Control SPAM, comment management.
  3. Legitimation: Your consent
  4. Communication of the data: The data will not be communicated to third parties except by legal obligation.
  5. Data storage: Database hosted by Occentus Networks (EU)
  6. Rights: At any time you can limit, recover and delete your information.