Why e-Newsletters are so Important for Content Marketing

E-Newsletters are a cornerstone of online content marketing. They are regular, engaging and encourage investment on your customers’ behalf. They are shareable too. At least this is all true if they are done well and done effectively.

 


 

In his book, Epic Content Marketing, Joe Pulizzi says:

  1. Don’t spam your newsletter. Get permission and offer opt-out links at the bottom of every e-newsletter you send out.
  2. It can be a good vehicle for promoting other content: webinars, e-books, white papers, live events, and so on.
  3. A roundup of the blog content into your e-newsletter is a solid one-two punch. Try daily blogging and a weekly or monthly e-newsletter review.

 

Pulizzi continues: ‘Unlike social media followers, your email database is a significant business asset.’ This is largely because you own it, so to speak. You can run its cogs and fuel it the way you want.

 


 

Main Call-to-Action

 

But, what you need are people to opt-in to your newsletter in the first place. Signing up for the newsletter should be the main call-to-action of your blog posts. Someone who may or may not be consciously interested in buying from you will have just read a fantastic piece of content. Hopefully, anyway. And they’ll want some way of reading more, of getting more. You’ve solved one pain point and they’ll have more; they’ll be moving along the buying cycle in some way.

 

The best way to do this is a newsletter sign-up landing page. The call-to-action will be a link to this. On that page, you should:

  • Spell out the benefits of the newsletter
  • Show a picture of what it will look like
  • Link to a sample of they’ll receive
  • Still, have the sign-up section above the fold. No scrolling down
  • Have as few fields as possible. You don’t need their life story and they don’t want to give it. What do you really need to know?
  • Remember that privacy is crucial. A link to your privacy statement is a must. Most people will never even click it (don’t panic when you’re viewing the figures on Analytics). But people like to know you’re not going to give out their private details like some drunk at a house party. At the bottom of the signup page, state what you’ll use their information for
  • Put a testimonial of what one happy customer has said about your newsletter
  • Finally, don’t have the main button read ‘submit’ like they’re already buying something. You don’t want them getting jittery at the last second. You’re not a cheap salesman. It should say ‘subscribe’ or ‘sign up’.

 

Don’t overcomplicate the process and always experiment a bit. Buyer behaviour can be different in different industries and niches.

 

 

 

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