Creating a successful newsletter: our tips and tricks for success

The newsletter is a powerful marketing tool. But you still have to do the right thing. Few companies manage to make it an effective lever. In this article, you will find all my tips and tricks for (finally) sending an effective and attractive newsletter, which brings REAL results!

Generating traffic, retaining customers, converting prospects... The newsletter promises all of this at the same time. And almost for free. So it's not for nothing that a lot of businesses have adopted it.

But how many of them manage to reach their goals?

Very few unfortunately.

A very low opening rate and a very low click rate, cascading unsubscriptions... The lights are often red.

If that's the case for you, then you've come to the right place.

If you don't have a newsletter yet, you've come to the right place too.

In this article, I am going to give you all the keys to perform and make your newsletter a real traction channel.

On the program:

• Create a newsletter that speaks to its readers
• What content (s) to write and share
• What structure to use
• What are the indicators to follow to optimize the performance of your newsletter

In charge of content at Growth Room, I am in charge of the newsletter. Every week (Thursday to be precise), I share our Growth news and tips. This newsletter, which I write with love, is followed by about 4000 followers, and records on average 55% openness (compared to 22% in general) and 6% of clicks.

If you have not yet registered, do not hesitate. Go to the site of Growth Room, at the very bottom of the home page.

Create an effective newsletter: know your audience

Who are you writing for? It is imperative that you ask yourself this question, before you even start writing your newsletter.

It is by defining your audience that you will succeed in performing.

This also applies to every content you create: posts on social networks, blog posts, etc. For your articles, I invite you to read my paper on How to write a blog post like a pro

How do you get to know your readers?

It's simple: you have to ask them questions and ask them questions.

Send a Typeform form for example to ask for their sector, their status, their problems, their desires concerning the topics covered, etc.

Do not skip this step, it will really benefit you!

If you create content that does not interest them, they will obviously get the job done, and above all, they will not share/recommend your newsletter to their acquaintances. Referral (or recommendation) is very important on this channel.

Writing a title that rocks

The object is the lifeblood.

As in cold emailing, you need to stand out, encourage your readers to click.

Your object should:

• Preferably be short. What do you do when you see an email subject that is too long? You are deleting it! So don't repeat the same mistake, avoid titles that are too long.

• Awaken curiosity. Write a slightly mysterious object that encourages you to click. Do not hesitate to play word games for example 😉

Here are 3 examples of items that worked very well by the Growth Room newsletter:

An object that did not work at all:

“Facebook: Ads that deliver results.”

This one only got 25% opening ☹️

Why? This object was too factual, and above all, I excluded people who were not interested in Facebook Ads from the start. However, the newsletter included other tips on other levers that could have helped them. The dumpling!

For each shipment, A/B test your item. The SendinBlue tool, for example, allows you to test two objects. It sends both objects to a sample, selects the best performing one, and uses it for all other recipients.

Careful! Avoid including “spam words” (example: promotion, gift, free, etc.) and to include too many capital letters or punctuation marks.

Newsletter: create qualitative content!

Stop the poor newsletters

You need to subscribe to a lot of newsletters.

If you look closely, many are super stylish in terms of design.

It's rattling. Our eyes are ecstatic. Congratulations to the graphic designer behind. But what about the content? Written text?

Absolute poverty.

Some businesses/brands mistake their newsletter for a flyer.

It's good to announce a new product, a promo, but the aim of the newsletter is also to create a community, to make customers or prospects want to stay close to us.

Example for a ready-to-wear brand (whose name I won't tell you):

It announces the return of the “Nano”, jeans that seem iconic. And that's all. Another problem: I saw this “news” on Instagram. So I'm not learning anything, and the label polluted my inbox for Nada. I unsubscribed.

Others only share their blog posts: a title, a mini description, and “Click here to read more.”

This is very good for increasing your traffic, encouraging your subscribers to read the content of your blog. But it is also necessary offer other content, and if possible “exclusive”, which cannot be found on the blog or elsewhere.

That's what I'm doing for the Growth Room newsletter. I share articles but especially Growth tips that are not covered on the blog. Tips and tricks from our experts.

Exclusivity will bring you enormous added value!

What content should you share in your newsletter?

As mentioned above, don't just share your newest product or your latest blog post.

What works best: advice, tips, discoveries.

It is necessary create value, share expertise!

As a reminder, human beings are interested in themselves above all: they want to improve their well-being, their daily lives, their finances, etc. They want to be educated, to move forward.

So share content that could (really) bring something to your readers!

And so you can receive this type of feedback 😉

Here is an example of a very good newsletter: “Spoon” by Virgil, a startup that helps first-time buyers acquire real estate in big cities by investing alongside them.

Twice a month, she shares actionable advice, information and very interesting news to become money-smart.

Loved their latest newsletter: The 30 tips to read before 30.

Some screenshots from their newsletter:

Whatever your theme, I am sure you have plenty to do. And if you did your job well at the beginning, namely soliciting your subscribers, you will have plenty of topics to write about!

For each of your newsletters, try to answer this question: What do I bring to my audience?

How do I find subject ideas for my newsletter?

The blank page is fatal.

“I don't know what to write,” “I don't have any ideas for a topic,” etc.

To avoid this blockage, do not hesitate to watch.

Gather as much information as possible about your sector, read blogs, watch YouTube videos, subscribe to competitors' newsletters, etc. You're bound to find inspiration! Of course, avoid plagiarism 😉

Have you read very informative content? You can share it with your readers! It also shows that you are constantly learning about the subject.

For Growth Room, I also share tips and tricks found on blogs from American Growth Marketing experts.

Tip. If you don't have time to read or watch everything, save the content you're interested in on Pocket. It's a Chrome extension. Once the tool is installed on your browser, click on it to save them. You can then consult all your content in a single click, whenever you want. Super practical!

What structure should you use for your newsletter?

There is no rule, no magic structure.

It all depends on your sector, your business.

For the Growth Room newsletter, I generally divide it into three parts:

• A tip or a blog post
• A second tip
• A tool to discover or news from the collective.

With a summary at the beginning to announce the topics to readers.

A good newsletter should not be too short or too long.

Too short: she will be poor.

Too long: it will be less impacting.

Your recipients often read their emails in transport, on mobile. They don't have 4 hours in front of them, nor the courage to read an entire novel. A long text tires you out, and above all, if you give them too much information, you may lose it. Too much info, kill the info! So don't give too much. You will save when you pass the subjects 😉

You can divide your newsletter into 2-3 topics, or you can create a newsletter with a main subject, detailed in sub-sections.

Test, test and test!

Writing a “human” newsletter

Don't be a robot

Remember that you are writing to real people. They think, reflect, have emotions.

So address your readers with authenticity, sincerity and passion!

When creating your newsletter, don't hesitate to show your vulnerability and emotions. The more your content seems genuine and not “marketed”, the more successful it will be.

Be also simple in your writing. You are not Proust, and thankfully. Your content should be understandable to everyone. Write as you speak, avoiding colloquial language, of course.

Should you tutoy or send me a message in your newsletter?

For your newsletter, it's up to you to choose according to your audience.

For my part, I prefer vows to hugs. A matter of politeness and elegance.

Do not hesitate to ask your community: “Do you prefer that I tutor you or that I want you? ” You will then be fixed.

If you use “you,” always remember to speak to only one person when writing. You need to talk to your reader, not your readers! When I write the newsletter or even an article, I imagine myself talking to Michel or Karine.

Don't use “we” or “I” too much. To be sure you're using enough “you” or “you”, you can do the “You Test” by Tom Ahern, a coach who specializes in communication. Your content should have twice as many “you” or “you” as “I” or “us.”

Create a relationship with your subscribers

• Through your writing

Put on a little “heat” to establish proximity with your reader. Feeling closer to you, he will be more sensitive to your arguments and more likely to trust you.

Do not use language that is too strong, speak like them with a bit of humor, compassion, etc.

• Through your content.

To create a relationship, do not hesitate to sharing “backstage” moments. Show behind the scenes of your business, your team, etc.

At Growth Room, I often share Moments of life, and the feedback is always very positive.

When we met again after months of working from home:

Or a few photos from our vacation:

• Respond to all your emails, and as quickly as possible. Let your readers know that you are there for them, that there is a real person behind each email sent.

Create interactions with your audience

Of course, to respond to emails, you have to receive them.

Ask questions to get your recipients to react: “What do you think? ”, “Also share your best tips with us”, “Share your experience on X with us too”, etc.

The “how are you? ” is not enough. Besides, no one will answer you “I'm fine thank you”.

Note: the more answers you get, the easier it will be for you to get to your subscribers' main inbox.

When should you send your newsletter?

No day, no magic hour.

In B2B, it is more advisable to send your newsletter during the week, in the morning. At Growth Room, we send it out on Thursday at 8:30am.

If you are hesitating between two dates, ask your readers. “Would you like to receive our newsletter on Tuesday or Thursday? ”.

How often should you send your newsletter?

It all depends on your time and workload.

The ideal will be to send one newsletter per week or two per month. One per month is a bit light because your audience will forget you.

Above all, stick to your schedule!

Thursday is Thursday. Not Tuesday or Friday. The aim is to create an appointment. If you one day receive this message” Hello Karine, I did not receive the newsletter today, what happens? ”. You will have won everything.

Of course, you can have setbacks. You are sick, you are taking time off, etc. In this case, let your subscribers know. They won't be mad at you 😉

At Growth Room, we had Covid. The newsletter cannot be sent. I explained the situation and received a lot of support.

Again, be human!

consultancy. Send a welcome email for each new subscriber. Show yourself and share samples of your previous newsletters so that they can get an idea of the content of your emails.

How to optimize the performance of your newsletter?

Indicators to follow

Here are the 3 main rates you should pay attention to:

• The opening rate

This is the percentage of emails that have been opened among recipients who have successfully received your email.

• Click-through rate

The click rate is the number of clicks made on your links.

• The number of unsubscribed

These are the people who no longer want to receive your emails. Ouch.

Optimizations to make to get your newsletter off the ground

How to increase your opening rate

• The title (object)

If your open rate is very low (equal to or less than 22%), try to improve your items. It must be powerful enough to arouse curiosity and the desire to read you.

A/B test them out!

• Discard inactive contacts

They clearly weigh down your opening rate. So clean your contacts by deleting those who have not opened your emails for several weeks (if weekly frequency). Your base will be less important, but your opening rate will increase significantly.

• Change the time and/or day of dispatch

Maybe you're sending your newsletter at the wrong time. Try another day and/or hour, and see if your open rate increases significantly or not.

How to reduce your unsubscribe rate and how to increase your click rate

• Segment your contact list.

If you have a big base, segment it up. Send a newsletter for one reader profile, one second for another.

So yes, it takes time. Not everyone can afford to write two newsletters at the same time. But the results are often convincing.

• Insert your links in a “smarter” way

Try to change them place, to make them a little visible if this is not the case. However, avoid the huge, ugly buttons. Don't overdo it.

Advice. The most common mistake is leaving unfollowers, or even ignoring them. However, they are still usable. If you're launching a new product, a new feature, you can always target/reach them. How? Through Facebook. To do this, create a personalized audience with these unsubscribers, then show your ads informing you of your novelty.

How do you get more subscribers to your newsletter?

Several possibilities:

• Ask your readers to share your newsletter. Put a CTA at the end.
• Talk about it on your social networks. For example, publish content from your newsletter on LinkedIn, and encourage users to follow it to benefit from other content.
• Add a signup link to your blog or site. In your articles, at the bottom of the page or via a pop-up.

consultancy. For a powerful pop-up, apply the 60% rule. Look at the average time your visitors spend on a page. The idea is to make a window appear after 60% of the time spent on the page. For example, if your visitors stay for an average of 50 seconds, put your pop-up on after 30 seconds. At this point, they've shown interest in your content. This will give you a better chance of converting them.

You now have all the keys to send an attractive newsletter, which will bring you REAL results.

Note that patience is king on this lever. Test, test, optimize. Your efforts will pay off one day 💪

Bonus: what tool should you use to send a newsletter?

There are a multitude of tools to send your newsletter.

Here are a few of them:

• Sendinblue
• MailChimp
• Hubspot (CRM)
• Sarbacane

At Growth Room, we currently use Sendinblue. The tool is intuitive but far from perfect. It often has connection problems. We abandoned MailChimp because it was considered too limited in its use.

Want to follow the Growth Room newsletter? Enter your email address on the site of growthroom.co (all the way down). Every Thursday I will send you our news and best Growth tips.

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