Newsletters – the underrated medium

The advantages of newsletters are obvious – provided they are designed correctly and used effectively.

• Little time required
• Flexible design
• Cost-effective
• Target group focus
• Measurable
• 3 times higher average order value compared to social media

With partial automation, personalization, and mail sequences/funnels, newsletters offer enormous return on investment opportunities thanks to their low cost!

Why do you need a newsletter?

• To build trust with clients?
• To increase sales?
• To showcase your expertise?

Who is your target audience?

• Demographics
• Purchasing behavior

How do you define success?

• Increased sales figures?
• Open rate?
• Number of clicks?

What added value does the newsletter offer your target audience?

• Why should they read the newsletter?

What needs can be met, what benefits can be offered? Put yourself in the shoes of your counterpart. Here are some examples of possible benefits and added value of your new newsletter.

Build trust with clients

• News about products and services >>> How do you continue to develop your products? What special features and added value do they offer?
• Events and trade fairs >>> When and where can your clients meet you?
• News about the company >>> How are you developing your range of expertise? How do you benefit the community? What's happening at your company?
• BTS – behind the scenes >>> What information can you provide that is not obvious or already known?
• Milestones in the company >>> What special events are happening at your company? The more relevant your company is, the more important these are. You need to keep an eye on and emphasize the connection to the environment and your readers.
• Cooperation >>> e.g., with partners, other organizations, and the added value that results from this.
• Surveys >>> How you engage with your counterparts, what you learn from this.
• Media appearances >>> Appearances, reactions, information, and your dialogues in the media

Increase sales

• Personalized product recommendations
• Personal product recommendations
• Bestsellers
• Discount campaigns & vouchers
• Contests
• Limited offers
• Seasonal offers
• Holiday offers
• Big news in the product range

You should be able to answer these questions to get the best and clearest picture possible.

• How old is your target audience?
• What are the demographic characteristics of your target audience?
• What are the interests of your target audience?
• What values are important to your target audience?
• Are you targeting B2C or B2B subscribers?
• What jobs/positions does your target audience have?
• What questions, wishes, needs, and challenges does your target group have?
• What does your target group need?
• Where is your target group now and where does it want to go?

You need clear indicators of whether and how you are achieving your goals (key performance indicators, KPIs):

• Bounce rate
• Delivery rate
• Open rate
• Click rate
• Click-to-open rate
• Unsubscribe rate
• Mobile open rate
• Conversion rate
• Double opt-in rate
• Social sharing rate
• Number of subscribers and growth rates

• Who is/are your target audience(s)?
• Do you create target group-specific newsletters?
• What is the purpose of the newsletter?
• How often do you send out newsletters?
• How personalized should they be?
• What KPIs do you use as targets?
• What elements should the newsletter contain?

>>> In future episodes, we will show you what types of newsletters there are and how to design, write, and build them.