if you haven’t freshened up your email newsletter recently, it’s TIME! Give your readers something to look forward to, something new and interesting, while retaining your branding and everything that’s uniquely YOU.
We have a great advantage with email because it’s easy to update the look of the newsletter, and there are so many great ideas out there to be inspired by. I subscribe to all the training newsletters from the major email newsletter providers, and they are always sharing cool templates and features.
You can pick a great design and stick with it for a while. I believe you should give a design a chance to perform. Also, having a recognizable “look” to your newsletter signals your readers that you know what you’re doing.
THE BENEFITS OF SAMENESS
“Sameness” signals to readers that a publication is professional, solid, and trustworthy.
Daily newspapers, for example, hang onto outdated layouts because their brand is so tied to their look. If they are sold from crowded newsstands, publications rely on their distinct look to help them be recognized in a nano-second.
For newsletters, though, we are competing with everything else in your reader’s overflowing inbox — so, yes, we do need to stay fresh.
THE BENEFITS OF FRESHNESS
As you plan your redesign, keep recognizable elements that carry through from month to month. Your reader should be able to tell, at a glance, who the newsletter is from and be transported into that world. We can’t have them wondering who you are and how they landed on this email list.
Because we are in a creative profession, we need to go above and beyond in showcasing good design and functionality. The reader’s experience should be part of the redesign process.
Remember, our newsletter reminds readers why they want to do business with us.
I review and recommend design changes for client newsletters twice a year.
FIGHT LAZINESS
We can’t get complacent about our newsletter. Yes, you may be getting a decent open and click-through rate. But readers do get fatigued. We want our audience to be eager to receive our newsletter.
Our newsletter is a gift to our readers, so it should be wrapped n a format that’s special.
HOW FRESH IS FRESH?
Here are 7 ways to freshen the look of your email newsletter while maintaining enough continuity and branding so your readers won’t be confused:
- Build a flat template that looks good on desktop, mobile, and tablets. Use Litmus (https://litmus.com/blog/) or a similar service to test how responsive designs will look on various devices.
- Choose an eye-popping accent color for buttons, offers, and design elements. On a template, you can right-click on an element and see the code and just enter your own hex code. I love bright red: #FF0000.
- Entice readers with short but compelling summaries if you’re going to link to full articles.
- Make sure you’re using current social buttons. It’s a dead giveaway that you’re out of touch if you haven’t updated your buttons.
- Remove distracting backgrounds. Backgrounds also slow loading times, and with email newsletters, every second counts.
- Can the canned art and shoot your own natural-looking photos that are right-sized for optimum loading times.
- Simplify everything!
If you’re wondering if now is the time for an email newsletter re-do, then it’s probably time. Incorporate these ideas, and you should start seeing the difference right away. Freshen up!
Read more from Sandy here: https://printmediacentr.com/author/sandyhubbard/
Sandy Hubbard is a Marketing Strategist specializing in the Printing Industry.
She helps printers grow through disciplined business strategy, supporting the sales and marketing managers, and training teams to excel. Sandy is a Certified Scrum Master and has 40 years of experience leading print and media-related businesses.
Sandy favors email newsletters as a highly effective tool in integrated marketing programs. You can find Sandy each Wednesday, co-hosting Print Media Centr’s popular #PrintChat.
