Elements of a Highly Effective Email Newsletter

Marketing

Nov 4

Email marketing is the most effective form of digital marketing out there, but that doesn’t mean it’s a breeze.

Many entrepreneurs feel overwhelmed and intimidated by email, which is totally normal. (Check out my Expand With Email online mini course for a comprehensive guide to getting started!)

In order for an email newsletter to be effective, it needs to first be opened by the recipient, add value, connect with them, and lead them your offer.

Let’s break down the elements of a highly effective email newsletter.

Subject

A catchy subject line is what gets people to open your email in the first place.

An effective subject line should hint at what the email contains without coming right out and saying it. Unless you’re having a sale, of course!

To practice writing intriguing subject lines, write out 5-20 options for each email. Need a little inspiration? Flip through magazines and scroll editorial and news websites.

A tool you can use is the Advanced Marketing Institute’s Headline Analyzer. It scores headlines from a scale of 0-100% and ranks them based on how emotional, spiritual, and logical it is.

Use this tool with a grain of salt, however. I had a client who adjusted her subject lines to get in the 80% range, but her subjects made no sense.

On brand design

Having a consistent brand makes your business look more professional and even trustworthy.

Marketing also seeks to build brand awareness, and by customizing your emails to adhere to your brand’s fonts, colors, and voice allows you to do that.

The goal is that when someone sees your e-newsletter, social media posts, flyers, you name it, they can identify your business without having to see your name. Think the Nike swoosh.

Want a cheat sheet? Check out my free Canva brand guide template. (It comes with a tutorial!)

Copy that converts (and connects)

Why would anyone want to read your emails? Because you pack them with the most interesting, informative, and/or entertaining stuff out there!

While that may seem like a tall order, email content can be simple. You can link to something you’ve already created, like a blog post or YouTube tutorial.

You could also share a story from your life that’s relevant to what you do.

The main objective is to connect with your audience so they’ll want to work with you (or buy your product), and to show that you’re an expert on your topic.

If you sell a physical product, the main focus will be on your product and how it fits into someone’s life, so you’ll want to build the connection between your audience and what your brand represents.

And you don’t have to be a writer to effectively connect with your audience. (The trick is to write how you talk.)

Calls to action (CTA)

The main purpose of marketing is to get people to your website so they can book with your or buy your offer.

A call to action (CTA) is what encourages someone to leave your e-newsletter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, blog post, etc. and head to your product/services/sales page.

On an e-newsletter, a call to action is a button or text link that directly brings people to your offer page.

Always include at least one CTA in your e-newsletter. You don’t have to link to an offer every week, you could link to a YouTube tutorial or blog post. Just make sure that wherever you link to has a call to action that leads to an offer page on your website.

*Always send yourself a test email to verify these links!

So what should your emails be about? Check out my Expand With Email online mini course. We cover strategy as well as how often you should send an e-newsletter, and even how to recycle content from social media and other marketing channels to make designing emails a breeze.