Email newsletters are still one of the most cost-effective B2B marketing tools to get results. Some digital marketers place a higher emphasis on social media marketing and place them second. For B2B promotion though, nothing beats email marketing and newsletters to get relevant leads.
If you are not using email newsletters for your business marketing or failed to get the results that you want, here are some tips that can help you get better results.
Understand Your Audience Better Before You Write
In order to be successful with email marketing, you need to understand your target market first. Understand the key demographics of your potential buyers. Think about what motivates them, their desires, and what needs are solved by your products and services.
Once you have a better understanding of their needs, you will be able to draft newsletters from their perspectives that make a bigger connection.
Here are some key things to consider.
- Collect data about your target customers using analytical tools and CRM software
- Identify their needs, motivations and prior buying history
- Talk to them on social media and directly ask what motivates them to buy
- Use surveys and feedback forms to gather information
- Engage with your potential buyers in real life to get a better understanding
Choose Your Content Style
After you’ve researched your target audience, it’s time to create content for them.
It is a good practice to create a mix of text, colors and images in your email newsletters. Many businesses create a highlight of their recent activities, new product launches and service improvements. These can help attract readers to visit your website and place orders.
You can also link to blogs and images from outside sources. However, it is better to craft your own unique content because that gives you a branding opportunity. If you struggle to create unique content on your own, consider using content writing services that can do it for you.
A customized newsletter will give your audience a good reason to read through your email and take the desired action.
If your business website is rich with content or you have an active blog running, it can be a good place to start crafting your newsletter. You can add previews to your existing content and add link to your blogs, videos, photos, webinars and other content assets to get readers to take a look.
Keep Your Newsletters Simple
Don’t try to overdo your newsletters by adding too much information. They should be easy to read and make it clear what you want the reader to do.
Break the content into smaller paragraphs. Use lists and bullet points where necessary. Add a couple of images to increase the look of the newsletter. Avoid difficult words and technical jargon that makes people pull up a dictionary.
Big chunks of text don’t appeal to many people, so keep your message short. A couple of hundred words are more than enough. Give your subscribers the option to click on your website to read more if they want.
Also, don’t put too many videos and heavy graphics in the email that increase loading time.
In general, B2B marketing emails and newsletters are difficult to follow, but you can make yours stand out by keeping them simple yet interesting.
Offer Value And Not Just Promotion
When it comes to digital marketing, indirect approach is generally considered the best. This is when you offer value to your audience by offering informational or entertaining content instead of just telling them about what you have to sell.
Tell them a story. Make a comparison. Update them on the latest trend. Inform them how a problem that they might be facing was solved by someone else in a similar situation.
[See related article: Why Your E-mail Marketing Is Not Getting Expected ROI?]
Focus on composing your newsletter from your readers’ perspective and what they will get from reading it. Promoting your products too aggressively, without telling a story can lead to poor engagement and unsubscribes.
In order to promote your business in a classy way, follow the 80/20 rule. 80% of your content should be focused on giving information, education or entertainment to your client while only 20% or even less should be focused on promoting your products and services directly.
Work On Your Subject Lines
The subject line is crucial for getting readers to click on and read your email. In most cases, it is the only thing recipients see. If it doesn’t click with them, they are unlikely to open and read your newsletter.
If you can make the subject line irresistible for your subscribers, you will see your email opening rates go up. If your subject line is bland or too boring, your subscribers won’t bother.
Here are some tips to improve subject lines
- Pique your readers’ curiosity by adding some mystery to the subject line
- Keep subject lines short and meaningful, 4 – 8 words are the right range
- Write up several subject lines and then test them with your team and subscribers to determine effectiveness
- Avoid spam triggering words like sale and offer etc
Conclusion
The most important tip to remember is that success with your newsletters doesn’t come at once. In most cases, you will have to try and test different methods to see which one works. You should also keep track of success rates with the latest software and analytical tools.
If you are struggling to come up with what to write, you can also get help from professional content writers who can design and run the entire email campaign for you.
[Recommended reading: 5 Effective Email Marketing Tips To Grow Your Business]
[Image credits – Main Image by AllClear55 from Pixabay; Desert Photo by Cheryl Wee from Pexels; Business meeting by fauxels from Pexels; other images, logos, graphics or videos are from their respective websites and/or social platforms.]
Dave Brown is a professional email writer at Content Development Pros and gives small businesses a fighting chance to stand out from the crowd. When he’s not crafting winning strategies for his clients, Dave spends his time watching Netflix or just browsing YouTube. If you are looking for a top-tier email writer online, his services from Content Development Pros are highly recommended.