Most successful online marketers adopt email pretty early in their business. I’m constantly asked  what makes emails successful. I always say that a successful email campaign relies on giving the consumers relevant and valuable information on a timely basis.

This is almost like how media deals with us consumers. We generally don’t like advertising but we don’t mind it as long as it’s not too intrusive and as long as we get some good information. To read New York Times online, we give them details of our annual income. We allow Google to scan our emails and put relevant ads in them, so that Google lets us use their free email. We leave our address, telephone number, email and other details at several places in return for information, discounts etc.

The Newsletter Approach 

Email newsletters can work for most online businesses. Many people think that email newsletters may not be good for their business. They feel that their subscribers will consider them a waste of time after all the effort that goes into the creation of such email newsletters.

But the fact is all kinds of marketers use email newsletters to market their products and services to a wide segment of audience. It’s possible to make a newsletter work for any business.

Email newsletters are completely different from emails. Emails answer a question or provide material to maintain a relationship with the subscriber.  Email newsletters offer everything from information about the company’s products and services; interesting, fun and relevant news about the product or the industry itself and promotional offers.

Another main difference for marketers is that email newsletters take time to create. Being on top of the action within your specific niche takes time; when you have to search different newspapers, magazines, websites for news and information related to the industry. It’s not just information, but information that your subscribers find interesting and fun. Bringing a smile on people’s faces is no small feat.

If you look at some of the really good newsletters out there, you’ll see what it takes to create one. They’re not loaded with just articles, but they also offer valuable insights, scoops and product/service information.

Some Effective Email Newsletters 

You will find many really good email newsletters out there. You may have subscribed to some too. Just browse through your emails and see what attracts you and you have the answer to what is called “effective.”

Here are some of the email newsletters I like:

The Link is the newsletter from the Department of Health Policy and Management. It uses a simple and attractive layout and provides the alumni and student information and everything that’s happening in the department. It has segments that highlight their work, along with special events and current news in the department. I like the simplicity and the way it conveys information in an easy to understand manner. Not loud, not artistic but really good.  Something like this may be good for beginners.

Brain Pickings is a discovery engine for “interestingness” that hunts and gathers information from around the world; “a subjective lens on what matters in the world and why, bringing you things you didn’t know you were interested in — until you are,” is how Maria describes the newsletter which comes out on Sundays. It contains the best articles from the week that went by.  It’s designed beautifully and is eye-catching.  I had to cut some of the text out to show you the art work. I like how it captures your attention instantly.

Typography has a beautiful newsletter that covers all the interesting new fonts and typographic contrasts. I guess the way the fonts are presented is extremely attractive. This newsletter has a great layout.

Make it simple, make it attractive, and make it loud – whatever you do – make it engaging and valuable.

Email Newsletters: Creation Tips

Make sure you use a language that’s relevant to your business. To create great email newsletters, it’s important you understand the “people” interested in this business and write for them. Use the language they would prefer, use images that don’t offend them and keep yourself ahead of all the current and future trends.

If you’re creating email newsletters for physicians, it has to contain medical terminology and complex sets of data than when you’re creating a health newsletter for lay people.

How you phrase your headlines matters too. Writing something like, “You can stop those wrinkles with this new discovery,” works better than “We’re bringing news of a new discovery for wrinkles!”  This works because you’re giving them a solution from the start, a solution for something that affects many people.

Another very important point is to always take action on all feedback you get. If you receive emails saying that you should be covering something or that you’re not discussing a new trend, get down to the research right away. It’s this ability to listen and act accordingly that draws people close to you and your business than anything else.

Learn to put a spin on the same news used by hundreds of other companies in your business and make it unique. Make it something that people relate to your business!

Publish your email newsletters on a regular schedule without fail. If you’ve decided to publish it on Saturdays, do it every single Saturday.

Is It A Magazine?

Email newsletters should have the feel of a magazine, although it tends to be smaller.  Look at different magazines for ideas and come up with a good layout. Look at a magazine that you don’t feel like setting aside.

You don’t need a whole lot of pages. Make it short but give it a magazine feel and look.  You can advertise your products just like they do in magazines. People won’t mind that as long as the content is good. In fact, good content also makes readers pay more attention to the ads, serving your goals.

Where Should The Ads Go?

The places in your email newsletters that contain the ads are called the “action areas.” It is these areas that get the most clicks from people.

• Top left and top right corners are the best “action areas” that elicit the most clicks. Use these areas to display your best offers. You can also rotate the offers each week to see which ones are getting the most clicks.

• Between the pieces of content is another area marketers place ads. Just make sure that your ad looks different from the content above and below it. This will prompt readers to click on it. Some marketers also place ads in the content, somewhere in the middle. I don’t like that, as I feel it can be annoying for the reader.