Launching a personal or professional newsletter is an opportunity to keep in touch with an audience and share content with them. This is an e-mail, sent periodically and generally transmitting information to a contact list. To make it as efficient as possible, there are procedures and best practices to follow. How to make a newsletter? How to write a good newsletter? Which tool to choose to create a good newsletter? Find out everything you need to know to write the perfect newsletter.
How to properly build a newsletter? 7 steps to follow
1 – Define the context and objectives
Before embarking on any project, you must first know what you are getting yourself into and why. Yes, even if you do it for a commercial interest, above all you must not do it don’t confuse your newsletter with email marketing. People who signed up for the newsletter did so to receive information, news, why not exclusive content, but not offers. The sale is a consequence of the newsletter (whether the subscribers are already customers or not).
If you are in a company, then we can imagine it the goal of this newsletter is to build customer loyalty and nurture leads to convert them. The aim is therefore to convey the company’s skills through this newsletter. On this occasion it will also be necessary to define the frequency of sending the newsletter. You have to try to find the balance: create a habit without seeming intrusive. If your domain does not allow weekly news, do not force it, it is better to make fewer topics, but which are more relevant.
2 – What to include in a newsletter? Define content and structure
Depending on your field of activity, the content will obviously be different. Before we even see the form that the newsletter should take, it is necessary to define what its content will be. It has been said that a newsletter usually conveys information. You can deliver them however you like, or at least in the way that is most enjoyable to read.
We will return to the module later. Whatever, the content should be relevant and useful for the person who registered. You must try to answer the potential problems your audience has in order to build trust with the reader and become more credible in their eyes.
To find his subjects, there are several ways. First of all, if you have already created content on your site, you can try to recycle itsummarizing it and working the module on provide additional added value. This method works best if you make premium content available on your site. Since you already have subscribers’ contact information, you can send them the “lead magnet” content directly.
You can also find problems that are completely independent of other content of your business. To do this, you can draw inspiration from your competitors, your audience characters, or do keyword research to understand your search intent.
For the structure, it will depend on the content but also on the layout. In any case it can be just a series of contents without necessarily a meaning, or a guide in several steps, everything is possible.
3 – Create a standard and effective layout
So, now that you know everything your newsletter will contain, you can start rolling it out. There are indispensable elements to incorporate into the layout, such as the logo and header.
If you don’t have the soul of a designer, that’s no problem since then all newsletter creation tools offer templates, all you need to do is customize. This is clearly the most accessible and fastest solution for everyone. The advantage is also that most of them work with drag and drop to facilitate the formatting work.
The view must be beautiful, but particularly enjoyable to read. It is better to bet something neutral and simple, which allows for easy reading while being attractive and limiting graphical risk-taking. The other important point of the visual is that it must respect the graphic charter of your company, so that the reader assimilates it well to your site.
4 – Write the title of the newsletter
We have the subject of content and formatting, so we need to move on to writing. The first thing to do write is the title (subject). This is absolutely crucial to the success of your newsletter.
First, and this also applies to the rest of the mail, it is necessary at all costs avoid spam words. These are words that the messengers detect and consider unwanted. In this case, your email will go directly to your recipient’s spam and will therefore be much less likely to be read. Here are some spam words: free, promotion, reduction, urgent, limited time, you won, congratulations, etc… The list is very long.
The subject of the newsletter must therefore be catchy by respecting these forbidden words. As in SEO, the goal is to attract the click, without lying. Number headings are generally quite effective: “10 Reasons To”, “15 Ways To”, etc …
5 – Write the rest of the content
For the rest of the content, you also need to avoid spam words to keep the chances of ending up in the inbox. In addition to being relevant and useful to your audience, it’s essential to stay concise. A Too long newsletters rarely succeed. Need get straight to the point and remember that this is not content that has been “researched” by the reader.
You also need to think about customization. Adding small variable elements like the name adds a human side. This is something that also applies to the amil object.
6 – Integrate a call to action
While it is necessary to avoid product offers and promotions directly in the newsletter, it is still necessary insert a call to action in the email. Preferably at the end, this call-to-action button aims to lead to your site. For example, as part of an information newsletter, you can integrate a “Find out the rest of our articles” CTA. But, for example, if you face a problem with one of your offers, this CTA could lead to your sales page on the site: “Our solution for …”.
In terms of form, the button needs to stand out in the eyes of your readers. Don’t hesitate to use a much stronger color to attract as much as possible. The text must also encourage clicking, of course.
7 – Distribute the newsletter
Before distributing the newsletter, it is of course necessary reread. If your email is misspelled, this could work against you in the eyes of your audience. To get feedback on spelling, layout, and content, you shouldn’t feel free to send it to a colleague.
So, to distribute your newsletter, you need a tool. This will surely be used to build it as well. This is what we will see next.
Which tool to create a newsletter?
Sendinblue, easy and free newsletter creation
Sendinblue is a French all-in-one digital marketing platform. It is particularly known for its emailing features but it actually allows you to work on almost all web marketing levers.
With this tool, the creating the newsletter is very simple. Just select a template (or start from scratch) and then customize it with theirs drag and drop. Of course you can add variable elements such as the name or the city. It is also possible to do A / B testing to find out which version of your newsletter is the best.
With their free version, you can start creating and sending your newsletter for free.
GetResponse, the ultra complete solution for a successful newsletter
GetResponse is another interesting solution for creating newsletters for free. With the many models available, you will necessarily find the newsletter style that suits you. Also in this case the editor works via drag and drop.
In addition to creating newsletters, GetResponse offers many features such as marketing automation, creating sales funnels, landing pages, and much more.
MailerLite, the drag-and-drop editor to create a fantastic newsletter
To create marketing newsletters or emails, we also recommend the MailerLite tool. As for newsletters, they have very interesting advanced features. It is already possibleedit newsletters by drag and drop or in HTML. Also, you will be able integrate e-commerce blocks, interactive blocks, surveys into your newslettersand other dynamic content.
Like the other 2 tools we’ve seen, MailerLite offers you a free plan, limited to 1000 contacts and 12,000 monthly emails.
Now you know what is the procedure to follow and the tools to use to create a perfect newsletter. If you have any other newsletter building tips or platforms to add, feel free to share them in the comments or on our social media.