What is a newsletter? Definition, purpose, and benefits

Newsletters are crucial to have in your content marketing strategy. They offer a personal, flexible, and high-converting channel for communicating with existing and potential customers. They also serve as a long-term strategy for nurturing leads and keeping your brand top of mind.

In this post, we’ll discuss key things you need to know about newsletters. We’ll answer questions like “What is a newsletter?” and “What is the purpose of a newsletter?” We’ll also share a quick guide for creating an effective newsletter strategy.

What is a newsletter?

A newsletter is a regularly distributed publication that provides updates, information, and news about a specific topic or organization to existing subscribers. These newsletters can be delivered via email or other digital platforms, and they help you maintain communication with your audience to keep them engaged.

A well-crafted newsletter may include articles, product updates, industry news, promotional offers, and other engaging content. 

Overall, newsletters are effective tools for building and maintaining quality relationships with your target audience. 

And they’re not just for businesses that want to stay in touch with potential and existing customers. Newsletters can also be standalone businesses on their own. The Hassle and Harry’s Newsletter (from Marketing Examples) are good examples of well-executed newsletter strategies.

What purpose does a newsletter serve?

Now that we can define newsletters clearly, another key question is, “What is the purpose of a newsletter?” 

A newsletter is essential for the following reasons: 

To regularly share information and updates

First, newsletters are a reliable channel for consistently sharing important information with your target audience. 

You can use newsletters to keep subscribers informed about your products or services, new initiatives, and promotions. This helps you stay top-of-mind with your leads.

To build a connection and trust with the reader

You can use newsletters to position yourself as that thoughtful friend who always shows up with something valuable. 

The more useful information you share over time, the more readers will start to trust you and look forward to what your brand is up to. It’s even more effective when you send personalized newsletters to your audience based on specific interests or attributes. 

To improve brand perception

Newsletters are quite effective for shaping your brand perception. Sharing your brand story, communicating core values, or even highlighting your expertise through engaging email content can leave a positive impression on your audience. 

For instance, you can use email newsletters to tell your audience about the community impact your brand is making through sponsorships, sustainability efforts, and other inspiring projects. You’ll see how it influences your brand perception even more.

To increase business prospects

Finally, you can use newsletters as a long-term strategy for nurturing leads and driving conversions. In fact, according to 31% of B2B marketers, email newsletters are the best way to nurture leads. 

While it is not always direct selling, newsletters are useful tools for driving potential customers through your buying process until they convert to paying customers. 

Also, you can get subscribers to take desired actions like buying a product, registering for an event, or downloading a useful resource.

5 amazing benefits of a newsletter

Newsletters offer loads of benefits for anyone looking to enhance their marketing efforts:

Affordable marketing option 

Email marketing newsletters are quite affordable to create and send. The return on investment (ROI) is also high. 

A survey by Upcity reveals that 50% of marketers gain an average ROI of about $21-$40 for every dollar spent on email marketing

Setup costs are also manageable. In most cases, you only need to pay for good email marketing software. There are cost-effective options like GetResponse, which give you all the tools you need for engaging with your audience.

For as low as $15, GetResponse offers key features like an AI email generator, unlimited autoresponders, a custom automation workflow, and neat templates to enrich your email newsletter campaigns.

Effective form of direct marketing

Newsletters allow you to send messages straight to your recipients’ inboxes. That’s certainly more direct than a social media post. 

Such directness also allows you to deliver more personal content to your audiences and improve engagement with them.

Highly customizable

Newsletters are flexible too. You can add various content types based on your specific marketing goals. In a typical email newsletter, some sections may feature blog recommendations, product highlights, or upcoming activities you want leads to jump on.

Also, you can add interactive elements like videos, GIFs, surveys, etc., to make the email content more engaging. 

Likewise, design elements can be customized to reflect your brand’s identity so that you have a more consistent brand across marketing channels.

Automation capabilities

With the right tools, you can automate your newsletters for more timely and relevant communication with your audience. 

For instance, automated welcome emails can be sent to new subscribers. Company updates can also be set up to deliver monthly to your target audiences. 

GetResponse has effective automation workflows that allow you to trigger email newsletter deliveries based on specific user actions on your website or landing page. These automations save you time while still ensuring that you keep your audience engaged.

It is owned media

Unlike social media platforms, where algorithms dictate who sees your content and when they do so, newsletters give you more control over how to engage your audience. That’s why it’s considered “owned media”. 

With newsletters, you don’t need to rely on third-party platforms to get your emails seen. You can decide when to send your content to your audience with little to no external interruption. Your only concern would probably be your recipient’s cluttered inbox.

How to create a newsletter strategy

Moving forward, we’ll now walk you through five key steps for creating a newsletter strategy that works. 

1. Set your goals and identify your audience

Your first step to an effective newsletter strategy is to define clear goals. These could be to improve engagement rate, boost conversions, increase purchases, and so on. 

Your goals should be SMART—specific, measurable, relevant, and time-bound. 

For instance, “increase conversion rate by 10% in Q1” is better than a vague “increase conversion rate.” You’ll agree that the first one will be easier to track over time.

Next, collect enough intel about your target audience. Uncover their: 

• Demography (Gender, age, etc.)
• Interests
• Buying behaviors
• Profession,  and so on. 

These details help you align your newsletter content strategy accordingly. Polls, surveys, and competitor research are useful ways to collect information about your target audience. 

2. Select an email marketing platform

With clear goals in place, you can now choose your email marketing platform. Research the best email marketing tools and read product reviews to determine your ideal option.

Important features you want in your email marketing software include:

• Automation
• Segmentation
• Customizable newsletter templates
• Easy-to-use email builders
• Analytics
• Affordable pricing

You also want an email marketing solution that can accommodate a larger subscriber base over time. So, check the plans and look at how pricing will change based on the size of your growing email audience.

3. Segment smartly and create personalized content

Once you’re set on your preferred email software, divide your audience into segments based on shared attributes like preferences, behavior, and interests. 

Pick a specific segmentation strategy that will help you achieve your business goals. For example, you can segment your audience by interests if you have a store with various product lines. You could also segment your audience by geographic location if you’re providing location-specific services. 

Based on the user segments, you can then create valuable content that’s relevant and personalized for each group. 

You’ll know where to place a subscriber based on the information they provide on your newsletter sign-up form. That’s why it’s advisable to create a form that allows you to collect such data. But don’t include too many input fields, as that can also impact email signups. 

4. Maintain a calendar and schedule your newsletters

Plan a consistent schedule for your newsletters. Decide if the newsletters should be weekly, biweekly, or monthly. Aim for an interval that’s less likely to overwhelm your audience and make them unsubscribe. 

Your schedule should also be predictable so subscribers know when to expect the newsletters. You should also use a calendar to organize content creation and distribution. This makes the entire process more effective.

5. Monitor results and tweak content strategy as needed

Finally, track your email KPIs to determine how well you’re hitting your goals.

To assess the performance of your emails, observe data like:

• Open rate
• Click-through rate
• Bounce rate
• Delivery rate 

It’s a good thing you can follow these metrics for individual emails. This makes it easier to determine which newsletters are more effective over time.

Adjust your content strategy based on your findings to better achieve your goals.

Newsletter best practices

We’ve answered the question “What is a newsletter?” and shared steps for getting started. Next, let’s look at some important best practices you must follow to create a successful newsletter.

Write compelling subject lines

A compelling subject line is necessary for a successful newsletter campaign. That’s what determines whether your email gets opened.

With subject lines, aim to spark curiosity or make a promise. Remember, the idea is to give subscribers an expectation compelling enough to get you clicks. But only promise what’s actually in your email content.

Now, the common advice is to keep subject lines short (under 40-50 characters) to avoid truncation on mobile. But our research shows that more specific subject lines, even at 90-119 characters, get higher open rates.

A quick caveat: we don’t mean that you should completely abandon short subject lines, but even with them, be sure to communicate exactly what your email offers rather than being vague. 

This headline by Ever Eden is a good example. From the subject line, you know the email is about skincare for kids.

Source

You can also use subject lines that convey urgency. Preferably, do this with promotional marketing emails, and only when you have a special offer. This prevents your email from being considered spam or misleading.

Test different subject lines to see what works best with your audience and use that more often.

Include strategic CTAs

What’s a newsletter without a strategic call-to-action (CTA) to drive conversion? Ineffective. 

Make sure your email CTAs are clear and action-oriented. Tell the readers exactly what you want them to do. Here’s an example:

Call-to-action buttons should also be visually distinct from the other content in your newsletters. The same rule applies if you’re including the CTA as hyperlinked text in your email. Some CTA examples include:

• Shop Now
• Join Now
• Save Your Slot
• Get Your Discount

Ideally, you should limit each email to one primary CTA to avoid confusing or overwhelming your recipients.

Focus on relevance to the target reader

Personalized, relevant emails keep readers interested. So, don’t craft emails that look generic. Readers will lose interest over time and stop opening your emails. 

We already mentioned how segmentation allows you to send more relevant content to your subscribers. However, even when you’re sending the same content to your entire audience, craft the email copy so that each subscriber feels like you’re talking only to them. One effective hack is to address specific pain points or interests that are common to your average audience.

Be transparent

Build trust with your subscribers by being transparent about the type of content they’ll find in your newsletters. Is it promotional, educational, or just for regular product updates? Tell them this on the email sign-up page so they know what they’re signing up for.

Additionally, it’s nice to include an introductory paragraph in each email highlighting which value the reader will get.

Include the option to unsubscribe

Lastly, add an easy-to-find unsubscribe link to your emails. This is a legal requirement based on regulations like the GDPR and CAN-SPAM Act. 

Common practice is to have an unsubscribe link in the email footer, like the example below:

Source

Letting uninterested subscribers go freely is also an effective way to keep a clean subscriber list and focus your campaigns on people who want to hear from you.

You can also redirect your audience to an unsubscribe landing page (like the one above) where you ask them why they want to stop receiving your emails. You could learn a thing or two about how to improve your newsletter’s quality.

Conclusion

Newsletters are essential to your email marketing strategy. They help you share information, build trust, improve brand perception, and engage prospects. Beyond defining “what is a newsletter,” it’s important to recognize its benefits.

Newsletters offer a cost-effective way to achieve key marketing goals. They also give direct access to prospects as email campaigns go straight to the recipients’ inboxes. Plus, you can automate newsletters to ensure timely engagement with new leads.

To create an effective newsletter strategy, set clear goals, define your audience, and choose the right email marketing tool. Segment your email lists for better targeting, use a content calendar to schedule campaigns, and track performance to refine your approach over time. 

Also, make sure your subscribers always receive quality content.

That’s a wrap! Use these steps to kickstart your email marketing journey, and don’t forget those newsletter best practices we highlighted. Good luck!