Need to write a regular newsletter for your customers, clients or readers? Ginger Brown can help
The power of a well crafted, easily navigated and professionally written newsletter cannot be understated. People are bombarded with content from every direction nowadays — TV, radio, podcasts and social media. And, while other forms of instant messaging and communications services such as Slack take some of the pressure off our inboxes. Being able to deliver information straight into an inbox is a highly valuable tool.
Experienced journalists Andrea Beattie and Cathy Anderson, the co founders of Ginger Brown Digital Content, are experts in creating all manner of content, whether it is 1500-word plus feature articles, 500-word Q&A blog posts featuring an interview, or short, sharp copywriting snippets. And it’s the latter that you need to make an enewsletter really sing.
Cathy and Andrea have more than 40 years’ combined experience. This ranges as reporters, sub editors and journalists for a variety of publications. They know what it takes to create an attention-grabbing headline. A story that will resonate and how to compact a larger message into a snappy paragraph that will have readers clicking through for more.
They are also experienced picture editors. Which means they understand the value of an inspiring image, or the entertainment cred from an appropriate giphy or video.
They have created newsletters for a variety of small business clients and arts festivals, as well as for their own niche clientele and their external Halloween-themed content arm, Hallozween.
To create a newsletter that people will want to open and read, you need professional writers. This is where Ginger Brown can help.
What is an enewsletter?
First, let’s get back to basics. An enewsletter is an email sent to a group of people who have agreed to allow you to contact them. There are strict rules about the collection of personal information and for contacting people you may know through business, social media or previous customers.
An enewsletter is also referred to as a newsletter (there aren’t too many paper varieties these days due to the cost of printing and distributing vs a free email) and an EDM which stands for Electronic Direct Mail.
Enewsletters are usually templated and managed through a third party platform such as MailChimp, Active Campaign or Capterra. Most of these offer a free service up to a certain amount of email addresses, and then charge a fee after that. You can set up the template according to your own design requirements and use it to create a fresh newsletter each time you want to send one.
Content and email marketing — do newsletters play a big part?
Content marketing is simply using content to communicate with your clients, customers or membership. It is also to offer them interesting ideas and information. People are more interested in reading articles than looking at ads. Particularly if that article or blog offers something of interest or solves a problem they might be experiencing.
An enewsletter can be an integral part of your content marketing strategy, if done correctly and if it is written well. Remember, although you are delivering an EDM straight into someone’s inbox, there is no guarantee they will open it. You really need to pique their interest with solid headlines and no spelling errors (it’s a major turn-off!).
The goal of professional content creation for things such as newsletters is to grab a potential customer’s attention. To keep hold of it as long as possible, and then to direct them to another source for more information or to take action. Such as to book a table at a restaurant, purchase a product or lock in for an appointment.
Email marketing is a widely used tool by digital marketers. It is highly recommended as an addition to any marketing strategy.
What sort of things do you include in an enewsletter?
A very good EDM includes a variety of items so as to provide something that will interest each person. Any articles that you link to should ideally be posted on your website to encourage web traffic.
Let’s take Ginger Brown’s restaurant client, 360Q, as an example. 360Q sends a newsletter to its database each month. Each EDM content is a mixture of the following:
- Menu specials and announcements of new dishes, local wines and cocktails.
- Updated information about restaurant hours and Covid-19 restrictions.
- Promotion of upcoming events including High Tea and New Year’s Eve parties with links to a What’s On page on the 360Q website.
- Staff profiles or links to media coverage of the business on the 360Q website’s News section.
- Sometimes a discount offer on a menu item or for certain guests such as seniors is offered.
- Collaborative marketing with other local businesses including day spas and accommodation.
What does great content look like in an Enewsletter?
Great content within a newsletter should be a combination of the following things.
Easy to read: Brevity is your best friend here. No one has time to read War and Peace in an email. Short, snappy sentences that convey exactly what you want to tell the reader and a call to action. ie: to click to get a discount or read a feature-length piece on a website. No more.
The right tone of voice: The tone of each newsletter entirely depends on the business or organisation that is sending it. A newsletter from an arts festival might have a fun and cheeky tone of voice. Whereas a financial services newsletter may need to be more factual and serious. It’s the job of the content creator to understand the personality of the sender and write appropriate content. That’s where the expertise of a professional journalist can come in handy — we understand how to write for different audiences.
Appropriate design: The layout of your EDM needs to be easy to follow, complement your branding in terms of colours and fonts and look appealing. Avoid flashy neon colours that offend the eyes and massive bold typefaces. Remember that a reader will need to scroll through your EDM and you don’t want them to be giving up because they are being bombarded (or losing interest) half way through.
Great images: Using eye-catching images, gifs or videos will enhance your EDM content and encourage readers to linger longer.
Calls to action: An enewsletter exists to inform the reader but also to encourage them to learn more about you and to ultimately engage with you in some way.
This could be a number of things but generally includes the following:
- Clicking through to read an article that might be posted on your website. Which in turn has a call to action to buy a product, book in for a service or make an appointment.
- Taking advantage of a sales discount by clicking through to your website and using a promotional code.
- Introducing something new to the reader, such as a new product, a new service or a new menu.
- Sharing information about a collaborating business ie a discount at a local spa if you are a destination dining restaurant in a rural or regional area.
Let’s work together to create amazing enewsletters
Many news outlets, businesses and organisations have worked successfully with Ginger Brown to create newsletters that read beautifully, look amazing and drive customers to where they need to go — and you can too!
Cathy and Andrea are constantly chatting with various organisations and small businesses. This enables us to create weekly, monthly and quarterly newsletters for clients, and are always open to new opportunities.
If you would like to know more about the kinds of EDMs that Cathy and Andrea may be able to create for you, then get in touch. Email Andrea: [email protected] or email Cathy: [email protected] to kickstart the conversation.
